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IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

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Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  A  Motjon  pjcture  Reviewing  Service   

oreat  Britain  ............  lo.to  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

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35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  JANUARY  6,  1945  No.  1 


The  Implications  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  Decision 

in  the  Crescent  Case 


(Concluded  from  last  wee\) 


Ever  since  the  producers  began  to  acquire  theatres, 
creating  large  circuits  of  them,  the  heads  of  their 
theatre  departments  have  felt  that,  since  exhibition 
was  not  interstate  commerce,  they  could  employ  any 
tactics  in  monopolizing  the  product  and  that  they 
were  not,  therefore,  violating  any  law.  For  instance, 
they  would  call  up  a  film  company  and  order  it  to 
withhold  product  from  a  competitor  who  had  been 
getting  that  product  for  years,  giving  as  their  reason 
the  fact  that  they  would  soon  build  a  theatre  in  that 
town.  They  would  enter  into  long-term  franchises; 
would  obtain  selective  contracts  and  never  release 
the  "unselected"  films;  would  buy  the  building  where 
their  competitor  had  his  theatre  and,  when  the  lease 
expired,  would  refuse  to  renew  the  lease  so  that  they 
could  operate  the  theatre  themselves;  would  buy  a 
vacant  lot  in  a  town  and  announce  that  such-and- 
such  a  circuit  would  build  on  that  lot  a  modern 
theatre,  thus  frightening  the  existing  exhibitor  into 
selling  his  theatre  to  them,  at  times  for  a  "song"; 
would  impose  upon  their  competitors  clearance  as  to 
time  and  area  altogether  out  of  reason,  with  a  view 
to  harming  the  receipts  of  these  competitors — they 
would  commit  these  and  many  more  abuses,  on  the 
theory  that  they  were  doing  legitimate  business. 

Independent  theatre  circuits,  too,  copied  their 
methods  until  no  small  exhibitor  was  sure  whether 
or  not  he  would  have  product  for  the  following  sea- 
son. And  the  small  exhibitor  knew  that,  without 
product,  his  doom  was  sealed. 

The  small  independent  producers  and  those  of  the 
film  companies  that  operated  no  theatres  were  com- 
pelled to  sell  their  product  to  the  affiliated  circuits, 
or  to  the  larger  independent  circuits,  under  a  threat 
of  boycott.  Those  of  the  distributors  that  owned 
theatres,  however,  gladly  cooperated  with  one  an- 
other; they  believed  that,  being  the  owners  of  the  films 
and  of  the  copyrights,  they  could  either  sell  their 
product  to  an  exhibitor  or  withhold  it  from  him,  de- 
pending at  times  on  their  own  good  judgment,  at 
other  times  on  their  whims,  and  at  still  other  on  the 
amount  of  pressure  applied  by  interested  circuits. 

Most  exhibitor  circuit  heads  were,  I  am  sure,  honest 
in  their  belief  that  they  were  within  their  rights  in 
imposing  upon  the  distributors  their  terms  with  re- 
spect, not  only  to  their  own  theatres,  but  also  to  the 
theatres  of  their  competitors.  As  an  example,  let  us 
take  the  case  of  Bob  OTJ>onnell,  of  Interstate  Circuit, 
Texas.  On  July  11,  1934,  Mr.  O'Donnell  wrote  to 
the  branch  managers  of  Paramount,  Warner  Bros., 


RKO,  and  to  the  branch  managers  of  other  distribu- 
tors the  following  letter,  which  was  produced  as  evi- 
dence in  the  Interstate  Case : 

"On  April  25th,  the  writer  notified  you  that  in 
purchasing  product  for  the  coming  season  34-35,  it 
would  be  necessary  for  all  distributors  to  take  into 
consideration  in  the  sale  of  subsequent  runs  that  In- 
terstate Circuit,  Inc.,  will  not  agree  to  purchase  prod- 
uct to  be  exhibited  in  its  "A"  theatres  at  a  price  of 
40c  or  more  for  night  admission,  unless  distributors 
agree  that  this  "A"  product  will  never  be  exhibited 
at  any  time  or  in  any  theatre  at  a  smaller  admission 
price  than  25c  for  adults  in  the  evening. 

"In  addition  to  this  price  restriction,  we  also  re- 
quest that  on  "A"  pictures  which  are  exhibited  at  a 
night  admission  price  of  40c  or  more — they  shall  never 
be  exhibited  in  conjunction  with  another  feature  pic- 
ture under  the  so-called  policy  of  double-features.  .  .  . 

"In  the  event  that  a  distributor  sees  fit  to  sell  his 
product  to  subsequent  runs  in  violation  of  this  re- 
quest, it  definitely  means  that  we  cannot  negotiate 
for  his  product  to  be  exhibited  in  our  "A"  theatres 
at  top  admission  prices.  .  .  ." 

Now,  who  can  question  Bob  O'Donnell's  honesty? 
Not  this  writer,  nor  anyone  else  who  knows  Mr. 
O'Donnell.  In  writing  this  letter  he  had  a  construc- 
tive viewpoint — to  uphold  prices  so  that  the  pro- 
ducer might  get  a  greater  gross,  enabling  him  to  make 
bigger  and  better  pictures,  and  to  put  an  end  to 
double  features,  at  least  on  top  features.  And  the  dis- 
tributors, feeling  that  as  owners  of  the  copyrighted 
films  they  could  dispose  of  them  in  any  way  they  saw 
fit,  acceded  to  Mr.  O'DonnelFs  demands.  Neverthe- 
less, his  action  was  in  violation  of  the  law,  for  to 
accomplish  his  purpose,  he  compelled  the  distributors 
to  impose  his  will  upon  competing  exhibitors,  with 
the  resultant  tendency  to  suppress  normal  competi- 
tion. 

Long  before  the  Interstate  Case,  where  Bob  O'Don- 
nells  letter  was  criticized  by  the  courts,  Justice  Rey- 
nolds, speaking  for  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  in  the 
famous  Arbitration  case,  said : 

"It  may  be  that  arbitration  is  well  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  the  motion  picture  industry;  but  when  under 
the  guise  of  arbitration  parties  enter  into  unusual 
arrangements  which  unreasonably  suppress  normal 
competition  their  action  becomes  illegal. 

"In  order  to  establish  violation  of  the  Sherman 
Act  it  is  not  necessary  to  show  that  the  challenged 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


2 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  6,  1945 


"Under  Western  Skies"  with 
Noah  Beery,  Jr.  and  Martha  O'Driscoll 

(Universal,  January  19;  time,  57  min.) 
Just  a  mediocre  comedy  with  music,  strictly  for  the 
lower-half  of  ;i  mid-week  double  bill.  The  story  is 
extremely  weak,  tiring  one.  It  seems  a  pity  to  waste 
the  talents  of  the  players  in  anything  so  silly  as  this, 
for,  in  spite  of  their  efforts,  they  are  so  handicapped 
by  the  poor  material  that  they  fail  to  make  an  impres- 
sion. One  or  two  spots  provoke  laughter;  but  for  the 
most  part  the  antics  of  the  characters  are  far  from 
amusing.  The  best  thing  that  can  be  said  for  it  is  that 
it  has  a  few  pleasing  songs  sung  by  Martha  O'Dris- 
coll:— 

Traveling  cast  by  stagecoach,  Leon  Errol's  variety 
show  is  waylaid  by  Leo  Carrillo  and  his  desperadoes 
as  they  approach  Rim  Rock,  Arizona.  Carrillo  de- 
mands a  performance  on  the  spot,  but  Martha  O'Dris- 
coll, Errol's  daughter,  refuses.  Admiring  her  spunk, 
Carrillo  permits  the  troupe  to  continue  on  its  way. 
At  Rim  Rock,  the  troupe  encounters  considerable 
opposition  from  the  town's  civic  leaders,  who  refuse 
to  let  them  appear  in  the  Town  Hall.  Martha,  deter- 
mined to  prove  that  showfolk  were  decent  people, 
arranges  for  a  performance  in  the  Silver  Dollar  saloon. 
Meanwhile,  she  becomes  interested  in  Noah  Beery, 
Jr.,  the  town  school  teacher.  That  night,  the  show  is 
interrupted  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  Carrillo's 
gang,  and  the  performance  turns  into  a  free-for-all 
brawl.  On  Sunday,  Martha  persuades  the  troupe  to 
attend  church.  The  services  are  interrupted  by  two  of 
Carrillo's  henchmen  who  kidnap  Martha  and  take 
her  to  the  outlaw's  hideout  in  the  hills.  Carrillo  in- 
forms Martha  that  he  merely  wanted  to  say  goodbye, 
having  decided  to  reform  his  ways.  Carrillo's  men, 
shocked  by  this  decision,  turn  on  him.  He  starts  shoot- 
ing it  out  with  the  gang  just  as  Beery  arrives  to  rescue 
Martha.  Between  them,  Beery  and  Carrillo  wipe  out 
the  outlaws.  Carrillo  clears  out,  leaving  Beery  with 
seven  bodies  to  dispose  of.  Appalled  by  the  thought 
of  the  townspeople's  reaction  to  his  deed,  Beery  per- 
suades Sheriff  Irving  Bacon,  who  was  about  to  lose 
his  badge  because  he  could  not  shoot  straight,  to  take 
credit  for  wiping  out  the  gang.  It  all  ends  with  Bacon 
being  reinstated  to  office  with  honor,  and  with  Beery 
and  Martha  getting  married. 

"  Stanley  Roberts  and  Clyde  Bruckman  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Warren  Wilson  produced  it,  and  Jean 
Yarbrough  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ian  Keith, 
Jennifer  Holt  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"They  Shall  Have  Faith"  with 
Gale  Storm  and  John  Mack  Brown 

(Monogram,  January  26;  time,  83  min.) 
This  well-made  drama  has  the  ingredients  for  mass 
appeal  in  that  it  has  deep  human  interest,  amusing 
comedy,  and  good  performances.  In  addition,  it  has 
some  outstanding  musical  interludes.  Except  for  the 
subject  matter — infantile  paralysis,  neither  the  story 
nor  its  treatment  is  particularly  novel,  but  it  holds 
one's  interest  well  because  of  the  sympathy  one  feels 
for  the  characters.  Gale  Storm,  as  the  fun-loving  but 
charitable  young  socialite  who  is  stricken  by  the 
disease,  gives  a  very  competent  performance,  making 
the  most  of  her  opportunities  to  display  her  talents 


both  dramatically  and  musically.  A  light  touch  is 
provided  by  Frank  Craven,  as  Gale's  inebriated  but 
understanding  uncle,  by  Mary  Boland,  as  his  watch- 
ful wife,  and  by  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  as  Gale's  grumpy 
but  loveable  grandfather.  The  production  values  are 
very  good: — 

Gale,  popular  young  daughter  of  Conrad  Nagel,  a 
prominent  physician,  busies  herself  daily  doing  kindly 
deeds  for  hospitalized  children  and  wounded  service- 
men. When  John  Mack  Brown,  her  father's  former 
pupil  and  a  major  in  the  Army,  visits  her  home  to  dis- 
cuss with  Nagel  a  new  treatment  for  infantile  paraly- 
sis, Gale  finds  herself  attracted  to  the  young  doctor, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  she  planned  to  marry  Johnny 
Downs,  her  childhood  sweetheart.  Nagel  arranges  for 
Brown  to  continue  his  experiments  in  a  local  hospital. 
One  night,  when  Gale  and  Johnny  appear  at  a  war 
bond  show  in  a  specialty  dance  act,  Gale  collapses  on 
the  dance  floor  and  is  taken  home  to  bed.  An  examina- 
tion discloses  that  she  had  been  stricken  with  infan- 
tile paralysis.  When  her  father  and  grandfather, 
himself  a  famed  doctor,  fail  to  help  her  by  the  use  of 
splints  and  braces,  Gale  loses  hope  of  ever  becoming 
well  again.  Downs  and  Frank  Craven,  her  uncle,  ap- 
peal to  Brown  to  take  charge  of  the  case  and  to  apply 
his  new  treatment.  Brown,  eager  to  be  of  service,  finds 
himself  opposed  by  Gale's  grandfather,  who  felt  that 
the  young  doctor's  new  technique  had  not  yet  been 
proved.  When  Gale  learns  of  the  situation,  she  gives 
Brown  her  own  permission  to  experiment  on  her.  The 
operation  is  a  complete  success,  and  Gale  regains  the 
use  of  her  limbs.  As  Brown  prepares  to  leave  on  an- 
other assignment,  he  and  Gale  declare  their  love  for 
each  other. 

William  Nigh  and  George  Sayre  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Jeffrey  Bernard  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Nigh  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Leo  Diamond  and  His 
Harmonaires,  and  others. 

Morally  suitable  for  all. 


"Castle  of  Crimes"  with  Keneth  Kent 
and  Diana  Churchill 

(PRC,  December  22;  time,  60  min.) 

This  British-made  murder-mystery  melodrama  is 
moderately  entertaining  program  fare.  While  there 
is  nothing  exceptional  about  the  story  or  its  treatment, 
it  holds  one's  interest  to  a  fair  degree,  offering  a  num- 
ber of  thrills.  Mystery  picture  fans  should  find  it  ade- 
quately mystifying,  despite  its  tendency  to  lag  in 
certain  situations.  Not  much  can  be  said  for  the  per- 
formances; there  is  too  much  posturing  on  the  part 
of  the  players.  The  production  tone  is  good : — 

When  Louise  Hampton,  a  wealthy  widow,  dies 
mysteriously  at  her  French  villa,  Keneth  Kent,  a 
famous  but  egotistical  French  detective,  is  assigned  to 
solve  the  murder.  Kent  learns  that  the  widow  had 
been  murdered  with  a  deadly  poison,  and  among  the 
suspects  he  finds  Diana  Churchill,  the  dead  woman's 
niece,  who  appeared  quite  anxious  to  collect  her 
legacy;  Belle  Chrystall,  Diana's  secretary-companion, 
who  had  been  discharged  by  the  widow  on  the  night 
before  her  death;  and  an  anonymous  letter- writer  who 
had  been  trying  to  blackmail  the  widow  for  indiscre- 
tions she  had  committed  as  a  young  woman.  Deciding 
that  the  murderer  and  the  letter-writer  were  the  same 
person,  Kent,  aided  by  Peter  Murray-Hill,  a  young 


January  6, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


3 


attorney  who  was  in  love  with  Belle,  methodically 
goes  about  gathering  clues  until  he  becomes  convinced 
that  Diana  had  committed  the  murder  out  of  fear  that 
her  aunt  would  cut  her  off  from  her  will.  To  prove 
Diana's  guilt  and  to  get  her  to  confess,  Kent  de- 
liberately builds  up  a  case  against  Belle  to  make  it 
appear  as  if  he  suspected  her.  Diana,  misled  by  Kent's 
motives,  tries  to  further  the  hypothetical  case  against 
Belle,  but  she  succeeds  only  in  setting  a  trap  for  her- 
self.  Desperate,  she  makes  an  attempt  on  Belle's  life, 
but  Kent's  timely  interference  prevents  her  from 
committing  a  second  murder. 

Doreen  Montgomery  wrote  the  screen  play,  A.  E. 
W.  Mason  produced  it,  and  Harold  French  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Clifford  Evans,  Catherine  Lacey 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Rogues  Gallery"  with  Robin  Raymond 
and  Frank  Jenks 

(PRC,  December  6;  time,  58  min.) 

A  mildly  entertaining  program  murder  mystery 
melodrama  with  comedy  situations,  parts  of  which 
are  pretty  silly.  Since  the  comedy  is  stressed,  the  spec 
tator  finds  it  difficult  to  take  the  melodramatic  angle 
seriously.  Moreover,  the  outcome  is  obvious  and,  al- 
though the  murderer  is  not  identified  until  the  finish, 
it  is  simple  for  one  to  guess  his  identity  long  before 
then.  Robin  Raymond,  as  the  quick-witted  girl- 
reporter,  is  a  pert  type,  but  she  overacts  her  part. 
The  story  is  far-fetched,  and  it  unfolds  in  an  un- 
believable way  :— 

Sent  to  the  Emmerson  Foundation  to  interview 
H.  B.  Warner,  inventor  of  a  revolutionary  listening 
device,  Robin  Raymond,  a  reporter  for  the  Daily 
Express,  and  Frank  Jenks,  a  news  photographer,  ar- 
rive just  as  a  mysterious  intruder  attacks  the  inven- 
tor and  steals  the  invention's  blueprints.  Robin  re- 
covers the  blueprints  in  a  scuffle  with  the  intruder, 
who  escapes.  She  uses  the  prints  to  obtain  an  exclu- 
sive story  about  the  invention  from  Davison  Clark, 
head  of  the  Foundation,  and  his  committeemen.  As 
Jenks  prepares  to  take  a  group  picture,  Ray  Walker, 
a  rival  reporter  and  nephew  of  Clark's  arrives  on  the 
scene.  Just  then,  the  lights  go  out  mysteriously,  a 
shot  is  fired,  and  one  of  the  committeemen  is  found 
dead.  Police  Capt.  Robert  Homans  hurries  to  the 
house  only  to  find  that  the  murdered  man's  body  had 
disappeared;  he  accuses  Robin  and  Jenks  of  trickery 
for  the  purpose  of  printing  a  sensational  story.  Later, 
Robin  and  Jenks  find  the  missing  body  in  their  car 
only  to  have  it  disappear  again  when  they  take  it  to 
the  police.  Discharged  by  their  editor  for  using  a 
murder  story  that  could  not  be  proved,  Robin  and 
Jenks  start  on  an  investigation  of  their  own.  They  re- 
turn to  Warner's  laboratory,  where  the  scientist 
demonstrates  his  invention — a  device  capable  of  pick- 
ing up  conversations  without  a  radio  hook-up.  Dur- 
ing the  demonstration,  they  tune  in  on  Clark's  home 
and  hear  a  stranger  threatening  him.  They  rush  to  the 
house  and  arrive  in  time  to  save  Clark.  After  a  series 
of  incidents  in  which  Warner  is  murdered  and  the 
blueprints  disappear,  Robin  and  Jenks,  through  a 
recording  made  with  the  invention,  uncover  Walker, 
the  rival  reporter,  as  the  criminal. 


John  T.  Neville  wrote  the  screen  play,  Donald  C. 
McKean  and  Albert  Herman  produced  it,  and  Mr. 
Herman  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"This  Man's  Navy"  with  Wallace  Beery, 
Tom  Drake  and  James  Gleason 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  100  min.) 

This  service  comedy-melodrama  offers  plentiful 
human  appeal,  but  it  is  somewhat  over-sentimental 
and  its  running  time  is  much  too  long  for  the  story 
it  has  to  tell.  It  should,  however,  please  the  Wallace 
Beery  fans,  as  well  as  the  action  fans  who  are  not  too 
exacting  in  their  demands,  for  it  has  a  number  of  excit- 
ing sequences  of  the  type  to  hold  one  in  suspense.  The 
Navy's  lighter-than-air  branch  serves  as  the  back- 
ground for  the  story  and,  since  the  Navy  cooperated 
in  the  production,  some  of  the  action  seems  realistic. 
Considerable  laughter  is  provoked  by  the  friendly 
feud  between  Beery  and  James  Gleason,  both  Naval 
veterans,  as  a  result  of  Beery 's  trying  to  pass  off  a 
young  farm  boy  as  his  son  in  order  to  match  Glea- 
son's  bragging  about  his  own  son.  A  thrilling  sequence 
is  the  one  in  which  Beery  pilots  a  blimp  through  ter- 
ritory infested  with  Jap  planes  so  that  he  could  rescue 
his  psuedo-son,  who  had  been  shot  down  in  the 
Burma  jungle.  The  romantic  interest  is  pleasant  but 
unimportant  :— 

Not  to  be  outdone  by  Chief  Machinist's  Mate 
James  Gleason,  who  bragged  about  his  son's  exploits, 
Wallace  Beery,  Chief  Aviation  Pilot  at  the  Lakehurst 
Blimp  Station,  invents  a  son  for  himself  and  tells  Glea- 
son tall  tales  about  the  boy.  A  few  days  later,  Beery 
meets  Tom  Drake,  who  lived  with  his  widowed  mother 
(Selena  Royle)  on  a  farm  nearby.  He  encourages  the 
boy  to  join  the  lighter-than-air  service  only  to  discover 
that  he  was  a  cripple.  Beery  arranges  for  a  successful 
operation  on  Tom's  leg,  enabling  him  to  join  the  ser- 
vice. Grateful,  Tom  allows  Beery  to  pretend  that  he 
was  his  father.  Beery  drives  the  boy  hard  in  training 
so  that  he  would  live  up  to  his  boasts.  Tom  becomes  an 
officer  and,  one  day,  while  out  on  patrol,  he  sights  a 
Nazi  submarine.  Naval  headquarters  radios  the  blimp 
to  leave  the  attack  to  planes,  but  Beery,  eager  to  see 
Tom  become  a  hero,  falsifies  the  orders  and  advises 
Tom  to  attack.  The  young  man  sinks  the  submarine. 
Lest  Tom  be  courtmartialed  for  disobeying  orders, 
Beery  accepts  the  blame.  Tom  is  decorated  as  a  hero, 
but  the  men  at  the  station  ostracize  him  for  allowing 
Beery  to  cover  up  for  him.  Discouraged,  Tom  asks  for 
and  receives  a  transfer  to  the  ferry  command.  Beery, 
unable  to  change  Tom's  mind,  quarrels  with  him. 
Months  later,  Beery  and  his  blimp  outfit  are  sent  to 
the  Burma  frontier.  There,  he  learns  that  Tom  had 
been  shot  down  in  the  Burma  jungles,  and  that  there 
was  a  chance  to  rescue  him  before  Japanese  ground 
troops  reached  him.  He  requests  and  is  given  permis- 
sion to  save  the  boy.  Piloting  his  blimp  through  stiff 
Japanese  fighter  plane  opposition,  Beery  manages  to 
effect  Tom's  rescue.  Both  are  decorated  for  their 
heroism. 

Borden  Chase  wrote  the  screen  play,  Samuel  Marx 
produced  it,  and  William  A.  Wellman  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Jan  Clayton,  Noah  Beery,  Sr., 
Henry  O'Neill  and  others. 

Morally  suitable  for  all. 


4 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  6,  1945 


arrangement  suppresses  all  competition  between  the 
parties  or  that  the  parties  themselves  are  discontented 
with  the  arrangement.  The  interest  of  the  public  in 
the  preservation  of  competition  is  the  primary  consid- 
eration. The  prohibition  of  the  statute  cannot  'be 
evaded  by  good  motives.  The  law  is  its  own  measure 
of  right  and  wrong,  of  what  it  permits,  or  forbids, 
and  the  judgment  of  the  courts  cannot  be  set  up 
against  it  in  a  supposed  accommodation  of  its  policy 
with  the  good  intention  of  the  parties,  and  it  may  be, 
of  some  good  results.''  .  .  ." 

As  regards  to  the  belief  of  the  distributors  that, 
being  the  copyright  owners,  they  may  dispose  of  their 
copyrighted  articles  the  way  they  see  fit,  Judge  Atwell 
settled  that  matter  well  in  his  famous  decision,  af- 
firmed by  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  in  the  Interstate 
Case.  He  stated : 

"This  well-defined  right,  however,  will  not  justify 
his  [the  copyright  owner's]  agreeing  or  combining 
with  another  person  in  order  to  deprive  a  third  person 
of  a  complete  freedom  of  contract.  The  copyright 
statute  and  the  anti-trust  statute  are  both  in  effect 
and  vitally  necessary  .  .  ." 

In  order  to  make  the  meaning  of  this  statement  of 
his  clear,  Judge  Atwell  added : 

"The  owner  of  the  copyrighted  article  may  con- 
tract with  the  exhibitor,  without  the  intervention  of 
any  third  mind,  for  full  and  free  protection,  both  as 
to  price  and  manner  of  use,  but  when  the  outside 
mind,  with  an  interest  to  serve,  steps  into  the  picture 
— the  contracting  room — and  interjects,  persuades 
and  coerces  the  copyright  owner  to  join  with  it  in 
its  protection,  as  against  the  party  to  whom  the  copy- 
right holder  is  selling  or  contracting,  then  and  in 
that  event  there  are  two  or  more  persons  engaged 
on  the  side  of  the  copyright  holder,  when  the  law 
gives  only  one  privileges  or  immunities.  Such  a 
unity  of  minds,  if  it  be  in  restraint  of  interstate  com- 
merce, is  illegal.  The  copyright  privileges  do  not  save 
it  from  illegality  ..." 

Any  person  who  has  studied  the  U.  S.  Supreme 
Court's  decision  in  the  Crescent  case  cannot  help 
coming  to  the  conclusion  that,  to  some  degree,  thea- 
tre divorcement  has  been  accomplished  without  the 
introduction  of  a  bill  in  Congress.  What  would  a 
bill  separating  exhibition  from  production-distribu- 
tion accomplish?  To  make  it  impossible  for  the  thea- 
tre-owning producer-distributors  to  employ  their 
buying  power  to  withhold  choice  product  from  the 
independents.  The  U.  S.  Supreme  Court's  decision, 
in  the  opinion  of  competent  legal  authority  whom 
this  paper  has  consulted,  seems  to  do  that,  for  here- 
after no  affiliated  circuit  can  employ  either  its  buying 
power  or  its  influence  to  prevent  the  independent 
exhibitor  from  competing  for  film  on  equal  terms  with 
the  affiliated  circuit. 

Yes,  in  the  opinion  of  this  authority,  the  U.  S. 
Supreme  Court's  decision  goes  further  than  that: 
it  puts  also  the  independent  circuits,  both  big  and 
small,  in  the  same  category  as  the  affiliated  circuits. 
In  other  words,  the  head  of  a  circuit  consisting  of 
fifty  theatres  cannot  prevent  an  exhibitor  who  owns 
a  single  theatre  from  competing  with  him  for  film  on 
an  equal  basis. 

Harrison's  Reports  cannot  at  this  time  say 
whether  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  decision  in  the 
Crescent  case  will  bring  about  any  radical  changes 
in  the  selling  system  within  the  industry;  it  merely 
presents  the  facts  and  the  opinions  of  a  lawyer  who 
has  been  correct  in  his  opinion  in  other  cases. 


For  instance,  based  on  his  opinion  concerning  the 
Interstate  Case,  in  which  Judge  Atwell  found  both 
distributors  and  exhibitors  guilty  of  having  violated 
the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Act,  Harrison's  Reports, 
in  its  June  4,  1938  issue,  in  the  second  paragraph  of 
an  editorial  under  the  heading,  "Another  Blow  at 
the  Producers,"  said : 

"In  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the 
U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  Judge  Atwell,  the  District 
Judge  who  tried  the  case,  has  just  made  formal  find- 
ings. These  must  have  shocked  the  master  strategists 
of  the  producers;  they  are  so  sweeping  that  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  defendants  will  take  an  ap- 
peal. If  they  should  take  such  an  appeal,  all  they 
could  possibly  accomplish  would  be  to  add  the  U.  S. 
Supreme  Court's  approval  to  the  damaging  findings 
and  decree  of  the  Dallas  District  Court .  .  ." 

According  to  this  prediction,  the  U.  S.  Supreme 
Court,  by  a  decision  handed  down  on  Monday,  Feb- 
ruary 13,  1939,  upheld  Judge  Atwell. 

In  the  Crescent  case,  this  counsel  again  made  a 
prediction.  In  the  editorial  that  was  printed  in  the 
July  24,  1943,  issue  of  Harrison's  Reports,  the 
following  statement  was  made  in  the  last  paragraph 
of  the  second  column  in  the  front  page: 

"In  the  first  place,  unless  a  cross-appeal  should  be 
filed  by  Crescent,  the  Supreme  Court  will  not  look 
into  the  merits  of  the  entire  case,  but  will  limit  its 
inquiry  to  the  one  question  presented  by  the  Govern- 
ment's appeal,  namely,  whether  or  not  the  decree 
should  be  modified  by  inserting  the  prohibition 
against  further  acquisition  of  theatres — and  nothing 
more.  And,  while  on  the  subject  of  cross-appeals,  this 
paper  believes  that  Crescent  will  not  file  any  cross- 
appeal.  The  case  seems  to  be  too  strongly  in  favor 
of  the  Government  to  hold  forth  much  hope  for  a 
complete  reversal.  Hence,  if  Crescent  should  appeal, 
and  thus  ask  the  Supreme  Court  to  examine  into  the 
entire  case,  the  result  might  well  be  an  affirmance  of 
Judge  Davies'  decision  relating  to  the  violation  of 
the  anti- trust  laws.  In  that  event,  the  rulings  pro- 
nounced by  Judge  Davies  would  be  applicable,  not 
only  to  the  Crescent  situation,  but  also  to  the  other 
pending  anti-trust  suits,  as  well  as  to  competitive 
situations  throughout  the  country.  Crescent  no  doubt 
recalls  and  will  profit  by  the  Interstate  Case,  where 
the  same  thing  occurred  .  .  ." 

Crescent  and  its  advisors  did  not  heed  that  warn- 
ing, and  the  result  is  that  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court's 
decision  is  now  the  law  of  the  land. 

The  methods  that  Crescent  employed  in  crushing 
its  competitors  were  too  bold  and  too  unfair  for  any 
conscientious  judge  to  overlook.  On  the  back  page  of 
the  June  5,  1943,  issue  of  Harrison's  Reports, 
there  was  printed  a  list  of  prices  that  Crescent  paid 
to  the  distributors  that  startled  every  exhibitor  in  the 
land.  Rentals  as  low  as  $3.90  were  accepted  by  some 
distributors,  and  no  price  was  ever  equal  to  what 
other  exhibitors,  not  connected  with  Crescent,  paid. 
And  Crescent's  competitors  could  not  obtain  choice 
film  and  better  runs,  no  matter  how  much  more  they 
were  willing  to  pay,  for  Crescent  employed  its  buy- 
ing power  to  prevent  that. 

Reforms  have  always  been  obtained  when  oppres- 
sors went  too  far.  And  every  reader  will  admit  that, 
because  of  Crescent's  attitude,  relief  has  now  been 
obtained  by  every  exhibitor  who  wants  to  play  fair. 
Free  and  open  competition  is  now  assured  to  all 
buyers  of  film. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS—; 

HARRISON'S 


SECTION  TWO 

REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVII        NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  SATURDAY,  JANUARY  6,  1945  No.  1 

(Semi-Annual  Index — Second  Half  of  1944) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

A  Wave,  A  Wac  6?  A  Marine — Monogram  (80  min.) .  115 
Abroad  with  Two  Yanks — United  Artists  (79  min.) .  .  123 
Adventures  of  Kitty  O'Day — Monogram  (64  min.)  .  .  .  19? 

Alaska — Monogram  (76  min.)  208 

An  American  Romance — MGM  (151  min.)   106 

And  Now  Tomorrow — Paramount  (85  min.)  172 

Arms  and  the  Woman — Columbia  (see  "Mr.  Winkle 

Goes  to  War")  1944  118 

Army  Wives — Monogram  (69  min.)  183 

Arsenic  and  Old  Lace — Warner  Bros.  (118  min.)  143 

Atlantic  City — Republic  (86  min.)   127 

Babes  on  Swing  Street — Universal  (70  min.)  154 

Barbary  Coast  Gent — MGM  (87  min.)   126 

Belle  of  the  Yukon— RKO  (85  min.)  194 

Between  Two  Women — MGM  (83  min.)  208 

Big  Noise,  The — 20th  Century-Fox  (74  min.)  154 

Black  Magic — Monogram  (65  min.)   114 

Block  Busters — Monogram  (61  min.)   114 

Blonde  Fever— MGM  (69  min.)  190 

Bluebeard— PRC  (73  min.)  166 

Bordertown  Trail — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Bowery  Champs — Monogram  (62  min.)  174 

Bowery  to  Broadway — Universal  (95  min.)  174 

Brand  of  the  Devil — PRC  (61  min.)  not  reviewed 

Brazil— Republic  (91  min.)  175 

Bride  By  Mistake— RKO  (81  min.)   122 

Can't  Help  Singing — Universal  (89  min.)  206 

Carolina  Blues — Columbia  (80  min.)  163 

Casanova  Brown — RKO  (93  min.)   127 

Cheyenne  Wildcat — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Climax,  The — Universal  (86  min.)  159 

Code  of  the  Prairie — Republic  (56  min.) . .  .  .not  reviewed 

Conspirators,  The — Warner  Bros.  (102) .  . .,  167 

Contender,  The— PRC  ( 66  min. )   118 

Cowboy  from  Lonesome  River — Columbia 

(55  min.)   not  reviewed 

Crazy  Knights — Monogram  (62  min.)  202 

Crime  By  Night — Warner  Bros.  (73  min.)   123 

Cry  of  the  Werewolf — Columbia  (64  min.)  135 

Cyclone  Prairie  Rangers — Columbia  (56  m.) .  not  reviewed 

Dancing  in  Manhattan — Columbia  (61  min.)  202 

Dangerous  Journey — 20th  CenturyFox  (73  min.)...  132 
Dangerous  Mists — Columbia  (see  "U-Boat  Prisoner") 

1944   110 

Dangerous  Passage — Paramount  (62  min.)  208 

Dark  Mountain — Paramount  (56  min.)  142 

Dark  Waters— United  Artists  (90  min.)  179 

Dead  Man's  Eyes — Universal  (64  min.)  151 

Dead  or  Alive — -PRC  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Delinquent  Daughters — PRC  (72  min.)    118 

Destiny — Universal  (65  min.)  198 

Dixie  Jamboree— PRC  (71  min.)   110 

Double  Exposure — Paramount  (64  min.)  206 

Doughgirls,  The — Warner  Bros.  (102  min.)  142 

Dragon  Seed— MGM  (145  min.)   119 

End  of  the  Road— Republic  (51  min.)  183 

Enemy  of  Women — Monoeram  (87  min.)  146 

Enter  Arsene  Lupin — Universal  (72  min.)  187 

Ever  Since  Venus — Columbia  (73  min.)  182 

Experiment  Perilous — RKO  (91  min.)  198 

Faces  in  the  Fog — Republic  (71  min.)  170 

Falcon  in  Hollywood,  The— RKO  (68  min.)  194 

Falcon  in  Mexico,  The— RKO  (70  min.)   124 

Farewell  My  Lovely — RKO  (96  min.)  198 

Firebrands  of  Arizona — Republic  (56  min.).  .not  reviewed 

Frenchman's  Creek — Paramount  (113  min.)  155 

Fuzzy  Settles  Down — PRC  (60  min.)  not  reviewed 

Gangsters  of  the  Frontier — PRC  (58  m.)  not  reviewed 

Gentle  Annie— MGM  (80  min.)  207 

Ghost  Guns — Monogram  (60  min.)  not  reviewed 


Girl  Rush,  The— RKO  (66  min.)  171 

Girl  Who  Dared,  The— Republic  (56  min.)   107 

Goin'  to  Town— RKO  (70  min.)  160 

Great  Mike,  The— PRC  (71  min.)  167 

Greenwich  Village — 20th  Century-Fox  (83  min.)   130 

Guest  in  the  House — United  Artists  (117  min.)  199 

Gypsy  Wildcat — Universal  (75  min.)   130 

Heavenly  Days— RKO  (72  min.)   126 

Here  Come  the  Waves — Paramount  (99  min.)  206 

Hi'  Beautiful — Universal  (65  min.)  186 

Hollywood  Canteen — Warner  Bros.  (124  min.)  200 

House  of  Frankenstein — Universal  (70  min.)  207 

I  Accuse  My  Parents — PRC  (69  min.)  182 

I'll  Be  Seeing  You — United  Artists  (85  min.)  211 

I'm  from  Arkansas — PRC  (68  min.)  190 

Impatient  Years,  The — Columbia  (90  min.)  154 

In  Rosie's  Room — Republic  (See  "Rosie,  the  Riveter") .  51 

In  Society — Universal  (73  min.)   130 

In  the  Meantime,  Darling — 20th  Century-Fox  (72  m.)  .154 
Irish  Eyes  Are  Smiling — 20th  Century-Fox  (90  m.)..162 

Janie — Warner  Bros.  (101  min.)   124 

Jungle  Woman — Universal  (60  min.)   107 

Kansas  City  Kitty — Columbia  (72  min.)  135 

Keys  of  the  Kingdom,  The — 20th  Century-Fox  (  137  m.)  .  203 
Kismet — MGM  (100  min.)  138 

Lake  Placid  Serenade — Republic  (85  min.)  208 

Land  of  the  Outlaws — Monogram  (60  min.) .  .not  reviewed 
Last  Horseman,  The — Columbia  (54  min.) . .  .not  reviewed 

Last  Ride,  The — Warner  Bros.  (57  min.)  151 

Laura — 20th  Century-Fox  (88  min.)  168 

Leave  It  To  the  Irish — Monogram  (61  min.)   114 

Lights  of  Old  Sante  Fe — Republic  (78  m.)  .  .  .not  reviewed 
Lost  in  a  Harem — MGM  (89  min.)  144 

Machine  Gun  Mama — PRC  (62  min.)   Ill 

Mile.  Fifi— RKO  (69  min.)   122 

Main  Street  After  Dark — MGM  (57  min.)  194 

Maisie  Goes  to  Reno — MGM  (90  min.)   131 

Man  in  Half  Moon  Street,  The — Paramount  (92  m.) . .  170 

Marked  Trails — Monogram  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Mark  of  the  Whistler — Columbia  (60  min.)  178 

Marriage  is  a  Private  Affair — MGM  (116  min.)  134 

Master  Race,  The— RKO  (97  min.)  155 

Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis— MGM  (113  min.)  178 

Meet  Miss  Bobby  Socks — Columbia  (68  min.)  186 

Men  of  the  Sea — PRC  (49  min.)   120 

Merry  Monahans,  The — Universal  (91  min.)  134 

Ministry  of  Fear — Paramount  (84  min.)  172 

Minstrel  Man — PRC  (68  min.)   106 

Missing  Juror,  The — Columbia  (67  min.)  182 

Moonlight  and  Cactus— Universal  (60  min.)  170 

Mr.  Winkle  Goes  to  War — Columbia  (77  min.)   118 

Mrs.  Parkington — MGM  (124  min.)  156 

Mummy's  Curse,  The — Universal  (60  min.)  210 

Mummy's  Ghost,  The — Universal  (60  min.)   Ill 

Murder  in  the  Blue  Room — Universal  (61  min.)  174 

Murder  in  Thornton  Square,  The — MGM 

(See  "Gaslight")   78 

Murder,  My  Sweet — RKO  (see  "Farewell,  My  Lovely") 

1944   198 

Music  for  Millions— MGM  (118  min.)  203 

Music  in  Manhattan — RKO  (81  min.)   123 

My  Buddy— Republic  (69  min.)  158 

My  Gal  Loves  Music — Universal  (63  min.)  191 

My  Pal,  Wolf— RKO  (75  min.)  159 

National  Barn  Dance — Paramount  (76  min.)  142 

National  Velvet — 20th  Century-Fox  (125  min.)  199 

Nevada— RKO  (62  min.)  200 

Night  Club  Girl — Universal  (61  min.)  200 

None  But  the  Lonely  Heart— RKO  (113  min.)  162 

Nothing  But  Trouble— MGM  (69  min.)  195 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  -  Second  Half  of  1944,  Page  B 


Oath  of  Vengeance — PRC  (57  min.)  not  reviewed 

Oh,  What  a  Night!— Monogram  (71  min.)   132 

Old  Texas  Trail,  The — Universal  (59  min.).  .not  reviewed 

Once  Upon  a  Time — Columbia  (89  min.)   110 

One  Body  Too  Many — Paramount  (75  min.)  172 

One  Mysterious  Night — Columbia  (63  min.)  138 

Our  Hearts  Were  Young  and  Gay — Paramount  (81  m) .  143 

Pearl  of  Death — Universal  (69  min.)  144 

Practically  Yours — Paramount  (90  min.)  206 

Princess  and  the  Pirate,  The — RKO  (94  min.)  166 

Rainbow  Island — Paramount  (97  min.)  143 

Reckless  Age — Universal  (63  min.)  143 

Riders  of  the  Sante  Fe— Universal  (60  m.)  .  .  .not  reviewed 
Rustler's  Hideout — PRC  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Saddle  Leather  Law— Columbia  (55  min.) ...  not  reviewed 

San  Antonio  Kid — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

San  Diego,  I  Love  You — Universal  (83  min.)  147 

San  Fernando  Valley — Republic  (74  m.)  not  reviewed 

Seven  Doors  to  Death — PRC  ( 6 1  min. )   131 

Seventh  Cross,  The— MGM  (111  min.)   119 

Shadow  of  Suspicion — Monogram  (68  min.)  166 

Shadows  in  the  Night — Columbia  (67  min.)   127 

She's  a  Soldier,  Too — Columbia  (67  min.)  147 

Sheriff  of  Las  Vegas — Republic  (55  min.) . . .  .not  reviewed 
Sheriff  of  Sundown — Republic  (56  min.)  .  .  .  .not  reviewed 
Silver  Key,  The — Columbia  (See  "Girl  in  the  Case") .  .  62 
Since  You  Went  Away — United  Artists  (171  min  ).  .  119 

Sing,  Neighbor,  Sing — Republic  (70  min.)   131 

Singing  Sheriff,  The — Universal  (63  min.)  150 

Something  for  the  Boys — 20th  Century-Fox  (87  m.).  .  179 
Song  of  the  Range — Monogram  (57  min.) . .  .not  reviewed 
Sonora  Stage  Coach — Monogram  (59  min.).  .not  reviewed 

Soul  of  a  Monster,  The — Columbia  (61  min.)  150 

Stagecoach  to  Monterey — Republic  (55  min.). not  reviewed 

Storm  Over  Lisbon — Republic  (86  min.)  142 

Strange  Affair — Columbia  (78  min.)  167 

Strangers  in  the  Night — Republic  (56  min.)  134 

Sunday  Dinner  for  a  Soldier — 20th  Century-Fox  (86m). 199 

Suspect,  The — Universal  (85  min.)  210 

Sweet  and  Low-down — 20th  Century-Fox  (75  min.)  . .  126 
Sweethearts  on  Parade — Monogram  (See 

"Sweethearts  of  the  U.S.A.")   14 

Swing  Hostess— PRC  (76  min.)  163 

Swing  in  the  Saddle — Columbia  (69  min.) ....  not  reviewed 

Tahiti  Nights — Columbia  (63  min.)  210 

Take  It  or  Leave  It — 20th  Century-Fox  (71  min.)   115 

Tall  in  the  Saddle— RKO  (87  min.)  155 

That's  My  Baby— Republic  (68  min.)  150 

Thin  Man  Goes  Home,  The— MGM  (100  min.)  191 

Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo— MGM  (138  min.)  187 

3  Is  a  Family — United  Artists  (80  min.)  191 

Three  Caballeros,  The— RKO  (72  min.)  202 

Three  Little  Sisters — Republic  (68  min.)   122 

Three  of  a  Kind — Monogram  (67  min.)   106 

Till  We  Meet  Again — Paramount  (88  min.)  144 

To  Have  and  Have  Not — Warner  Bros.  (100  min.) ...  168 

Together  Again — Columbia  (101  min.)  178 

Tomorrow,  the  World — United  Artists  (86  min.)  207 

Town  Went  Wild,  The— PRC  (78  min.)  186 

Tropicana — Columbia  (see  "The  Heat's  On")  1943, ..194 
Twilight  on  the  Prairie — Universal  (62  min.)  146 

U-Boat  Prisoner — Columbia  (67  min.)   110 

Unwritten  Code,  The — Columbia  (61  min.)  158 

Utah  Kid,  The — Monogram  (53  min.)  not  reviewed 

Very  Thought  of  You,  The — Warner  Bros.  (99  min.)  .  171 
Vigilantes  of  Dodge  City — Republic  (55  m.)  .  not  reviewed 

West  of  the  Rio  Grande — Monogram 

(59  min.)   not  reviewed 

When  Strangers  Marry — Monogram  (67  min.)  146 

When  the  Lights  Go  On  Again— PRC  (74  min.)  158 

Whispering  Skull,  The — PRC  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Wild  Horse  Phantom — PRC  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Wilson — 20th  Century-Fox  (155  min.)   128 

Wing  and  a  Prayer — 20th  Century-Fox  (95  min.)   118 

Winged  Victory — 20th  Century-Fox  (130  min.)  190 

Woman  in  the  Window— RKO  (99  min.)  168 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 

Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 

6022  The  Mark  of  the  Whistler— Dix-Carter  Nov.  2 

6033  Sergeant  Mike — Parks-Bates   Nov.  9 

6202  Cyclone  Prairie  Rangers — Starrett  (56  m.) .  .Nov.  9 

6040  The  Missing  Juror — Carter-Bannon  Nov.  16 

6032  She's  a  Sweetheart — Frazec-Parks  Dec.  7 

6038  Dancing  in  Manhattan — Donnell-Brady . .  . . Dec.  14 

6203  Saddle  Leather  Law— Starrett  (55  m.)  Dec.  21 

6003  Together  Again— Boyer-Dunnc   Dec.  22 

Tahiti  Nights — Falkenburg-O'Brien  Dec.  28 

Let's  Go  Steady— Parrish-Moran  Jan.  4 

Youth  on  Trial — Collins-Reed  Jan.  11 

Eadie  Was  a  Lady — Miller-Besser  Jan.  18 

I  Love  a  Mystery — Bannon-Foch  Jan.  25 

Sing  Me  a  Song  of  Texas — Lane-Mclntyre.  .  .Feb.  8 

Leave  it  to  Blondie — Singleton-Lake  Feb.  22 

Crime  Doctor's  Courage — Baxter-Crane  Feb.  27 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(  1  540  Broadway.  Hew  York  19,  H-  T.) 
Block  9 

501  The  Seventh  Cross — Tracy-Gurie  September 

502  Barbary  Coast  Gent — Beery  September 

503  Waterloo  Bridge — Taylor-Leigh  (reissue) ..  September 

504  Maisie  Goes  to  Reno — Sothern-Hodiak. . .  .September 

505  Marriage  is  a  Private  Affair — Turner- 

Craig   October 

506  Kismet — Dietrich-Colman   October 

507  Mrs.  Parkington — Pidgcon-Garson  November 

508  Naughty  Marietta — MacDonald-Eddy 

(reissue)   November 

510  An  American  Romance — Donlevy  November 

509  Lost  in  a  Harem — Abbott  &  Costello  December 

Block  10 

513  The  Thin  Man  Goes  Home — Powell-Loy . . .  Jan. -Mar. 

514  Main  Street  After  Dark — Arnold  Jan. -Mar. 

515  Music  for  Millions — O'Brien-Allyson  Jan. -Mar. 

516  Blonde  Fever — Astor-Dorn  Jan. -Mar. 

517  This  Man's  Navy — Beery-Drake  Jan. -Mar. 

518  Between  Two  Women — Johnson-Barrymore. Jan. -Mar. 

519  Nothing  But  Trouble — Laurel  ii  Hardy.  .  .  .Jan. -Mar. 

Specials 

500  Dragon  Seed — Hepburn-Huston   August 

511  Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo — Tracy-Johnson . .  January 

512  Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis — Garland-O'Brien  January 


Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave..  Hew  York  19,  H-  Y.) 

461  Song  of  the  Range — Wakely  (57  m.)  Dec.  1 

421  Crazy  Knights — Gilbert-Howard  Dec.  8 

416  Shadow  of  Suspicion — Weaver-Cookson  Dec.  15 

403  Alaska — Taylor-Lindsay   (re.)  Dec.  22 

409  Bowery  Champs — East  Side  Kids  Dec.  29 

455  Navajo  Trail — J.  M.  Brown  Jan.  5 

414  Army  Wives — Knox-Rambeau  Jan.  12 

420  Adventures  of  Kitty  O'Day — Parker-Cookson. Jan.  19 

417  The  Jade  Mask — Sidney  Toler  Jan.  26 

401  They  Shall  Have  Faith — Storm-Brown  Jan.  26 

The  Cisco  Kid  Returns — Renaldo  Feb.  9 

454  Gun  Smoke — J.  M.  Brown  Feb.  16 

John  Dillinger,  Mobster — Lowe-Jeffreys  Feb.  23 

G.  I.  Honeymoon — Storm-Cookson  Mar.  23 


Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway.  Hew  Yor\  18,  H-  Y.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  3 

4411  Here  Come  the  Waves — Crosby-Hutton  

4412  Dangerous  Passage — Lowery-Brooks  

4413  For  Whom  the  Bell  Tolls — Cooper-Bergman. 

4414  Practically  Yours— Colbert-MacMurray  

4415  Double  Exposure — Morris-Kelly  

Special 

4432  Sign  of  the  Cross — Reissue  


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  - 


-  Second  Half  of  1944,  Page  C  l\<ohZ 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave.,  Hew  York  22,  .N.-  Y.) 

555  Wild  Horse  Phantom— Crabbe  (56  m.)  Oct.  28 

510  Fm  from  Arkansas — Bennett-Adrian  Oct.  31 

512  I  Accuse  My  Parents — Hughes-Lowell  Nov.  4 

552  Dead  or  Alive- — Texas  Rangers  (56  m.)  Nov.  9 

506  Blubeard — Carradine-Parker  Nov.  11 

511  The  Great  Mike — Erwin-Henry  Nov.  15 

514  Rogues'  Gallery — Jenks-Raymond  Dec.  6 

556  Oath  of  Vengeance — Buster  Crabbe  (57  m.) .  .Dec.  9 
501  The  Town  Went  Wild— Lydon-Bartholomew. Dec.  15 

513  Castle  of  Crimes — English-made  (re.)  Dec.  22 

553  The  Whispering  Skull — Texas  Rangers  (56m). Dec.  29 

Fog  Island — Atwill-Zucco  Jan.  31 

His  Brother's  Ghost — Buster  Crabbe  Feb.  3 

Kid  Sister — Pryor-Clark  Feb.  6 

Marked  for  Murder — Texas  Rangers  Feb.  8 

The  Spell  of  Amy  Nugent — English  cast  Feb.  10 

507  The  Man  Who  Walked  Alone — O'Brien- 

Aldridge  (re.)  Feb.  15 

515  Hollywood  &  Vine — Ellison-McKay  (re.) . . .  .Mar.  1 

Strange  Illusion — Lydon-William  Mar.  15 

Shadows  of  Death — Buster  Crabbe  Mar.  24 

Crime,  Inc. — Tilton-Neal   Mar.  31 

Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway.  Hew  York  19,  H-  Y.) 

1943-44 

346  Lights  of  Old  Sante  Fe — Roy  Rogers  (78m.).Nov.  6 

3308  Red  River  Valley — Autry  (reissue)   Dec.  1 

(More  to  come) 
Beginning  of  1944-45  Season 

3311  Tucson  Raiders — Elliott-Hayes  (55  m.)  May  14 

3312  Marshal  of  Reno— Elliott-Blake  (56  m.)  July  2 

461  Silver  City  Kid — Lane-Stewart  (55  m.)  July  20 

451  Bordertown  Trail — Burnette-Carson  (56m). Aug.  11 

401  Sing,  Neighbor,  Sing — Taylor-Terry  Aug.  12 

3313  San  Antonio  Kid — Elliott-Stirling  (56  m.).  .Aug.  16 

462  Stagecoach  to  Monterey — Lane-Stewart 

(55  m.)   Sept.  15 

3314  Cheyenne  Wildcat— Elliott-Blake  (56  m.)..Sept.  30 

452  Code  of  the  Prairie — Burnette-Carson  (56m). Oct.  6 

403  My  Buddy — Barry-Terry  Oct.  12 

463  Sheriff  of  Sundown — Lane-Stirling  (56  m.).Nov.  7 

402  End  of  the  Road — Norris-Abbott  Nov.  10 

3315  Vigilantes  of  Dodge  City — Elliott  (55  m.).. Nov.  15 

404  Faces  in  the  Fog — Withers-Kelly  Nov.  30 

405  Brazil — Guizar-Bruce   Nov.  30 

453  Firebrands  of  Arizona — Burnette-Carson 

(56  m.)   Dec.  1 

408  Thoroughbreds — Neal-Mara   Dec.  23 

407  The  Big  Bonanza — Arlen-Livingston  Dec.  30 

3316  Sheriff  of  Las  Vegas— Elliott-Blake  (55  m.).Dec.  31 

409  Grissly's  Million's — Kelly-Grey   Jan.  16 

RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  York  20,  H-  Y.) 
(No  National  Release  Dates) 
Block  2 

506  Girl  Rush — Carney-Brown  

507  Falcon  in  Hollywood — Conway-Borg  

508  Murder,  My  Sweet — Powell-Shirley  (formerly 

"Farewell,  My  Lovely")  

509  Nevada— Mitchum-Jeffreys   

510  Experiment  Perilous — Lamar-Brent  

Specials 

551  The  Princess  and  the  Pirate — Bob  Hope  

581  Casanova  Brown — Cooper- Wright   

582  Woman  in  the  Window — Bennett-Robinson  

583  Belle  of  the  Yukon — Scott-Lee  

Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St.,  Hew  York  19,  H-  Y.) 
Block  3 

506  The  Big  Noise — Laurel  &  Hardy  October 

507  In  the  Meantime.Darling — Crain-Latimore.  .  .October 

508  Irish  Eyes  Are  Smiling — Woolley-Haymes.  .  .October 

Block  4 

509  Laura — Andrews-Tierney   November 

510  Something  for  the  Boys — O'Shea-Blaine. .  .November 


Block  5 

512  Winged   Victory — McCallister-O'Brien ....  December 

513  Sunday  Dinner  for  a  Soldier — Baxter- 

Hodiak   December 

Block  6 

514  Keys  of  the  Kingdom — Peck-Mitchell  January 

511  The  Way  Ahead— David  Niven  January 

515  The  Fighting  Lady — Documentary  January 

Special 

530  Wilson — Knox-Fitzgerald  


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  York  19,  H-  Y.) 

Since  You  Went  Away — All  star  cast  Special 

Dark  Waters — Oberon-Tone   Nov.  10 

3  Is  a  Family — Ruggles-Broderick  Nov.  23 

Guest  in  the  House — Baxter-Bellamy  Dec.  8 

Tomorrow,  the  World — March-Field  Dec.  29 

I'll  Be  Seeing  You — Rogers-Cotten-Temple  Jan.  5 

Mr.  Emmanuel — English-made  Jan.  19 


9009 
9072 
9026 
9081 

9029 
9018 
9034 
9031 

9082 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  York  20,  H-  Y.) 

The  Climax — Foster-Karloff  Oct.  20 

Bowery  to  Broadway — Oakie-Montez  Nov.  3 

Dead  Man's  Eyes — Chaney-Parker  Nov.  10 

Riders  of  the  Sante  Fe — Rod  Cameron 

(60  m.)   Nov.  10 

Reckless  Age — Gloria  Jean  Nov.  17 

Enter  Arsene  Lupin — Raines-Kovin  Nov.  24 

Murder  in  the  Blue  Room — McDonald-Cook. Dec.  1 

Hi'  Beautiful — O'Driscoll-Beery  Dec.  8 

My  Gal  Loves  Music — Crosby-McDonald.  .  .Dec.  15 
The  Old  Texas  Trail — Cameron-Dew  (59m)  .Dec.  15 
Destiny — Jean-Curtis  (formerly 

"The  Fugitive")  Dec.  22 

Can't  Help  Singing — Durbin-Paige  Dec.  29 

Night  Club  Girl — Austin-Norris  Jan.  5 

She  Gets  Her  Man — Davis-Errol  Jan.  12 

Under  Western  Skies — O'Driscoll-Beery,  Jr. .Jan.  19 

The  Suspect — Laughton-Raines  (reset)  Jan.  26 

Here  Come  the  Co-eds — Abbott  ii  Costello .  .  .  Feb.  2 

Her  Lucky  Night — Beery,  Jr.-O'Driscoll  Feb.  9 

House  of  Frankenstein — Karloff-Chaney  Feb.  16 

The  Mummy's  Curse — Lon  Chaney  Feb.  16 

Frisco  Sal — Foster-Bey  Feb.  23 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  Yor\  IS,H-  Y.) 

406  The  Very  Thought  of  You — Morgan-Parker. Nov.  11 

407  The  Doughgirls — Sheridan-Carson  Nov.  25 

409  Hollywood  Canteen — All  star  cast  Dec.  30 

410  To  Have  and  Have  Not — Bogart-Bacall  Jan.  20 

Objective  Burma — Flynn-Hull  Feb.  10 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 
Columbia — One  Reel 

6702  As  the  Fly  Flies — Phantasy  (6  m.)  Nov.  17 

6854  Screen  Snapshots  No.  4  (9Y2  m.)  Nov.  22 

6803  Aqua  Maids — Sports  (91/2  m.)  Nov.  24 

6751  Be  Patient,  Patient — Fox  ii  Crow  (7m.)  Nov.  30 

6654  Community  Sings  No.  4  Dec.  1 

6953  Rootin'  Tootin'  Band— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.)  .Dec.  8 
5657  Christmas  Carols — Com.  Sings  (reissue) 

(101/2  m.)  Dec.  8 

6804  Striking  Champions — Sports  Dec.  22 

6855  Screen  Snapshots  No.  5  (10  m.)  Dec.  28 

6655  Community  Sings  No.  5  (9  m.)  Jan.  1 

6501  Dog,  Cat  y  Canary—  Col.  Rhap.  (6  m.)  (re.).  Jan.  5 
6602  Kickapoo  Juice — Li'l  Abner  (re.)  Jan.  12 

6752  The  Egg  Yegg— Fox  6?  Crow  Jan.  19 

6856  Screen  Snapshots  No.  6  (9  m.)  Jan.  26 

6805  Kings  of  the  Fairway — Sports  Feb.  2 

6954  Korn  Kobblers— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.)  Feb.  2 

6502  Rippling  Romance — Col.  Rhap  Feb.  9 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  --  Second  Half  of  1944,  Pape  D 


6127 

6128 

6429 

6129 

6130 

6422 
6131 

6410 
6132 
6133 

6403 
6134 


Columbia — Two  Reels 

The  Vanishing  Dagger — Black  Arrow  No.  8 

(15  m.)   Dec.  8 

Escape  from  Death— Black  Arrow  No.  9 

Heather  and  Yon— Clyde  (17  m.)  Dec.  8 

(15  m.)   Dec.  15 

The  Gold  Cache— Black  Arrow  No.  10 

(15  m.)   Dec.  22 

Curse  of  the  Killer — Black  Arrow  No.  1 1 

(15  m.)   Dec.  29 

She  Snoops  to  Conquer— V.  Vague  Dec.  29 

Test  by  Torture — Black  Arrow  No.  12 

(15  m.)   Jan.  5 

Woo,  Woo! — Hugh  Herbert  (16  m.)  Jan.  5 

Sign  of  Evil— Black  Arrow  No.  13  (15m.).  .Jan.  12 
An  Indian's  Revenge — Black  Arrow  No.  14 

(15  m.)   Jan-  19 

Three  Pests  in  a  Mess — Stooges  (15  m.)  Jan.  19 

The  Black  Arrow  Triumphs— Black  Arrow  No.  15 

(15  m.)   Jan.  26 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 
1943-44 

K-574  A  Lady  Fights  Back— Pass.  Par.  (10  m.). .  .Nov.  11 

S-558  Safety  Sleuth— Pete  Smith  (9  m.)  Nov.  25 

T-522  Wandering  Here  and  There— Travel.  (9m) .  Dec.  9 

W-541  Mouse  Trouble — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Dec.  23 

W-542  Barney  Bear's  Polar  Pet— Cartoon  (7  m.) .  .Dec.  30 

W-543  Screwy  Truant — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Jan.  13 

(More  to  come) 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 
1943-44 

A-501  Dark  Shadows — Special  (22  m.)  Dec.  16 

(More  to  come) 


Paramount — One  Reel 


U4-2 

E4-1 

R4-3 

P4-2 

J4-2 

D4-2 

U4-3 

L4-2 

Y4-2 

R4-4 
E4-2 
P4-3 
J4-3 
D4-3 
L4-3 
Y4-3 
E4-3 
U4-4 
R4-5 


Two  Gun  Rusty — Puppetoon  (7J/2  m.)  Dec.  1 

She-Sick  Sailors— Popcye  (7  m.)  Dec.  8 

Long  Shots  and  Favorites — Sport.  (9  m.). .  .Dec.  8 
Gabriel  Churchkitten — Noveltoon  (7  m.)...Dec.  15 

Popular  Science  No.  2  (10  m.)  Dec.  22 

Birthday  Party— Little  Lulu  (9  m.)  Dec.  29 

Hot  Lip  Jasper — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

Unusual  Occupations  No.  2  (10  m.)  Jan.  12 

Who's  Who  in  Animal  Land — Speaking  of 

Animals  (9  m.)   Jan.  19 

Out  Fishin' — Sportlight   Jan.  26 

Pop-Pie-Ala-Mode — Popcye   Jan.  26 

When  G.  I.  Johnny  Comes  Home — Novel.. .  .Feb.  2 

Popular  Science  No.  3  Feb. 

Beau  Tics — Little  Lulu  Mar. 

Unusual  Occupations  No.  3  Mar. 

In  the  Public  Eye — Speak,  of  Animals  Mar. 

Tops  in  the  Big  Top — Popeye  Mar. 

Jasper  Tell — Puppetoon  (8  m.)  Mar 


16 
2 
9 
16 
16 
23 


Blue  Winners — Sportlight  Mar.  30 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF4-1  Bonnie  Lassie — Musical  Parade  (19  m.)...Oct.  6 

FF4-2  Star  Bright— Musical  Parade  (20  m.)  Dec.  15 

FF4-3  Bombalera — Musical  Parade  (20  m.)  Feb.  9 


Republic — Two  Reels 

481  Zorro's  Black  Whip — Lewis-Stirling 

(12  episodes)   Dec.  16 


RKO — One  Reel 

54302  School  for  Dogs— Disney  (8  m.)  Oct.  6 

54202  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  2  (7J/2  m.)  Oct.  27 

54303  Saddle  Starlets — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Nov.  3 

54304  Parallel  Skiing — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Dec.  1 

54105  Donald's  Off  Day— Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  8 

54106  Tiger  Trouble— Disney  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

54107  The  Clock  Watcher— Disney  Jan.  26 

RKO — Two  Reels 

53202  Swing  It — Headliners  (16  m.)  Oct.  20 

53401  Go  Feather  Your  Nest — Edgar  Kennedy 

(17  m.)  Oct.  23 

53702  He  Forgot  to  Remember — Leon  Enrol ( 17m)  .Oct.  27 

53101  West  Point — This  is  America  (17  m.)  Nov.  17 

53203  Swing  Vacation — Headliners  (19  m.)  Dec.  1 

53102  New  Americans — This  is  America  ( l9]/2m)  .Dec.  15 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

5254  Black,  Gold  &  Cactus — Adventure  (9  m.)  .  .  .Nov.  10 
5506  Mighty  Mouse  at  the  Circus — Terry.  (7  m.)  .  Nov.  17 
5  507  Gandy's  Dream  Girl — Terrytoon  (7  m.) .  .  .  .Dec.  8 
5352  Trolling  for  Strikes— Sports  (8m.)  Dec.  15 

5508  Dear  Old  Switzerland— Terrytoon  (7  m.).  .  .Dec.  22 
5257  Canyons  of  the  Sun — Adventure  Jan.  5 

5509  Mighty  Mouse  ii  the  Pirate — Terry.  (6  m.).  .Jan.  12 

5510  Port  of  Missing  Mice — Terrytoon  Feb.  2 

53  53  Novia  Scotia — Sports  Feb.  9 

5511  Ants  in  Your  Pantry — Terrytoon  Feb.  16 

5255  City  of  Paradox — Adventure  (8  m.)  (re.) ..  .Mar.  2 
5112  Raiding  the  Raiders — Terrytoon  Mar.  9 

5256  Alaskan  Grandeur — Adventure  (8  m.)  (re  ). Mar.  16 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  1 1  No.  3 — Uncle  Sam,  Manner — March  of 

Time  (16  m.)  Nov.  3 

Vol.  1 1  No.  4 — Inside  China  Today — March  of 

Time  ( 17i/2  m.)   Dec.  1 

Vol.  11  No.  5 — The  Unknown  Battle — March  of 

Time  (18j/2  m.)  Dec.  29 


Universal — One  Reel 

9352  Dogs  for  Show — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Nov. 

9233  Ski  for  Two — Cartune  (7  m.)  Nov. 

93  53  Mr.  Chimp  Goes  to  Coney  Island — Var.  Views 

(9  m.)  Dec. 

9372  One-Man  Newspaper — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)...Dec. 

9234  Pied  Piper  of  Basin  St.— Cartune  (7  m.)  Jan.  15 


9122 
9686 
9687 
9123 
9688 
9112 
9689 

9690 
9691 
9692 

9693 
9124 
8110 
9125 


Universal — Two  Reels 

Harmony  Highway — Musical  (15  m.)  Nov.  22 

The  Fatal  Plunge— River  Boat  No.  6  ( 17m.)  .  Nov.  28 
Toll  of  the  Storm— River  Boat  No.  7  (17m.). Dec.  5 

On  the  Mellow  Side — Musical  (15  m.)  Dec.  6 

Break  in  the  Levy — River  Boat  No.  8  (17m).  Dec.  12 

Lili  Marlene — Special  (21  m.)  Dec.  13 

Trapped  in  the  Quicksand — River  Boat  No.  9 

(17  m.)   Dec.  19 

Flaming  Havoc — River  Boat  No.  10  (17  m.)  .Dec.  20 
Electrocuted — River  Boat  No.  11  (17  m.)..  .Dec.  27 
A  Desperate  Chance — River  Boat  No.  12 

(17  m.)   Jan.  3 

Tile  Boomerang — River  Boat  No.  13  (17  m.)  .Jan.  10 

Jive  Busters — Musical  (15  m.)  Jan.  17 

Diver  vs.  Devilfish — Special  Jan.  17 

Melody  Parade — Musical  (15  m.)  Feb.  14 


1603 

1403 
1304 
1604 
1305 
1605 
1501 
1502 
1721 
1503 
1701 
1306 
1606 
1701 
1504 
1722 
1307 
1702 


Vitaphone — One  Reel 

Harry  Owen's  Royal  Hawaiians — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  in.)   Nov.  4 

Outdoor  Living — Varieties  (10  m.)  Nov.  4 

I  Love  to  Singa — Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Nov.  18 

Sonny  Dunham  &  Orch. — Mel.  Mas.  ( 10m) .  Nov.  25 
Plenty  of  Money  &  You — Hit  Par.  (7m.)..  .Dec.  9 

Jammin'  the  Blues — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Dec.  16 

California  Here  We  Are — Sports  (re.)  (lOm).Dec.  16 
Birds  ii  Beasts  Were  There — Sports  (10  m.)  .Dec.  30 

Herr  Meets  Hare — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Jan.  13 

Glamour  in  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  Jan.  13 

Draftee  Daffy — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Jan.  20 

Fella  with  a  Fiddle— Hit.  Par.  (7m.)  Jan.  20 

Rhythm  of  the  Rhumba — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  .Jan.  27 

Draftee  Daffy — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Jan.  27 

Bikes  and  Skis — Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  10 

Unruly  Hare — Bugs  Bunny  (re.)  (7  m.)  .  .  .  .Feb.  10 

When  I  Yoo  Hoo — Hit  Parade  (7m.)  Feb.  24 

Trap  Happy  Porky — Looney  Tune  (7  m.) .  .  .Feb.  24 


Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

1104  I  Won't  Play — Featurette  (20  m.)  Nov.  11 

1105  Nautical  but  Nice — Featurette  (20  m.)  Dec.  2 

1101  I  Am  An  American — Featurette  (20  m.)  Dec.  23 

1002  Beachhead  to  Berlin — Special  (20  m.)  Jan.  6 

1106  Congo — Featurette  (20  m.)  Feb.  3 

1003  Pledge  to  Bataan — Special  (20  m.)  Feb.  17 


NEWSWEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 
Pathe  News 


551  39  Sat.  (O)  . 
55240  Wed.  (E) 
55141  Sat.  (O)  . 
55242  Wed.  (E) 
55143  Sat.  (O)  . 
55244  Wed.  (E) 
55145  Sat.  (O)  . 
55246  Wed.  (E) 
55147  Sat.  (O)  . 
55248  Wed.  (E) 
55149  Sat.  (O)  . 
55250  Wed.  (E) 
55151  Sat.  (O)  . 


Metrotone 

234  Thurs.  (E) 

235  Tues.  (O)  . 

236  Thurs.  (E) 

237  Tues.  (O)  . 

238  Thurs.  (E) 

239  Tues.  (O)  . 

240  Thurs.  (E) 

241  Tues.  (O)  . 

242  Thurs.  (E) 

243  Tues.  (O)  . 

244  Thurs.  (E) 

245  Tues.  (O)  . 

246  Thurs.  (E) 

247  Tues.  (O)  . 


.Jan.  6 
.Jan.  10 
.Jan.  13 
.Jan.  17 
.Jan.  20 
.Jan.  24 
.Jan.  27 
.Jan.  31 
.Feb.  3 
.Feb.  7 
.Feb.  10 
.Feb.  14 
.Feb.  17 

News 

..Jan.  4 
..Jan.  9 
.  .Jan.  11 
.  .  Jan.  16 
,  .  .Jan.  18 
,  .  .Jan.  23 
,  .  .Jan.  25 
. .  .Jan.  30 
..Feb.  1 
..Feb.  6 
..Feb.  8 
.  .  Feb.  1 3 
. .Feb.  15 
.  .Feb.  20 


Fox 

36  Thurs 

37  Tues. 

38  Thurs 

39  Tues 

40  Thurs 

4 1  Tues. 

42  Thurs 

43  Tues 

44  Thurs 

45  Tues. 

46  Thurs 

47  Tues. 

48  Thurs 

49  Tues 


Movietone 

(E)  ...  .Jan.  4 

(O)  Jan.  9 

.(E)  Jan.  11 

(O)  Jan.  16 

.(E)  Jan.  18 

(O)  Jan.  23 

.  (E)  Jan.  25 

(O)  Jan.  30 

.  (E)  ....Feb.  1 

(O)  Feb.  6 

.  (E)  ....Feb.  8 

(O)  Feb.  13 

(E)  ... .Feb.  15 
(O)  Feb.  20 


Paramount 

37  Sunday  (O)  . 

38  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

39  Sunday  (O)  . 

40  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

41  Sunday  (O)  . 

42  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

43  Sunday  (O)  . 

44  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

45  Sunday  (O)  . 

46  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

47  Sunday  (O)  . 

48  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

49  Sunday  (O)  . 


News 

..Jan.  7 
.  .Jan.  11 
.  .Jan.  14 
.  .Jan.  18 
.  .Jan.  21 
.  .Jan.  25 
.  .Jan.  28 
.  .  Feb.  1 
..Feb.  4 
..Feb.  8 
.  .Feb.  11 
.  .Feb.  15 
.  .Feb.  18 


Universal 

360  Thurs.  (E)  . .  .Jan 

361  Tues.  (O) 

362  Thurs.  (E) 

363  Tues.  (O) 

364  Thurs.  (E) 

365  Tues.  (O) 

366  Thurs.  (E) 

367  Tues.  (O) 

368  Thurs.  (E) 

369  Tues.  (O) 

370  Thurs.  (E) 

371  Tues.  (O) 

372  Thurs.  (E) 

373  Tues.  (O) 


4 

Jan.  9 
Jan.  1 1 
Jan.  16 
Jan.  18 
Jan.  23 
Jan.  25 
Jan.  30 
Feb.  1 
Feb.  6 
Feb.  8 
Feb.  13 
Feb.  15 
Feb.  20 


All  American  News 

115  Friday  Jan.  5 

116  Friday  Jan.  12 

117  Friday  Jan.  19 

118  Friday  Jan.  26 

119  Friday  Feb.  2 

120  Friday  Feb.  9 

121  Friday  Feb.  16 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  JANUARY  13,  1945  No.  2 


MUST  THE  AMERICAN  EXHIBITOR 
SUBSIDIZE  FOREIGN  PRODUCTION? 

The  idea  of  commerce  among  the  nations  of  the 
world  without  the  restrictions  of  burdensome  duties, 
as  advocated  by  Cordell  Hull,  former  Secretary  of 
State,  is  a  fine  one.  Mr.  Hull  went  under  the  theory 
that  people  who  do  business  do  not  fight,  unless  it  be, 
of  course,  that  some  nations,  like  individuals,  want 
to  live  on  the  toil  of  others,  unwilling  to  contribute 
anything  themselves  to  the  general  welfare. 

But  it  seems  as  if  some  of  the  very  nations  we  have 
been  helping  do  their  share  in  saving  themselves  and 
in  contributing  to  the  efforts  of  other  Allied  nations 
to  save  the  world  from  slavery  are  paying  us  back 
by  placing  restrictions  upon  our  commerce.  They  are 
placing  upon  the  American  motion  pictures  restrk' 
tions  that  are  contrary  to  the  theory  of  Mr.  Hull  and 
of  the  general  American  policy.  They  are  so  envious 
of  the  progress  that  the  American  motion  pictures 
have  made  through  the  ingenuity  of  the  American 
producers  that  they  are  trying  to  shackle  it  by  means 
of  restrictions  by  quotas  and  other  methods,  such  as 
compelling  the  American  producers  to  dub  films  in 
the  country  to  which  they  are  exported. 

I  am  referring  particularly  to  France  and  Spain, 
not  to  mention  Argentina  and  even  Great  Britain. 
France  wants  to  make  the  American  exhibitors  sup- 
port the  French  film  industry  by  means  of  reciprocity; 
that  is,  the  French  Government  is  willing  to  permit 
the  importation  into  France  of  a  given  number  of 
American  films  provided  the  American  producers 
import  a  given  number  of  French  films  to  be  played 
in  American  theatres.  Spain  has  imposed  upon  the 
American  distributors  the  obligation  of  dubbing  the 
Spanish  language  in  Spain,  where  the  facilities  are 
limited,  instead  of  in  the  United  States,  where  the 
work  can  be  done  most  efficiently.  Great  Britain  has 
increased  the  quota;  that  is,  Britain  allows  American 
films  to  enter  Great  Britain  only  if  the  American 
distributors  import  into  the  United  States  a  given 
number  of  British  pictures.  And  this  quota  will  in- 
crease as  time  goes  on.  Even  little  Switzerland  has 
imposed  a  quota  upon  the  American  distributors,  if 
the  dispatches  in  the  newspapers  are  correct. 

According  to  a  dispatch  in  the  New  York  Herald 
Tribune  of  December  2 1 ,  Major  Henry  Adams  Proc- 
tor, in  a  House  of  Commons  debate  regarding  Amer- 
ican films,  stated  the  following : 

"We  have  been  for  many  years  in  this  country 
getting  a  very  raw  deal  from  American  producers, 
and  the  whole  of  the  American  film  industry  has  dealt 
very  harshly  with  products  made  in  this  country. 
This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  financiers  in  the  industry, 


and  especially  American  controllers,  see  to  it  that  the 
English  film  will  not  be  a  competition  with  American 
production.  We  are  equal  to  the  Americans  in  direc- 
tion, script,  writers  and  actors,  and  we  have  the 
peculiar  quality  of  voice  that  makes  English  sound 
like  a  flute  against  the  American  tin  whistle." 

It  is  difficult  to  make  the  English  understand  that, 
so  far  as  the  American  exhibitors  are  concerned,  there 
is  no  prejudice  against  the  motion  pictures  of  any 
nation,  and  least  of  all  against  British  films,  which 
use  the  same  language,  so  long  as  these  pictures  draw 
at  the  box-office.  The  trouble  with  the  British  pro- 
ducers, however,  is  that  they  have  been  whining  all 
these  years  but  have  done  nothing  about  the  very 
thing  that  would  make  the  English  pictures  popular 
among  American  audiences.  Have  they  ever  spent  a 
dollar  in  this  country  to  advertise  the  British  stars? 
Have  they  tried  to  obtain  publicity  in  the  American 
newspapers  and  other  informative  media  to  apprise 
the  American  public  that  a  given  English  novel, 
which  may  have  had  a  great  circulation  in  the  United 
States,  was  in  the  process  of  production  in  England 
so  as  to  arouse  a  desire  among  the  American  public 
to  see  it  when  it  was  released  in  the  United  States? 
No!  They  did  nothing  so  elementary  to  help  their 
pictures  or  their  stars  attract  the  American  picture- 
going  public  to  the  box-offices  of  theatres. 

Why  should  the  American  exhibitor  book  English 
pictures  when  he  knows  in  advance  that  they  will  not 
attract  the  public?  Why  should  he  pay  his  money  to 
buy  an  English  picture  he  cannot  sell  to  the  American 
public?  The  Honorable  Major  Henry  Adams  Proctor 
must  put  forward  a  better  reason  than  the  one  he 
has  thus  far  advanced  if  he  wishes  to  support  his 
contention  that  the  American  film  industry  has  dealt 
harshly  with  the  pictures  made  in  his  country.  As 
for  his  boast  that  the  English  voice  "makes  English 
sound  like  a  flute  against  the  American  tin  whistle," 
Harrison's  Reports  forgives  him,  for  the  Honorable 
member  of  the  British  Parliament  has  never  heard 
the  English  of  the  British  films  in  America  with 
American  ears.  If  he  had,  in  most  instances  he  would 
not  understand  it. 

And  now  about  the  French.  According  to  the  Lon- 
don Bureau  of  the  Motion  Picture  Herald,  the  French 
Embassy  in  London  stated  to  the  London  representa- 
tive of  that  paper  that  the  French  Government  is 
determined  to  maintain  the  French  film  industry  by 
demanding  of  other  nations  that  they  show  French 
pictures  just  as  French  theatres  are  showing  the  pic- 
tures of  other  nations.  In  other  words,  the  French 
Government  expects  the  American  exhibitors  to  book 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


"The  Big  Bonanza"  with  Richard  Arien, 
Jane  Frazee  and  Robert  Livingston 


6  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  January  13,  1945 


"The  Great  Bonanza"  with  Richard  Arlen, 
Jane  Frazee  and  Robert  Livingston 

(Republic,  Dec.  30;  time,  69  min.) 

Routine  program  fare.  It  is  a  western-like  melo- 
drama,  which,  despite  its  slow  start,  builds  up  enough 
excitement  in  the  final  reels  to  satisfy  the  ardent  fol- 
lowers  of  this  type  of  entertainment.  The  chief  fault 
with  the  picture  is  the  loosely  written  screenplay,  but 
the  action  fans  will  probably  overlook  that  fact,  for 
the  action  has  many  of  the  ingredients  they  enjoy — 
fist  fights,  fast  riding,  and  a  shooting  duel  between  the 
outlaws  and  the  law-abidng  citizens.  In  addition,  it  has 
comedy,  some  music,  and  a  romance.  The  action  takes 
place  during  the  Civil  War  era: — 

Unfairly  court-martialed  for  cowardice  in  battle, 
Richard  Arlen,  Cavalry  Captain  in  the  Union  Army, 
escapes  from  custody.  Accompanied  by  George  "Gab- 
by" Hayes,  his  grizzled  friend,  Arlen  goes  to  Nevada 
Springs,  where  Bobby  Driscoll,  his  eight-year-old 
brother,  lived  with  Robert  Livingston,  his  boyhood 
friend,  owner  of  a  dance  palace.  Arlen,  to  take  the 
child  out  of  an  improper  environment,  arranges  for 
Bobby  to  live  at  the  home  of  Lynne  Roberts,  his  Sun- 
day School  teacher,  much  to  the  disappointment  of 
Jane  Frazee,  singing  star  of  the  dance  hall,  who  was 
sincerely  fond  of  the  boy.  Through  Russell  Simpson, 
Lynne's  father,  Arlen  learns  that  Livingston,  greedy 
for  wealth,  was  exploiting  the  local  miners,  and  that 
he  (Simpson)  could  not  operate  his  Big  Bonanza 
mine  because  of  Livingston's  threats  to  the  miners. 
Arlen,  disillusioned  by  his  friend's  change  of  charac- 
ter, joins  forces  with  the  miners  to  combat  him.  Living- 
ston, to  rid  himself  of  Arlen's  opposition,  reveals  that 
he  was  a  fugitive  from  justice  and  has  him  jailed. 
Bobby,  grief-stricken  because  Arlen  had  been  branded 
a  coward,  runs  away  from  home.  Hayes  helps  Arlen 
to  escape  from  jail  to  join  in  the  search  for  Bobby. 
During  the  hunt,  one  of  Livingston's  henchmen  kills 
Simpson.  Bobby,  the  only  witness  to  the  slayer's  iden- 
tity, is  found  and  brought  home.  Overhearing  Living- 
ston's plan  to  do  away  with  Bobby  to  prevent  him 
from  testifying  against  his  henchman,  Jane  warns 
Arlen.  The  miners,  led  by  Arlen,  meet  Livingston's 
gang  in  a  showdown  fight  and  wipe  them  out.  Arlen 
and  Livingston  get  into  a  fight  to  the  finish  in  which 
Livingston  is  killed  by  a  falling  beam.  With  law  and 
order  restored,  Arlen  returns  to  the  Army,  which 
clears  him  of  the  cowardice  charge  and  gives  him  a 
furlough  long  enough  to  marry  Lynne. 

Dorrell  and  Stuart  McGowan  and  Paul  Gangelin 
wrote  the  screen  play,  Eddy  White  produced  it,  and 
George  Archainbaud  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Let's  Go  Steady"  with  Pat  Parrish, 
Jackie  Moran  and  June  Preisser 

(Columbia,  Jan.  4;  time,  60  min.) 
A  mediocre  program  comedy  with  music,  produced 
on  a  very  modest  budget.  It  will  probably  find  its  best 
reception  among  the  "jitterbug"  set  because  of  the 
"jive"  music  and  the  "hepcat"  dialogue,  as  well  as  of 
the  fact  that  the  action  revolves  around  'teen-aged 
youngsters.  The  story,  which  revolves  around  the 
youngsters'  aspirations  to  become  popular  songwrit- 
ers, is  a  thin  affair,  serving  merely  as  an  excuse  to 
introduce  the  musical  numbers.  The  comedy  is  pretty 
weak.  Those  who  are  not  particularly  keen  about  the 


antics  of  "jitterbugs"  wil  probably  find  the  proceed- 
ings pretty  dull.  Skinnay  Ennis  and  his  orchestra  fur- 
nish the  music: — 

Jackie  Moran  and  Arnold  Stang,  aspiring  song- 
writers, come  to  New  York  to  visit  the  Saxon  Publish- 
ing Company,  a  music  firm  to  which  they  had  paid 
fifty  dollars  to  publish  their  song.  Arriving  at  the 
music  firms's  office,  they  find  it  in  an  uproar;  the 
owner  had  died,  and  his  niece,  Pat  Parrish,  who  had 
inherited  the  business,  was  trying  to  explain  to  a  group 
of  irate  youngsters  that  her  dead  uncle  had  spent  their 
money  but  had  done  nothing  about  their  songs.  Sorry 
for  Pat,  Moran  suggests  to  the  others  that  they  take 
over  the  firm  on  a  cooperaive  basis  and  publish  and 
plug  their  songs  themselves.  All  agree.  They  try  to  in- 
duce Skinnay  Ennis,  a  well-known  orchestra  leader, 
to  play  their  songs,  but  Ennis  refuses  to  deal  with  them 
when  he  learns  the  name  of  their  firm.  Not  to  be 
thwarted,  the  youngsters  hit  upon  the  idea  of  having 
their  songs  played  by  army  camp  bands  throughout 
the  country,  hoping  that  the  tunes  will  become  popu- 
lar with  the  soldiers.  The  scheme  proves  successful 
and  the  youngsters'  songs  soar  to  popularity.  A  na- 
tion-wide contest  for  the  most  popular  song  by  a  new 
composer  is  instituted,  with  Skinnay  Ennis  scheduled 
to  play  the  winning  song  on  his  radio  program.  Mor- 
an's  song  wins  the  prize,  and  he  and  Pat  decide  to 
get  married. 

Erna  Lazurus  wrote  the  scren  play,  Ted  Richmond 
produced  it,  and  Del  Lord  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Mel  Torme  and  the  Meltones,  Jimmy  Lloyd 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Grissley's  Millions"  with  Paul  Kelly 
and  Virginia  Grey 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  72  min.) 
A  fairly  good  program  murder-mustery  melodrama. 
It  should  go  over  pretty  well  with  the  arm-chair  detec- 
tives, for  it  keeps  one  guessing  as  to  the  murderer's 
identity,  which  is  not  disclosed  until  towards  the  end. 
Even  though  the  story  is  far-fetched,  and  it  has  a 
number  of  implausible  situations,  it  holds  one  in- 
trigued and  keeps  one  in  suspense.  It  is  a  serious  type 
of  story,  with  none  of  the  usual  stupid  detective 
comedy,  which  generally  detracts  from  most  mystery 
pictures.  The  direction  and  the  performances  are 
good : — 

Learning  that  his  relations  eagerly  awaited  his 
death  so  that  that  they  could  share  his  fortune,  Robert 
H.  Barrat  instructs  Don  Douglas,  his  attorney,  to  re- 
vise his  will,  leaving  the  money  to  Virginia  Grey,  his 
loyal  granddaughter.  Virginia,  who  had  left  her  hus- 
band, Paul  Fix,  a  criminal,  tended  to  the  old  man's 
needs.  She  had  informed  her  relatives  that  Fix  was 
dead.  Fix,  having  learned  that  Barrat  was  on  his  death 
bed,  returns  to  blackmail  Virginia.  He  is  shot  dead  by 
Barrat,  who  then  dies  himself.  Douglas,  looking  for 
an  opportunity  to  share  Virginia's  inheritance,  tells 
her  that  she  will  be  suspected  of  killing  both  men,  and 
suggests  that  they  conceal  Fix's  body  in  Barrat's  coffin 
and  bury  the  bodies  in  a  hasty  funeral.  Meanwhile 
Paul  Kelly,  a  private  detective  trailing  Fix,  had  seen 
him  enter  Barrat's  home  but  had  not  seen  him  leave. 
He  questions  Virginia  in  the  belief  that  she  was  shield- 
ing Fix.  When  Douglas  asks  her  to  marry  him  under 
threat  of  exposure,  Virginia  confesses  the  truth  to 


January  13,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


7 


Kelly,  who  by  this  time  had  fallen  in  love  with  her. 
Meanwhile  the  police  receive  an  anonymous  letter 
stating  that  Virginia  had  poisoned  her  grandfather. 
Jealous  relatives,  seeking  to  invalidate  the  will,  en- 
courage an  investigation.  While  Barrat's  coffin  is  un- 
earthed  and  Fix's  body  discovered,  a  mysterious  as- 
sailant  tries  to  murder  Virginia,  but  Kelly  saves  her 
life.  Arsenic  is  found  in  Barrat's  body,  and  suspicion 
against  Virginia  is  doubled.  Kelly,  believing  her  inno- 
cent,  deduces  that  the  person  who  had  tried  to  murder 
her  had  also  poisoned  Barrat.  Through  a  clever 
scheme,  in  which  Virginia  cooperates,  Kelly  succeeds 
in  trapping  Elisabeth  Risdon,  Virginia's  aunt,  the  only 
relative  who  had  been  kind  to  her.  Miss  Risdon,  in  an 
effort  to  get  her  part  of  the  inheritance  so  that  she 
could  send  her  pretty  daughter  to  Hollywood,  had 
poisoned  Barrat.  She  then  tried  to  murder  Virginia 
so  that  part  of  the  money  would  revert  to  her. 

Muriel  Guy  Bolton  wrote  the  screen  play,  Walter 
H.  Goetz  produced  it,  and  John  English  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"She  Gets  Her  Man"  with  Joan  Davis 
and  William  Gargan 

(Universal,  no  release  date  set;  time,  74  min.) 

A  fairly  amusing  program  comedy,  suitable  for 
houses  that  cater  to  non-discriminating  audiences. 
Built  around  a  series  of  mysterious  murders  that  take 
.place  in  a  small  town,  the  story  is  a  hodge-podge  of 
nonsensical  action,  a  good  part  of  it  slapstick,  in  which 
Joan  Davis,  as  a  would-be  detective,  fumbles  her  way 
into  the  solving  of  the  crimes.  Some  of  the  situations 
are  genuinely  funny,  but  most  of  the  comedy  is  so 
forced  that  it  fails  to  arouse  much  laughter.  Joan  Davis 
is  the  mainstay  of  the  picture,  and  her  antics  will  un- 
doubtedly amuse  her  fans.  Her  current  popularity  on 
the  radio  should  be  helpful : — 

When  two  leading  citizens  are  murdered  mysteri- 
ously in  the  town  of  Clayton,  Donald  McBride,  the 
local  newspaper  editor,  sends  William  Gargan,  a  re' 
porter,  to  find  Joan  Davis,  whose  deceased  mother 
had  been  one  of  the  town's  famous  police  chiefs.  On 
her  arrival,  Joan  is  appointed  special  investigator  to 
solve  the  murders,  and  Leon  Errol,  a  policeman,  is 
assigned  as  her  assistant.  The  killer  tries  to  frighten 
Joan  out  of  town,  but  Errol  shames  her  into  remain- 
ing. That  night,  at  a  cafe,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
president  falls  dead,  a  needle  in  his  heart.  Joan  finds 
cause  to  suspect  Russell  Hicks,  the  Mayor,  but  he,  too, 
is  murdered  in  the  same  manner.  Joan's  failure  as  a 
sleuth  disappoints  McBride,  and  he  makes  arrange- 
ments to  hire  another  detective.  Meanwhile  Errol  loses 
his  job  because  of  Joan's  bungling.  Crushed  by  this 
turn  of  events,  Joan  is  further  depressed  when  she 
learns  that  Gargan,  with  whom  she  was  smitten,  was 
engaged  to  Vivian  Austin,  an  actress.  As  Errol  bids 
Joan  goodbye  at  the  railroad  station,  the  killer  strikes 
for  a  fifth  time,  killing  a  disreputable  stage  play  pro- 
ducer. Joan,  seeing  Vivian  snatch  a  piece  of  paper 
out  of  the  dead  man's  pocket,  follows  her  to  the  vic- 
tim's theatre.  While  she  and  Errol  search  the  theatre 
for  clues,  they  are  attacked  by  a  gang  of  roughnecks. 
Joan  escapes  and,  by  a  series  of  antics,  infuriates  a 
number  of  citizens  who  pursue  her  back  into  the  the- 
atre, where  they  get  into  a  free-for-all  fight  with  the 
gangsters.  During  the  battle,  Joan  recovers  the  paper 
filched  by  Vivian  and,  through  it,  tracks  down  the 
town  coroner  as  the  murderer;  he  and  the  dead  pro- 


ducer had  worked  together  on  shady  deals.  Errol  is 
restored  to  the  force  with  honors,  and  as  Joan  prepares 
to  leave,  she  receives  a  telegram  from  her  home  town 
begging  her  to  remain  in  Clayton. 

Warren  Wilson  and  Clyde  Bruckman  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Mr.  Wilson  produced  it,  and  Erie  C. 
Kenton  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Mr.  Emmanuel"  with  Felix  Aylmer 
and  Greta  Gynt 

(United  Artists,  Jan.  19;  time,  92  min.) 
Based  on  Louis  Golding's  successful  novel,  "Mag- 
nolia Street,"  this  British-made  melodrama  is  one  of 
the  better  pictures  to  have  come  out  of  England.  The 
strength  of  the  picture  lies,  not  so  much  in  the  story, 
which  to  many  may  seem  outdated  (the  action  occurs 
in  1935)  and  somewhat  implausible,  as  in  the  excellent 
performance  by  Felix  Aylmer,  as  "Mr.  Emmanuel," 
who  gives  a  convincing  and  sensitive  portrayal  of  an 
elderly,  humble  Jew,  who  stout-heartedly  defies  the 
bestiality  of  the  Nazis  in  his  determination  to  find  the 
missing  mother  of  a  German  refugee  boy.  The  story 
unfolds  at  a  slow  pace,  but  it  has  deep  human  inter- 
est, and  its  dramatic  impact  is  very  forceful.  Some  of 
the  situations  stir  one  deeply.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
the  players  are  unknown  to  American  audiences,  the 
picture  will  undoubtedly  require  extensive  exploita- 
tion to  put  it  over.  The  popularity  of  the  book,  how- 
ever, may  prove  helpful : — 

Aylmer,  a  retired  Jewish  widower  in  England,  help- 
ing to  look  after  a  group  of  German  refugee  boys,  is 
touched  by  the  grieving  of  Peter  Mullins,  the  young- 
est boy,  who  attempts  to  commit  suicide  when  he  fails 
to  receive  letters  from  his  mother  in  Germany.  The 
boy's  father,  a  non- Aryan,  had  been  murdered,  and 
he  feared  for  his  mother's  safety.  To  keep  the  boy  from 
destroying  himself,  Aylmer  promises  to  go  to  Ger- 
many to  learn  what  happened  to  his  mother.  Despite 
his  friends'  pleas  to  remain  in  England,  Aylmer  de- 
parts for  Berlin,  secure  in  the  thought  that  his  British 
passport  would  protect  him.  In  Berlin,  his  quest  for  in- 
formation about  Peter's  mother  proves  fruitless;  those 
who  could  give  him  information  dared  not.  The  Ges- 
tapo, considerably  annoyed  by  Aylmer's  persistent 
search,  arrest  and  falsely  charge  him  with  the  assasi- 
nation  of  a  Nazi  official.  Because  he  was  held  on  a 
criminal,  not  political,  charge,  his  British  passport 
could  not  help  him.  Tortured  daily  by  the  Gestapo, 
which  sought  to  force  a  "confession"  from  him,  Ayl- 
mer steadfastly  refuses  to  admit  to  the  assassination. 
Meanwhile  Greta  Gynt,  daughter  of  an  old  Jewish 
friend  and  a  popular  night-club  star  in  Berlin,  becomes 
concerned  about  the  old  man's  plight;  she  uses  her  in- 
fluence with  Reichminister  Walter  Rilla,  her  lover, 
to  gain  Aylmer's  release.  Given  a  few  hours  to  clear 
out  of  the  country,  Aylmer  informs  Greta  that  he 
would  rather  die  than  not  fulfill  his  promise  to  Peter. 
Through  her,  Aylmer  learns  that  Peter's  mother  had 
married  a  Nazi  official  and,  lest  she  be  persecuted,  she 
refused  to  acknowledge  her  half-Jewish  son.  Aylmer 
returns  to  England  and  informs  Peter  that  his  mother 
had  "died"  nobly. 

Louis  Golding  and  Gordon  Wellesley  wrote  the 
screen  play,  William  Sistrom  produced  it,  and  Harold 
French  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


8 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  13, 1945 


French  films  in  American  theatres  regardless  of 
whether  or  not  the  American  public  understands  the 
French  language.  Or,  perhaps,  the  representative  of 
the  French  Government  had  in  mind  dubbing  the 
French  pictures  in  English.  In  other  words,  the  French 
Government  feels  that  the  American  public  should 
regress  in  progress  and  go  back  to  the  horse-and-buggy 
days.  For  that  is  what  would  happen  if  the  American 
exhibitors  should  exhibit,  in  regular  theatres,  foreign 
pictures  dubbed  in  English. 

Even  little  Switzerland,  with  a  population  of  four 
million,  which  cannot  support  film  production  at 
home,  wants  us  to  import  as  many  Swiss  films  as 
the  number  of  American  films  we  are  exporting  to 
Switzerland. 

In  the  case  of  Argentina,  there  was  a  time  when 
we  were  depriving  the  American  producers  of  raw 
stock  in  order  for  us  to  help  the  Argentinean  pro- 
ducers, but  now  that  has  stopped. 

There  is  only  one  way  by  which  this  matter  can 
be  settled  without  any  fight;  after  the  war,  Great 
Britain,  France,  Spain  and  other  nations  throughout 
the  world  will  need  our  help  to  rebuild  their  coun- 
tries from  the  ravages  of  this  war.  The  American 
Government,  then,  should  point  out  to  all  the  nations 
that  are  placing  restrictions  on  the  American  films 
that  we  shall  lend  our  greater  aid  to  such  nations  as 
do  not  place  restrictions  on  American  commerce. 

LET  US  SPARE  THE  PUBLIC'S 
FEELINGS 

Because  this  a  tough,  dirty  war,  it  is  understandable 
and  desirable  that  war  melodramas  should  be  grim  so 
that  they  can  reflect  to  the  civilians  at  home  the  fact 
that  we  are  in  a  do-or-dic  fight  that  calls  for  the  great- 
est of  sacrifices  for  each  one  of  us.  In  other  words, 
there  is  no  room  for  "sissy"  stuff  in  war  pictures. 

Battle  scenes  that  depict  the  injuring  and  killing 
of  fighting  men  add  a  realistic  touch  to  war  pictures 
and  give  them  the  desired  dramatic  and  inspirational 
effect.  It  is  the  type  of  action  audiences  expect  to  see 
in  such  pictures,  and  consequently,  they  find  these 
scenes  acceptable,  though  brutal. 

There  is,  however,  another  sort  of  realism  that  war 
pictures  can  do  without.  I  refer  to  scenes  that  go  into 
minute  detail  in  their  depiction  of  fighting  men  suf- 
fering in  mind  and  in  body.  These  scenes,  though 
highly  dramatic,  cannot  be  classed  as  entertainment, 
for  they  serve  only  to  add  to  the  mental  stress  that 
most  movie-goers  are  undergoing  in  these  trouble- 
some days.  The  state  of  mind  of  today's  motion  pic- 
ture audience,  which,  for  the  greatest  part,  is  made 
up  of  parents,  wives,  sweethearts,  and  relatives  of 
the  men  in  the  armed  forces,  is  not  such  as  to  per- 
mit them  to  gaze  stoically  at  scenes  depicting  the  suf- 
fering of  a  fighting  man. 

To  most  picture-goers  today,  the  fighting  hero  they 
see  on  the  screen  is  representative  of  their  own  loved 
ones.  Consequently,  when  they  see  that  hero  under- 
going excruciating  mental  or  physical  pain,  his  suffer- 
ings serve  only  to  torture  further  their  over-troubled 
minds,  for  they  cannot  help  but  think  that  their  loved 
ones,  too,  may  suffer  a  similar  fate. 

That  the  public  is  in  no  mood  to  accept  scenes 
depicting  a  fighting  man's  sufferings  has  apparently 
been  recognized  by  MGM,  and  it  is  to  its  credit 
that  it  has  done  something  about  the  condition.  In 
"Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo,"  a  fine  war  melodrama 


based  on  the  factual  account  of  Captain  Ted  Lawson's 
experiences  as  a  participant  in  the  Doolittle  raid  on 
Tokyo,  over-emphasis  was  placed  on  the  scenes  deal- 
ing with  the  amputation  of  one  of  Lawson's  legs. 
So  realistic  were  the  scenes  depicting  his  mental  and 
physical  suffering,  and  the  operation  in  which  his  leg 
was  amputated,  that,  I  am  sure,  many  persons  left 
the  theatre  with  grief-laden  hearts,  saddened  by  the 
thought  that  a  similar  experience  might  befall  their 
loved  ones  on  the  fighting  fronts. 

In  these  times  in  particular,  the  loss  of  limbs,  opera- 
tion scenes,  and  other  incidents  that  depict  in  detail 
the  suffering  of  a  fighting  man  should  be  kept  out  of 
war  pictures  because  of  the  adverse  effect  they  have 
on  the  public's  morale.  In  the  case  of  "Thirty  Seconds 
Over  Tokyo,"  however,  the  producers  had  no  choice 
in  the  matter  since  such  scenes  were  a  part  of  the 
factual  account.  Where  the  producers  did  err,  how- 
ever, was  in  the  over-emphasis  given  to  these  scenes. 
MGM,  having  realized  this  error,  and  being  con- 
siderate of  the  public's  feelings,  has  wisely  eliminated 
certain  scenes  so  that  the  part  of  the  picture  dealing 
with  the  loss  of  Captain  Lawson's  leg  has  been  toned 
down  considerably. 

The  mounting  casualties  suffered  by  the  Allies  in 
past  month  has  caused  considerable  concern  to  those 
with  loved  ones  in  the  services,  and  the  undue  depic- 
tion of  a  serviceman's  suffering  causes  them  no  end 
of  distress.  This  state  of  public  mind  places  a  greater 
responsibility  than  ever  on  those  who  select  story 
material  for  war  pictures;  their  judgment  will  deter- 
mine whether  or  not  the  picture-goer  is  to  obtain 
relaxation,  which,  after  all,  is  what  he  seeks  when 
he  attends  the  movies. 

Sending  people  out  of  a  theatre  in  an  unhappy 
frame  of  mind  helps  neither  their  morale  nor  the 
theatre  attendance. 


CONCLUSIVE  VICTORY! 

Like  a  drowning  man  seeking  to  save  himself  as 
he  goes  down  for  the  third  time,  the  Crescent  Amuse- 
ment Company,  in  a  final  effort  to  upset  the  Govern- 
ment's sweeping  victory  in  its  anti-trust  suit  against 
it,  filed  a  petition  with  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  on 
Friday,  January  5,  asking  for  a  rehearing  of  its 
appeal,  which  the  Court  decided  last  month  in  favor 
of  the  Government. 

On  Monday,  January  8,  the  Court,  without  any 
formal  opinion,  rejected  the  petition  for  a  rehearing, 
thus  bringing  the  case  to  a  definite  close. 

The  Government's  victory  is  now  conclusive.  It 
marks  a  milestone  in  the  independent  exhibitor's  fight 
for  the  preservation  of  his  right  of  free  competition. 


THE  MARCH  OF  DIMES 

Once  again  the  industry  looks  to  the  nation's  ex- 
hibitors to  raise  funds  that  will  help  those  who  have 
been  stricken  with  infantile  paralysis. 

A  goal  of  $5,000,000  has  been  set. 

As  we  go  to  press,  the  motion  picture  committee  in 
charge  of  the  drive  reports  that  10,000  theatres  have 
already  sent  in  their  pledges  for  the  collection  cam- 
paign, which  takes  place  during  the  week  of  January 
25-31. 

Harrison's  Reports  urges  those  who  have  not  yet 
sent  in  their  pledge  to  do  so  at  once;  no  cause  is  more 
worthy  of  support. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  Rnnm  1R12  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  i\oora  ioi6  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

St  Britain'  ^ ^  75  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New"  Zealand '  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Ug  Editoria,  Policy.  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

Sbc  a  copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  JANUARY  20,  1945  No.  3 


The  Exhibitor,  Too,  Has  An  Equity  In  Raw  Film  Stock 


The  War  Production  Board's  notification  to  the  industry 
that  it  will  receive  approximately  thirty  million  feet  less  raw 
film  stock  during  the  first  quarter  of  1945  than  it  received  in 
the  last  quarter  of  1944  is  causing  considerable  concern  to 
all  branches  of  the  industry,  for  the  new  cut  will  undoubtedly 
aggravate  the  already  serious  handicap  under  which  they 
are  operating. 

The  suggestions  for  saving  raw  stock  are  many.  They  in- 
clude, among  others,  eliminating  so-called  "B"  pictures; 
reducing  the  length  of  important  pictures  so  that  their  run- 
ning time  will  be  limited  to  ninety  or  one  hundred  minutes; 
curtailing,  if  not  eliminating,  the  production  of  short  sub- 
jects; greater  use  of  short  subjects  as  a  replacement  for 
second  features;  reducing  further  the  number  of  feature 
prints  in  circulation;  cutting  down  the  length  of  news- 
reels;  and  tightening  up  on  the  waste  in  production  by  limit- 
ing the  number  of  "takes"  for  each  scene. 

According  to  some  industry  observers,  this  latest  reduc- 
tion in  the  raw  stock  allotment,  if  continued  on  the  same 
basis  for  the  other  three  quarters  in  1945,  may  result  in 
about  thirty  to  forty-five  fewer  features  being  released  dur- 
ing the  year  than  were  released  in  1944.  Fewer  feature  pic- 
tures would,  of  course,  add  considerably  to  the  difficulties 
the  exhibitors  are  already  experiencing  as  a  result  of  the 
limited  supply  of  prints,  and  of  the  artificial  product  short- 
age, which  has  been  brought  about  by  extended  runs  and 
moveovers.  And  the  subsequent-run  exhibitors,  whom  these 
conditions  affect  most  seriously,  will  probably  have  to  con- 
tend with  many  more  problems  than  they  now  have  to  solve. 

An  interesting  angle,  one  that  requires  close  study  by  ex- 
hibition circles,  is  the  current  method  by  which  the  WPB 
allocates  to  the  industry  its  share  of  raw  film  stock  produced 
in  this  country.  The  stock  is  allocated  directly  to  the  eleven 
distributors — without  restrictions  as  to  its  use.  It  is  entirely 
up  to  them  to  work  out  their  own  problems  regarding  the 
number  of  feet  they  will  need  for  their  production  sched- 
ules, and  the  number  of  feet  that  they  will  require  for 
release  prints.  They  have  the  right  to  dispose  of  their  film 
allotment  in  any  manner  they  see  fit.  They  alone  determine 
how  much  of  it  shall  go  into  the  negatives,  how  much  into 
release  prints  of  current  pictures,  how  much  into  prints  of 
reissue  negatives  and  how  much  into  prints  for  the  foreign 
market. 

Independent  producers,  such  as  Samuel  Goldwyn,  Inter- 
national Pictures,  and  those  who  release  through  United 
Artists,  obtain  their  raw  stock  requirements  from  the  dis- 
tributors with  whom  they  have  releasing  deals.  This  method 
of  raw  stock  allocation  is  causing  considerable  concern  to 
some  independent  producers;  they  are  experiencing  diffi- 
culties in  obtaining  release  deals  with  some  of  the  major 
distributors.  These  distributors  are  reluctant  to  deplete  their 
share  of  raw  stock,  for  it  would  require  that  they  curb  their 
own  production  plans  in  order  to  accommodate  independent 
producers  from  whom  they  can  earn  no  more  than  a  dis- 
tribution fee.  The  raw  stock  they  allocate  to  an  independent 


producer  would  not,  in  these  days,  give  the  distributers  as 
much  profit  per  foot  as  would  the  stock  used  on  their  own 
productions. 

The  independent  producers,  however,  have  a  right  to 
remain  in  business  and  to  make  pictures.  To  do  this,  they 
must  have  raw  stock.  Thus  it  is  evident  that  they  have  an 
equity  in  the  raw  stock  rationed  to  the  industry  and,  because 
of  their  protests,  it  is  assumed  that  an  equitable  arrange- 
ment will  be  worked  out  with  the  WPB  when  it  meets  in 
Washington  with  the  Industry  Advisory  Committee  on  Raw 
Stock  this  coming  February  1. 

And  what  about  the  exhibitors?  They,  too,  have  an 
equity  in  the  available  raw  stock,  for  their  interests  are 
affected  directly  and  vitally  by  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
used  by  the  producer-distributors.  What  assurances  are 
there  that  the  stock  will  be  used  in  a  manner  that,  so  far  as 
possible,  will  be  beneficial  not  only  to  the  distributors,  but 
also  to  the  exhibitors?  Absolutely  none! 

Under  the  present  system  of  film  rationing,  there  is 
nothing,  as  said  before,  to  prevent  the  distributors  from 
disposing  of  this  stock  in  any  way  that  suits  their  purpose. 
They  can,  for  example,  reduce  still  further  the  number  of 
positive  prints  they  will  make  for  each  picture,  and  then 
use  the  stock  thus  saved  for  new  productions  that  will  only 
add  to  their  already  huge  backlog  of  productions  now 
reposing  in  their  vaults.  Such  a  move  would  serve  to  aggra- 
vate the  conditions  under  which  the  exhibitors  are  now 
operating  their  theatres,  and  it  would  serve  also  to  per- 
petuate the  "seller's"  market,  in  which  the  producer-dis- 
tributors are  having  the  time  of  their  lives. 

With  the  present  print  supply  scarcely  enough  to  take 
care  of  the  exhibitors'  needs,  the  producer-distributors  have 
made  and  are  still  making  the  most  of  their  opportunity. 
Rental  terms,  along  with  the  demands  for  extended  and 
preferred  playing  time,  are  way  out  of  line.  The  situation 
as  to  both  the  shortage  of  prints  and  the  excessive  rental 
d  mands  has  become  so  acute  that  many  exhibitors  have 
turned  to  reissues  for  relief.  But  this  avenue  of  escape, 
too,  has  been  blocked  by  the  distributors,  who,  cognizant 
of  the  possible  profits  on  reissues  in  a  tight  market,  are 
demanding  fantastic  rental  terms,  percentage  in  some  cases. 
The  reissue  field  has  now  been  turned  into  a  profitable  side- 
line— for  the  distributors.  The  exhibitor,  desperate  for  prod- 
uct, pays  through  the  nose.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  reissue 
business  has  become  so  profitable  that,  on  a  number  of  old 
pictures,  thousands  of  feet  of  rationed  raw  stock  have  been 
used  for  the  making  of  new  prints.  Using  rationed  stock  to 
make  new  prints  of  old  pictures,  which  many  exhibitors  do 
not  care  to  re-book,  is  a  flagrant  abuse  of  the  exhibitors' 
equity  in  the  stock,  for  its  use  in  that  manner  deprives  many 
of  them  of  badly  needed  prints  on  new  features. 

The  lack  of  regulations  controlling  the  distributors'  use  of 
raw  stock  brings  up  the  very  pertinent  question  of  how  they 
might  use  this  stock  to  further  their  interests  in  foreign 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


10 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


"The  Great  Flamarion"  with  Erich  Von 
Stroheim  and  Mary  Beth  Hughes 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  78  min.) 

Those  who  enjoy  lurid,  heavy-handed  melodramas 
should  find  "The  Great  Flamarion"  to  their  liking.  It 
is  strictly  adult  entertainment;  the  story  is  too  un- 
pleasant  and  sordid  for  children.  The  heroine  is  shown 
as  an  immoral,  double-dealing  woman,  who  makes 
love  to  her  employer  and  persuades  him  to  kill  her 
husband,  an  inveterate  drunkard,  so  that  she  could 
run  off  with  another  lover.  Not  one  of  these  characters 
do  anything  to  arouse  the  spectator's  sympathy.  The 
performances  are  good  and  the  production  values  arc 
better  than  average,  but  the  picture  does  not  rise  above 
the  level  of  program  fare: — 

Erich  Von  Stroheim,  expert  pistol  shot  in  a  vaude- 
ville act,  falls  madly  in  love  with  Mary  Beth  Hughes, 
who,  together  with  Dan  Duryea,  her  husband,  worked 
with  Von  Stroheim  in  the  act.  Infatuated  with  a 
fcllow-vaudevillian,  and  unable  to  secure  a  divorce 
from  her  husband,  Mary  sees  in  Von  Stroheim's  love 
a  means  of  solving  her  problem.  She  persuades  him  to 
murder  Duryea  during  a  performance,  making  it  ap- 
pear as  if  the  shooting  had  been  an  unavoidable  acci- 
dent. The  scheme  works  according  to  plan  when  the 
coroner  exonerates  Von  Stroheim  of  responsibility. 
To  avoid  suspicion,  Mary  and  Von  Stroheim  go  their 
separate  ways,  agreeing  to  meet  in  Chicago  on  a  speci- 
fied date  to  be  married.  When  Mary  fails  to  show  up 
on  the  appointed  day,  Von  Stroheim  realizes  that  she 
had  double-crossed  him.  Determined  to  find  her,  Von 
Stroheim  searches  in  vain  for  a  clue  to  her  where- 
abouts and,  after  many  months,  penniless  and  broken 
in  spirit,  he  finds  Mary  and  her  new  husband  perform- 
ing in  a  small  Mexico  City  theatre.  Cornered  in  her 
dressing  room,  Mary  tries  to  vamp  Von  Stroheim,  but 
when  she  senses  his  intentions,  she  snatches  his  gun 
and  shoots  him.  He  strangles  her  to  death  and,  later, 
dies  himself. 

Anne  Wigton,  Heinz  Herald,  and  Richard  Weil 
wrote  the  screen  play,  William  Wilder  produced  it, 
and  Anthony  Mann  directed  it. 

"Hangover  Square"  with  Laird  Cregar, 
Linda  Darnell  and  George  Sanders 

(20th  Century-Fox;  February;  time,  77  min.) 

A  strong  murder  melodrama,  capably  directed  and 
acted;  it  holds  one's  attention  throughout,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  there  is  no  mystery  attached  to  the  crimes. 
The  action  revolves  around  a  mild-mannered  London 
composer,  whose  split  personality  drives  him  to  mur- 
der whenever  he  suffers  a  lapse  of  memory.  The  late 
Laird  Cregar,  as  the  composer,  makes  a  very  tragic 
figure,  and  one  cannot  help  but  feel  sympathetic 
towards  him.  It  is  indeed  ironical  that  in  this,  his  last 
picture,  Cregar  dies  in  the  final  scene.  One  sequence 
that  may  prove  too  strong  for  sensitive  stomachs  is  the 
one  in  which  Cregar,  maddened  by  the  infidelity  of 
Linda  Darnell,  a  hard-boiled  cabaret  entertainer,  mur- 
ders her  and  then  burns  her  body.  London's  gas-light 
era,  which  serves  as  the  setting,  gives  the  proceedings 
an  effective  eerie  atmosphere.  The  picture's  gruesome- 
ness  makes  it  unsuitable  for  children : — 

Cregar,  after  killing  a  store  merchant  during  one 
of  his  mental  lapses,  does  not  regain  his  memory  until 


he  returns  to  his  apartment.  Noticing  blood  on  his 
coat  sleeve,  Cregar  becomes  disturbed  when  he  learns 
of  the  merchant's  death.  He  visits  George  Sanders,  a 
Scotland  Yard  psychiatrist,  and  expresses  his  fears 
that  he  might  have  killed  the  man  unknowingly.  After 
an  investigation,  Sanders  exonerates  Cregar,  proving 
that  the  blood  on  his  sleeve  was  his  own.  Delighted, 
Cregar  goes  to  a  pub  for  a  drink.  There  he  meets  Linda 
Darnell,  a  sultry  cabaret  singer.  In  a  gay  mood,  Cregar 
plays  a  melodius  tune  that  catches  Linda's  fancy. 
Linda,  realizing  that  Cregar's  music  would  be  helpful 
in  the  furtherance  of  her  career,  craftily  entices  him. 
He  becomes  so  infatuated  with  her  that  he  neglects  to 
work  on  his  Concerto,  which  he  was  writing  for  Faye 
Marlowe,  his  fiancee,  whose  father,  Alan  Napier,  was 
a  famed  conductor.  Eventually,  Cregar  realizes  that 
Linda  was  playing  him  for  a  fool.  Aggravated  and 
suffering  another  one  of  his  mental  lapses,  he  murders 
her  and  throws  her  body  on  a  huge  fire  celebrating 
Guy  Fawkes  Day.  His  mind  back  to  normal,  Cregar, 
unaware  of  his  second  murder,  works  earnestly  on  the 
completion  of  his  Concerto.  Meanwhile  Sanders,  in- 
vestigating Linda's  disappearance,  discovers  evidence 
proving  Cregar's  guilt.  Cregar  accepts  the  evidence  as 
conclusive,  but  eludes  Sanders  in  order  to  hear  Napier 
conduct  his  Concerto.  When  Sanders  appears  at  the 
concert,  Cregar,  emotionally  upset,  overturns  an  oil 
lamp  and  starts  a  fire.  He  fights  off  efforts  to  save  him, 
perishing  in  the  blaze. 

Barre  Lyndon  wrote  the  screen  play,  Robert  Bassler 
produced  it,  and  John  Brahm  directed  it. 

"The  Big  Show-off"  with  Arthur  Lake 
and  Dale  Evans 

(Republic,  Jan.  22;  time,  70  min.) 
Just  a  moderately  entertaining  romantic  comedy 
with  some  music,  suitable  as  the  second  half  of  a 
double  feature  program.  Based  on  the  deception 
theme,  the  story  is  a  far-fetched  and  at  times  silly 
affair,  which  is  developed  in  so  obvious  a  fashion  that 
one  becomes  weary  by  the  time  the  picture  is  half 
finished.  In  its  favor  are  a  few  pleasant  production 
numbers  and  Dale  Evans'  singing,  but  these  musical 
interludes  are  not  strong  enough  to  carry  the  picture. 
Arthur  Lake,  as  Miss  Dale's  befuddled  suitor,  is  cast 
in  a  role  suited  to  his  particular  talents.  His  antics, 
however,  are  quite  familiar.  The  wrestling  sequences, 
in  which  the  combatants  poke  fun  at  the  art,  are  quite 
amusing.  Anson  Weeks  and  his  Orchestra  furnish  the 
music : — 

Lake,  a  pianist,  in  Lionel  Standar's  night-club,  is 
too  bashful  to  declare  his  love  for  Dale  Evans,  the 
club's  singer,  and  too  gentle  to  fight  with  George 
Meeker,  his  obtrusive  rival  for  her  love.  Stander,  to 
help  Lake,  tells  Dale  that  the  young  man  was  really  the 
Devil  (Paul  Hurst),  a  masked  wrestler.  Pleased  to 
learn  that  Lake  was  not  really  a  "Casper  Milquetoast," 
Dale  becomes  interested  in  him,  but  she  dislikes  "his" 
vicious  disposition  as  a  wrestler  and  pleads  with  him 
to  abandon  the  ring.  Lake,  however,  finds  himself  com- 
peled  to  continue  the  deception  as  long  as  the  Devil 
appears  in  the  ring.  At  the  arena  one  night,  Dale, 
believing  that  she  was  watching  Lake,  hears  the  Devil 
announce  his  engagement  to  another  girl.  Lake,  realiz- 
ing that  the  hoax  had  gone  too  far,  tries  to  explain, 
but  Dale  refuses  to  listen.  Matters  become  complicated 


January  20,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


11 


when  the  police,  seeking  to  arrest  the  Devil  on  an 
assault  and  battery  charge,  are  informed  by  Meeker 
that  Lake  was  the  masked  wrestler.  And  to  make  mat' 
ters  worse,  the  Devil's  manager,  who  had  never  seen 
his  wrestler  unmasked,  also  identifies  Lake  as  their 
man.  The  police  urge  Lake  to  confess,  but  the  Devil's 
manager  warns  him  to  admit  to  nothing  lest  he  be 
barred  from  the  ring.  Seeing  an  opportunity  to  get 
himself  out  of  a  predicament,  Lake  confesses  to  the 
charge.  Dale,  assured  that  Lake  was  through  with 
wrestling,  agrees  to  marry  him. 

Leslie  Vadnay  and  Richard  Weil  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Sydney  M.  Williams  produced  it,  and  Howard 
Bretherton  directed  it.  Claude  S.  Spence  was  associ' 
ate  producer.  The  cast  includes  Emmet  Lynne,  Mar- 
jorie  Manners,  Sammy  Stein  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Eadie  Was  a  Lady"  with  Ann  Miller 
and  William  Wright 

(Columbia,  January  18;  time,  67  min.) 

A  fair  program  comedy,  the  sort  that  may  appeal 
to  audiences  that  are  not  too  exacting  in  their  de' 
mands.  Like  most  pictures  of  this  type,  this  one  suf- 
fers from  an  inconsequential  script;  but  it  serves  well 
enough  as  a  means  of  putting  the  production  numbers 
and  the  comedy  across.  Ann  Miller  sings  a  few  songs 
well,  but  she  is  at  her  best  when  dancing.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  she  does  more  dancing  in  this  picture  than  she 
has  done  in  her  last  few  pictures.  Most  of  the  comedy 
falls  flat  because  it  is  forced,  but  Joe  Besser  manages 
to  get  several  laughs  by  his  customary  antics.  One 
production  number,  in  which  classical  and  "jitterbug" 
dancing  are  combined,  is  both  novel  and  amusing: — 

Ann,  who  lived  with  her  socialite  aunt  in  Boston, 
and  who  attended  exclusive  Glen  Moor  College  dur- 
ing  the  day,  furthers  her  theatrical  ambitions  by  work- 
ing secretly  in  the  evenings  as  a  chorus  girl  in  William 
Wright's  burlesque  show.  Wright,  unaware  of  Ann's 
family  background,  singles  her  out  for  a  leading  part 
in  the  show,  and,  through  a  ruse,  manages  to  rid 
himself  of  Marion  Martin,  the  show's  leading  lady, 
so  that  Ann  could  replace  her.  Ann  makes  a  hit  with 
the  audience,  but,  lest  she  become  a  noted  star  and 
her  double  life  be  found  out,  she  quits  burlesque.  As 
a  result,  Wright's  show  closes.  Through  Joe  Besser, 
a  former  vaudevillian,  who  taught  classical  dancing 
at  the  college,  Wright  locates  Ann  and  induces  her  to 
appear  in  a  private  show  at  an  alumni  dinner.  Marion, 
seeking  revenge  on  Wright,  informs  the  police  that 
an  obscene  performance  was  taking  place  at  the  din- 
ner. A  raid  takes  place  and  among  those  arrested  are 
Ann  and  the  college  Dean,  who  had  been  present  at 
the  event.  When  the  college  board  of  directors  as- 
semble to  take  action  against  Ann  and  the  Dean, 
Wright,  posing  as  the  head  of  the  Athens  Art  Thea- 
tre, explains  that  Ann  had  appeared  in  burlesque  at 
his  request  to  gather  material  to  be  used  in  the  col- 
lege's annual  Greek  Festival.  With  the  Dean  and 
herself  cleared,  Ann  looks  forward  to  a  happy  future 
with  Wright. 

Monte  Brice  wrote  the  screen  play,  Michel  Kraike 
produced  it,  and  Arthur  Dreifuss  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Jeff  Donnell,  Tom  Dugan  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


"A  Song  to  Remember"  with  Paul  Muni, 
Merle  Oberon  and  Cornel  Wilde 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  113  min.) 
This  romantic  drama,  based  on  the  life  of  Frederic 
Chopin,  the  famous  composer,  and  set  to  his  inspiring 
classical  music,  is  a  finely  produced  picture.  Class 
audiences,  and  music  lovers  in  particular,  should  find 
it  very  satisfying.  As  for  its  reception  by  the  rank  and 
file,  its  chances  are  fairly  good,  for  Chopin's  music 
is  melodious,  the  story,  though  highly  Actionized,  has 
considerable  human  interest,  and  the  performances 
by  the  capable  cast  are  excellent.  Moreover,  the  set- 
tings of  the  19th  century  period  are  magnificent,  and 
the  Technicolor  photography  is  a  treat  to  the  eye. 
While  no  official  credit  is  given,  the  superb  piano 
playing  that  accompanies  the  action  is  said  to  be  the 
work  of  Jose  Iturbi,  eminent  pianist.  Most  of  the  hu- 
man interest  is  awakened  by  Paul  Muni,  as  Chopin's 
music  teacher;  his  unfailing  devotion  to  his  pupil,  de- 
spite the  composer's  maltreatment  of  him,  is  at  times 
quite  pathetic.  Cornel  Wilde,  as  Chopin,  is  convinc- 
ing, as  is  his  piano  playing  of  the  composer's  works. 
Merle  Oberon,  as  George  Sand,  the  eccentric  woman 
novelist  with  whom  Chopin  becomes  infatuated  and 
for  whom  he  detaches  himself  from  his  friends  and 
ideals,  has  a  most  unsympathetic  part,  but  she  plays  it 
very  effectively.  The  affair  between  them  has  been 
handled  with  delicacy : — 

Recognising  the  musical  genius  of  Chopin  as  a 
youth,  Joseph  Eisner  (Paul  Muni)  dreams  of  the 
day  the  boy  will  give  a  concert  in  Paris.  It  is  not  until 
Chopin's  twenty -second  birthday,  when  he  is  forced  to 
flee  Poland  because  of  his  involvement  with  revolu- 
tionists, that  Eisner  is  able  to  take  him  to  Paris.  There, 
Eisner  brings  the  young  man  to  Louis  Pleyel  (George 
Coulouris),  an  important  impressario,  and  tries  to 
arrange  a  concert.  Pleyel  rejects  the  request,  but  Franz 
Lizst  (Stephen  Bekassy) ,  visiting  Pleyel's  office,  rec- 
ognizes Chopin's  talents  and  induces  the  impressario 
to  reconsider.  Through  Lizst,  Chopin  meets  George 
Sand,  who  helps  him  to  establish  a  reputation  in  Paris. 
Chopin  becomes  infatuated  with  George  and,  against 
Eisner's  wishes,  accompanies  her  to  Majorca.  Under 
her  influence,  Chopin  detaches  himself  completely 
from  Eisner.  The  old  man,  impoverished,  once  again 
teaches  piano  pupils.  Wearying  of  Majorca,  Chopin 
returns  to  Paris  but  deliberately  avoids  meeting  Eis- 
ner. Eventually,  Eisner  reminds  Chopin  of  his  pledge 
to  contribute  to  Poland's  liberation.  Ashamed,  Chopin 
breaks  his  relationship  with  George  and,  despite  his 
ill  health,  arranges  for  a  European  concert  tour  to 
raise  funds  for  his  oppressed  countrymen.  The  strain, 
however,  proves  too  great  for  his  frail  body.  On  his 
death  bed,  he  asks  Eisner  to  bring  George  to  him,  but 
the  strong-willed  woman  refuses  his  wish.  Chopin 
dies,  surrounded  by  his  friends. 

Sidney  Buchman  wrote  the  screen  play  and  col- 
laborated with  Louis  F.  Edelman  in  its  production. 
Charles  Vidor  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Nina 
Foch,  Sig  Arno,  Howard  Freeman,  Maurice  Tauzin 
and  others. 


"The  Big  Bonanza"  with  Richard  Arlen, 
Jane  Frazee  and  Robert  Livingston 

(Republic,  Dec.  30;  time,  69  min.) 
In  the  review  that  was  printed  last  week,  this  pic- 
ture was  erroneously  listed  as  "The  Great  Bonanza." 


12 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  20,  1945 


markets.  As  most  of  you  undoubtedly  know,  the  British 
motion  picture  industry,  as  well  as  the  French,  Russian,  and 
Mexican  industries,  are  gearing  themselves  to  give  the 
American  distributors  a  battle  for  control  of  the  world's 
different  film  markets.  It  is  indeed  desirable  that  the  Amer- 
ican distributors  gain  control  of  the  foreign  markets,  for,  to 
retain  this  control,  they  will  have  to  produce  good  pictures. 
And  when  better  pictures  are  made,  the  American  exhibitors 
stand  to  benefit. 

In  normal  times,  the  important  world  markets  had  avail- 
able facilities  and  sufficient  raw  stock  to  make  prints  locally 
from  the  lavender  prints  delivered  by  the  American  dis- 
tributors. Today,  however,  particularly  in  liberated  coun- 
tries, where  such  facilities  are  probably  extinct,  the  Amer- 
ican distributors,  in  order  to  secure  a  firm  foothold  in  a 
particular  market,  may  have  to  deliver  their  own  release 
prints. 

Since  no  separate  raw  stock  allocation  is  made  to  the 
distributors  for  use  in  foreign  markets,  they  would  naturally 
have  to  draw  footage  from  their  regular  quarterly  supply. 
This,  of  course,  would  serve  only  to  make  more  burdensome 
the  conditions  under  which  American  exhibition  is  func- 
tioning. Harrison's  Reports,  as  already  said,  is  highly  in 
favor  of  the  American  distributors'  domination  of  the 
world's  film  markets,  but  it  does  not  feel  that  this  domina- 
tion should  be  attained  at  the  expense  of  the  American 
exhibitor. 

The  situation  calls  for  action  on  the  part  of  the  distribu- 
tors. One  way  by  which  they  may  solve  this  problem  is  for 
them  to  convince  the  Government  of  the  important  role  that 
American  films  play  in  the  extension  of  American  ideals  in 
foreign  countries.  They  should  point  out  to  the  Government 
that,  more  so  than  any  other  medium,  American  pictures 
create  for  the  people  of  foreign  countries  a  better  under- 
standing of  what  we  in  the  United  States  are  like.  And 
they  might  add  that  American  films  have  been  and  still  are 
a  great  influence  for  the  expansion  of  American  commerce. 
With  the  Government  thus  convinced,  the  distributors  may 
be  able  to  work  out  an  arrangement  whereby  they  could 
carry  on  their  work  in  foreign  fields  without  dislocating  the 
American  market. 

It  can  readily  be  seen  from  what  has  been  said  here  that 
the  method  by  which  the  WPB  allocates  raw  stock  to  the 
industry  is  in  need  of  revision.  The  distributors,  with  no 
regulations  to  control  their  disposition  of  the  rationed  stock, 
are  in  a  position  to  continue  using  the  stock  in  a  manner  that 
betters  their  own  interests  at  the  expense  of  the  exhibitors. 
Unless  the  independent  exhibitor  organizations  take  steps 
to  apprise  the  War  Production  Board  of  exhibition's  equity 
in  raw  stock,  and  unless  they  seek  regulations  to  control  the 
disposition  of  the  stock  by  the  distributors,  the  hold  the 
distributors  now  have  on  an  exhibitor's  operations  may 
become  much  more  severe. 

The  problem  is  a  complicated  one,  and  its  solution  will 
require  close  study.  The  Industry  Advisory  Committee  on 
Raw  Stock  would  seem  to  be  the  logical  body  to  conduct 
such  a  study,  but  thus  far  the  Committee  is  composed  solely 
of  distributor  representatives.  This  Committee  should  be 
expanded  to  include  representation  for  both  the  independent 
producers  and  the  exhibitors,  so  that  the  WPB,  in  allocat- 
ing raw  stock  to  the  industry,  would  be  made  aware  of  their 
equity  in  the  stock.  Perhaps,  then,  rules  and  regulations  will 
be  formulated  to  protect  that  equity. 


AGAIN  ABOUT  PRODUCTION  WASTE 

Terry  Ramsaye,  edition  of  Motion  Picture  Herald,  made 
the  following  remarks  in  the  December  30  issue  of  that 
paper  regarding  this  paper's  three  articles  on  production 


waste,  which  articles  were  published  in  the  issues  of  Sep- 
tember 9,  16  and  2  J : 

"Something  to  get  militant  about  is  an  essential  of  the 
operation  of  Mr.  Pete  Harrison's  publishing  policy,  and 
these  days  he  has  to  do  a  bit  of  looking  about  to  find  it.  So 
it  comes  that  he  has  recently  had  a  spell  of  indignation  over 
what  he  considers  'studio  waste.'  It  seems  to  boil  down  to 
discussion  of  footage  which  is  left  on  the  cutting  room  floor. 
One  suspects  that  arrangements  to  closely  limit  or  eliminate 
that  would  prove  decidedly  expensive  to  the  product.  Pro- 
duction of  pictures  has  not  yet,  and  never  will,  reach  the 
precision  of  pouring  a  casting.  The  pouring  of  the  picture 
into  scenes  on  film  is  quite  as  creative  a  process  as  the 
making  of  the  alloys  in  the  melting  pot.  No  great  work  of 
words  on  paper  was  ever  achieved  without  revisions  after 
it  had  been  made  visual. 

"A  set  of  figures  comes  back  to  memory.  They  pertain  to 
Mr.  Charles  Chaplin's  famous  Lone  Star  two-reel  comedies, 
a  line  of  product  which  may  in  fact  represent  the  highest 
final  gross  per  negative  foot  in  the  annals  of  the  art.  Typical 
was  'Easy  Street.'  About  1 15,000  feet  of  negative  was  made, 
to  get  a  final  1,650,  less  titles.  It  was  about  five  weeks  on 
the  stage,  at  a  cost  of  about  $100,000  of  which  about 
$60,000  was  Mr.  Chaplin's  salary.  He  left  about  114,000 
feet  of  negative  on  the  cutting  room  floor.  It  was  part  of 
his  process  of  production — and  that  was  not  waste.  Com- 
petitors were  making  two-reelers  out  of  ten  to  twenty 
thousand  feet  of  negative,  and  you  cannot  remember  who 
they  were.  .  .  ." 

In  citing  Mr.  Chaplin's  comedies,  particularly  "Easy 
Street,"  my  friend  Terry  Ramsaye  has  made  one  mistake — 
he  has  attributed  the  drawing  powers  of  those  comedies  to 
the  liberal  use  of  negative  raw  stock.  Would  "Easy  Street" 
have  grossed  what  it  did  gross  without  Mr.  Chaplin,  even 
if  the  negative  used  were  250,000  feet  instead  of  115,000? 

In  those  articles  on  production  waste,  this  writer  con- 
demned, not  the  use  of  negative  stock  to  make  a  scene 
perfect,  but  the  wanton  waste  that  a  little  careful  prepara- 
tion might  have  avoided.  His  facts  about  this  waste  were 
obtained  from  reliable  executives — men  who  were  writhing 
with  agony  watching  negative  stock  wasted. 

Can  Mr.  Ramsaye  justify  the  use  of  600,000  feet  of  nega- 
tive stock  on  a  picture  the  length  of  which  will  not,  I  am 
sure,  exceed  when  it  is  finally  edited  two  hours  of  running 
time?  The  picture  in  question  has  not  yet  been  finished  even 
though  nearly  six  months  have  been  spent  in  cutting  it,  and 
the  Saints  themselves  don't  know  whether  anything  would 
come  out  of  it  no  matter  how  many  film  editors  work  on  it 
to  make  it  presentable. 

In  bringing  the  matter  of  film  waste  into  the  open,  this 
writer  feels,  as  he  stated  once  before,  that  he  has  contributed 
a  great  share  in  the  elimination  of  waste.  Those  who  are 
responsible  for  such  waste  know  that  the  eyes  of  the  industry 
are  upon  them.  They  will  have  to  reform,  not  at  some  time 
in  the  future,  but  now,  for  unless  the  war  in  Europe  should 
end  quickly,  a  hope  that  seems  unlikely  to  be  fulfilled  soon, 
there  will  be  less  film  for  the  production  needs:  the  Govern- 
ment will  continue  to  reduce  the  industry's  allotment,  and 
every  foot  of  film  will  be  needed  to  carry  on  production. 

A  readjustment  is  necessary  now  also  for  another  reason : 
as  this  paper  has  stated  in  these  columns  before,  the  lush 
times  that  are  prevailing  now  will  not  prevail  long  after 
hostilities  end,  and  at  the  present  cost  rate,  either  the  pic 
tures  will  fail  to  bring  back  the  investment,  or  the  quality 
will  suffer.  In  either  case,  the  industry  will  suffer. 

I  was  told  recently  by  the  president  of  one  of  the  biggest 
companies  in  the  business  that,  on  pictures  that  cost  more 
than  one  million  dollars,  at  least  $300,000  can  be  saved  on 
each  picture  with  proper  economy.  These  are  not  my 
figures — they  are  the  figures  of  some  one  who  foots  the  bill. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

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Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  A  Mot-on  picture  Reviewing  Servlce   

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35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  JANUARY  27,  1945 


No.  4 


A  CALL  TO  ACTION 


In  his  annual  report  to  the  Board  of  Directors  of  Allied 
States  Association  of  Motion  Picture  Exhibitors,  at  its  meet' 
ing  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  this  week,  Mr.  Abram  F.  Myers, 
Chairman  of  the  Board  and  General  Counsel,  made  these 
significant  remarks  in  regard  to  the  recent  cut  in  raw  stock 
allocated  to  the  industry  by  the  WPB: 

"There  is  no  telling  how  much,  if  at  all,  the  order  of 
the  War  Production  Board  .  .  .  will  in  itself  affect  the  supply 
of  feature  pictures  available  to  exhibitors.  The  trend  towards 
curtailment  of  feature  pictures  has  been  in  full  swing  for 
five  years.  Last  season  the  Big  Eight  released  a  total  of  only 
259  and  it  has  been  predicted  that  even  fewer  would  be 
released  this  season.  The  main  vice  of  the  W.P.B.  order  is 
that  it  affords  justification  for  and  lends  respectability  to  a 
policy  of  the  major  companies  that  is  proving  disastrous  to 
subsequent-run  exhibitors.  The  producers,  if  they  wished  to 
be  fair,  could  absorb  all  or  a  large  part  of  the  loss  in  footage 
by  eliminating  waste  at  the  studios,  by  reducing  senseless 
screen  credits,  and  especially  by  reducing  the  length  of  the 
now  over-long  feature  pictures.  But  they  probably  will  pre- 
fer simply  to  reduce  the  number  of  pictures  released  and 
thereby  tighten  their  control  of  the  film  market." 

Stating  that  abnormal  conditions  have  enabled  the  pro- 
ducer-distributors "year  after  year  to  increase  their  net 
profits  while  at  the  same  time  reducing  the  volume  of  their 
output,"  Mr.  Myers  points  out  that  they  can  now  attribute 
their  curtailment  of  output  to  the  Government's  reduction  in 
raw  stock  allotments  and,  for  the  time  being,  silence  criticism. 
Mr.  Myers  then  urges  the  exhibitors  to  oppose  in  every 
possible  way,  through  their  organizations,  the  efforts  of  the 
producer-distributors  to  take  advantage  of  the  situation.  He 
stresses  the  need  for  a  greater  degree  of  teamwork  among  the 
exhibitors  than  has  heretofore  prevailed  and,  in  particular, 
cautions  against  the  rejection  without  investigation  or  con- 
sideration of  the  ideas  submitted  by  exhibitors  in  different 
territories  as  to  how  best  to  meet  the  menace  of  increasing 
film  rentals.  "The  danger  to  the  independent  exhibitors  has 
become  so  great,"  says  Mr.  Myers,  "that  the  exhibitors — 
and  especially  the  leaders  of  exhibitors — should  welcome  all 
means  of  resisting  it."  "As  a  matter  of  self  preservation," 
adds  Mr.  Myers,  "independent  exhibitors  everywhere  must 
intensify  their  efforts  to  hold  down  film  rentals." 

In  stating  that  "the  main  vice  of  the  W.P.B.  order  is  that 
it  affords  justification  for  and  lends  respectability  to  a  policy 
of  the  major  companies  that  is  proving  disastrous  to  subse- 
quent-run exhibitors,"  Mr.  Myers  has  indeed  aptly  de- 
scribed an  existing  condition  that  is  deplorable.  And  his  sug- 
gestions of  what  the  producer-distributors  should  do  to  cut 
down  the  loss  in  footage,  and  his  assumption  that  they  will 
prefer  to  reduce  the  number  of  pictures  released  so  as  to 
tighten  their  control  of  the  market,  are  sound,  as  is  his 
recommendation  that  the  exhibitors  combat  the  distributors 
by  intensifying  their  efforts  to  hold  down  film  rentals.  This 
last  recommendation  is  a  most  important  one,  for  the  exhibi- 
tors' efforts  along  these  lines  can  never  be  too  great. 


There  is,  however,  still  another  way  to  combat  this  de- 
plorable condition,  and  that  is  to  attack  and  destroy  the 
foundation  on  which  it  is  built.  And  that  foundation  is  the 
method  employed  by  the  War  Production  Board  in  allocat- 
ing raw  film  stock  to  the  industry. 

As  this  paper  pointed  out  in  last  week's  editorial,  the  raw 
stock  allocated  to  the  industry  by  the  WPB  is  given  directly 
to  the  producer-distributors,  who  are  not  bound  by  any 
rules  or  regulations  as  to  its  disposition.  Since  the  WPB 
does  not  concern  itself  with  the  manner  in  which  the  pro- 
ducer-distributors dispose  of  the  stock,  to  them  is  left  the 
working  out  of  how  much  footage  shall  be  used  for  positive 
prints  of  new  features,  how  much  for  production  work  at 
the  studios,  how  much  to  fill  their  needs  in  foreign  markets, 
and  how  much  for  new  prints  of  old  pictures  that  are 
reissued. 

Under  such  a  system  of  raw  film  stock  disposition,  the 
producer-distributors,  unhampered  by  regulatory  restric- 
tions, have  been  and  still  are  disposing  of  their  stock  quotas 
in  a  manner  designed  to  perpetuate  what  is  known  as  a 
"sellers'  market." 

One  example  of  how  this  system  affects  the  interests  of  the 
exhibitors  is  the  situation  the  distributors  are  up  against  in 
Mexico.  That  country's  motion  picture  producers,  upon 
being  notified  that  there  will  be  a  reduction  in  the  quantity 
of  raw  stock  available  to  them  from  this  country  for  the  first 
two  quarters  of  1945,  became  alarmed  lest  the  reduction 
interfere  with  their  elaborate  plans  to  boost  production  this 
year.  To  alleviate  the  condition  for  local  producers,  Mexican 
officials  have  ordered  that  no  raw  stock  allocated  to  Mexico 
shall  be  used  for  the  dubbing  into  Spanish  of  pictures  pro- 
duced in  foreign  countries.  This  order,  of  course,  affects  the 
American  distributors  mainly,  and  it  will  now  be  necessary 
for  them  to  send  their  own  stock  to  Mexico  whenever  dub- 
bing is  to  be  done  there. 

Ordinarily,  this  situation  would  be  of  no  concern  to 
American  exhibitors.  However,  under  the  present  method  of 
raw  stock  allocation — a  method  that  permits  the  producer- 
distributors  to  draw  from  their  regular  quarterly  allotments 
whatever  footage  they  need  to  protect  and  to  further  their 
interests,  not  only  in  Mexico  but  also  in  other  foreign  lands, 
the  situation  becomes  one  of  primary  concern  to  the  Amer- 
ican exhibitors,  for  every  foot  of  raw  stock  that  is  with- 
drawn from  the  already  tight  film  market  in  this  country 
serves  only  to  aggravate  the  existing  handicaps  under  which 
they  are  operating. 

The  distributors'  use  of  raw  stock  for  foreign  markets  is, 
however,  only  one  example  of  how  the  present  system  of 
stock  allocation  can  be  used  to  their  advantage  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  home  exhibitors.  Among  other  advantages,  the 
system  affords  them  an  opportunity  to  control  the  number  of 
release  prints  in  circulation  and,  as  Mr.  Myers  pointed  out, 
enables  them  to  tighten  their  control  of  the  film  market.  By 
merely  maintaining  a  shortage  of  prints  of  new  features,  they 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


14 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  27,  1945 


"Thoroughbreds"  with  Tom  Neal  and 
Adele  Mara 

(Republic,  Dec.  23;  time,  55  mm.) 

A  moderately  entertaining  program  melodrama, 
suitable  for  neighborhood  and  small-town  theatres. 
The  story,  which  revolves  around  a  young  cavalry 
officer's  devotion  for  his  horse,  is  a  familiar  one,  and 
it  offers  no  new  angles,  but  it  has  been  told  in  a  pleas- 
ant way.  Moreover,  it  has  some  human  interest  as  well 
as  a  few  horse-racing  thrills.  The  closing  scenes  are 
fairly  exciting  even  though  they  depict  the  usual  end- 
ing— the  hero's  horse  winning  the  big  race.  The  love 
interest  is  mild  but  pleasing: — 

Tom  Neal,  a  sergeant  in  the  Cavalry,  is  given  a 
medical  discharge  just  as  orders  arrive  to  mechanize 
the  Cavalry  and  to  sell  the  horses  at  public  auction. 
Eager  to  own  Sireson,  his  Cavalry  horse,  Neal  bids 
for  the  animal  at  the  auction  but  is  outbid  by  Adele 
Mara,  socialite  fiancee  of  Gene  Garrick,  his  barracks- 
mate.  A  feeling  of  antagonism  springs  up  between 
Adele  and  Neal,  but  Paul  Harvey,  Adcle's  father, 
who  liked  the  young  man,  offers  him  a  half  interest 
in  Sireson  if  he  would  train  the  horse  to  run  in  the 
Brookside  Sweepstakes  against  Princess,  Adele's  fa- 
vorite mount.  Neal  accepts  the  offer.  When  an  injury 
forces  Princess  out  of  the  race,  Adele  and  Neal  are 
drawn  closer  together  in  a  mutual  determination  to  see 
Sireson  win  the  race.  On  the  eve  of  the  event,  Garrick, 
who  was  visiting  Adele  on  furlough,  overhears  Roger 
Pryor,  a  gambler,  offer  Neal  money  to  lose  the  race. 
Unaware  that  Neal  had  rejected  the  offer,  Garrick 
becomes  suspicious.  A  series  of  other  incidents  in- 
crease his  suspicions  and,  ten  minutes  before  post  time, 
Garrick  accuses  Neal  of  trying  to  doublecross  Adele 
and  demands  to  ride  Sireson  himself.  Neal,  to  protect 
Sireson 's  chances,  reluctantly  knocks  his  friend  uncon- 
scious and  rides  the  horse  to  victory.  Sincerely  sorry 
that  he  had  misjudged  his  friend,  and  aware  of  the 
fact  that  he  and  Adele  were  in  love,  Garrick  gives 
them  his  blessing  and  gallantly  bows  out  of  their  lives. 

Wellyn  Totman  wrote  the  screen  play,  Lester 
Sharpc  produced  it,  and  George  Blair  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Objective  Burma"  with  Errol  Flynn 

(Warner  Bros.,  February  17;  time,  142  min.) 
Very  good!  It  ranks  with  the  best  of  the  war  melo- 
dramas yet  produced.  From  the  moment  a  group  of 
American  paratroopers  are  dropped  behind  the  Japa- 
nese lines  in  Burma,  to  destroy  a  radar  station,  until 
they  work  their  way  back  to  their  home  base,  the 
spectator  is  kept  on  the  edge  of  his  seat.  The  action 
is  fraught  with  suspense  throughout  as  the  men, 
stalked  by  Japanese  patrols,  fight  their  way  through 
jungles  and  swamp  lands  against  overwhelming  odds 
and  despite  extreme  hardships  suffered  during  days 
of  gruelling,  exhausting  marches.  The  encounters  be- 
tween the  Americans  and  the  Japs  are,  not  only  highly 
exciting,  but  also  extremely  informative,  for  the 
methods  employed  for  both  attack  and  defense  are 
shown  in  great  detail.  What  impresses  one  is  the  ex- 
pertness  with  which  the  producer  has  depicted  the 
jungle  scenes;  they  are  so  realistic  that  one  feels  as  if 
he  were  in  Burma.  Errol  Flynn,  as  the  Captain  in 
charge  of  the  men,  makes  a  plausible  leader.  One  ad- 
mires his  resourcefulness  in  leading  his  men  to  safety, 


as  well  as  his  sympathetic  understanding  of  their 
hopelessness.  While  the  action  holds  one's  interest  all 
the  way  through,  a  cut  of  ten  to  fifteen  minutes  in  the 
running  time  would  not  affect  its  dramatic  punch. 
There  is  no  romantic  interest,  and  the  cast  is  all-male. 

In  the  development  of  the  story,  Flynn  and  a  group 
of  fifty  paratroopers  are  dropped  1 80  miles  behind  the 
Jap  lines  to  destroy  a  secret  radar  station.  After  wip- 
ing out  the  garrison  and  demolishing  the  station,  the 
men  head  for  an  abandoned  airfield  for  a  rendezvous 
with  their  transport  planes.  Jap  patrols,  searching  for 
the  invaders,  make  it  inadvisable  for  the  planes  to 
land.  Flynn  radios  the  pilots  to  meet  the  men  at  an- 
other rendezvous  two  days  later.  Dividing  his  men  in 
two  columns,  Flynn  arranges  for  them  to  travel  sep- 
arate ways  but  to  meet  at  the  designated  spot  in  two 
days.  Flynn's  column  reaches  the  rendezvous  without 
incident,  but  the  other  column  is  waylaid  by  the  Japs 
and  wiped  out.  A  supply  plane,  flying  over  the  ren- 
dezvous, radios  Flynn  that  there  are  no  available  land- 
ing fields  and  that  he  and  his  men  must  walk  out 
through  1 50  miles  of  Jap-infested  jungle.  After  days 
of  gruelling  marches  and  countless  skirmishes,  Flynn 
receives  orders  from  the  supply  plane  to  change  course 
and  travel  away  from  the  home  base  to  a  designated 
hilltop.  The  men,  stunned  by  these  strange  orders, 
doggedly  obey  and  fight  their  way  to  the  spot.  There, 
after  an  all-night  battle  with  the  Japs,  which  reduces 
their  ranks  to  only  eleven  survivors,  they  see  thousands 
of  parachutes  billow  the  air  as  the  Allies  begin  their 
invasion  of  Burma. 

Among  those  playing  principal  roles  are  Henry 
Hull,  as  a  middle-aged  newspaper  reporter  who  fails 
to  survive  the  ordeal;  George  Tobias,  as  a  talkative 
paratrooper  ;  and  William  Prince,  as  Flynn's  second  in 
command. 

Ronald  MacDougall  and  Lester  Cole  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Jerry  Wald  produced  it,  and  Raoul 
Walsh  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  James  Brown, 
Dick  Erdman,  Warner  Anderson  and  others. 


"The  Jade  Mask"  with  Sidney  Toler 

(Monogram,  ]an.  26;  time,  66  min.) 

Average  program  fare.  It  is  another  in  the  "Charlie 
Chan"  scries  of  murder  mystery  melodramas  with 
comedy,  and  on  about  the  same  entertainment  level 
as  the  other  pictures.  The  story  and  treatment  adhere 
to  the  series'  formula,  with  "Chan,"  played  by  Sidney 
Toler,  called  in  to  solve  the  mystery.  As  in  the  other 
pictures,  the  comedy  is  provoked  by  "Chan's"  son  (Ed- 
win Luke)  and  by  his  colored  valet  (Manton  More- 
land),  who  alternate  at  helping  and  hindering  him 
in  the  solving  of  the  crime.  Since  several  persons  are 
suspected,  each  having  had  a  motive  for  murdering 
the  victim,  one's  interest  is  held  fairly  well.  The  man- 
ner in  which  the  murderer  is  finally  exposed  is  far- 
fetched to  the  extreme,  but  it  will  probably  satisfy 
the  non-discriminating  followers  of  the  series: — 

Chan,  investigating  the  murder  of  Frank  Reicher, 
a  scientist,  who  had  been  working  on  a  secret  formula, 
questions  Hardie  Albright,  the  scientist's  assistant; 
Edith  Evanson,  his  sister;  Janet  Warren,  his  niece; 
Dorothy  Granger,  his  housekeeper;  and  Cyril  Deler- 
anti,  his  butler.  All  lived  in  the  scientist's  mysterious 
home,  and  each  had  an  apparent  grievance  against 
him.  Unknown  to  Chan,  Janet's  boy-friend,  a  police- 


January  27,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


15 


man,  had  tried  to  visit  her  on  the  eve  of  the  murder 
but  he  had  been  killed  by  Jack  Ingram,  who  donned 
his  uniform  and  gained  access  to  the  house  in  order 
to  steal  the  formula.  When  the  butler  is  found  mur- 
dered, and  when  the  housekeeper  is  rescued  from  a 
gas-filled  chamber  that  housed  the  secret  formula, 
Chan  discovers  different  clues  that  put  him  on  the 
trail  of  the  criminal.  Meanwhile  Ingram,  determined 
to  obtain  the  formula,  murders  the  scientist's  assistant 
and  assumes  his  identity  by  means  of  a  rubber  mask 
and  wig.  Chan,  carefully  following  up  his  clues, 
eventually  exposes  the  disguise  and  proves  that  the 
housekeeper  had  been  Ingram's  accomplice  in  an 
elaborate  plan  to  steal  the  formula  for  an  enemy 
country. 

George  Callahan  wrote  the  screen  play,  James  S. 
Burkett  produced  it,  and  Phil  Rosen  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Tonight  and  Every  Night"  with 
Rita  Hayworth,  Lee  Bowman 
and  Janet  Blair 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  92  min.) 

A  good  combination  of  romance,  music,  dancing 
and  some  comedy.  The  lavish  production,  the  Techni- 
color photography,  and  the  popularity  of  Rita  Hay- 
worth  should  draw  the  rank  and  file  to  the  box-office. 
Not  much  can  be  said  for  the  story,  which  is  set  in 
war-time  London  and  which  revolves  around  a  valiant 
show  troupe's  determination  to  keep  their  show  going 
despite  the  furious  bombing  of  London ;  the  incidents 
are  obvious,  and  the  dramatic  situations  are  too  forced. 
Musically,  however,  the  picture  is  satisfying,  for  the 
tunes  are  catchy  and  the  dancing  is  good.  One  num- 
ber, in  which  Miss  Hayworth  does  a  strip-tease  dance, 
is  rather  suggestive.  Mark  Piatt,  who  gained  fame  as 
a  dancer  in  the  stage  play  "Oklahoma!",  is  exception- 
ally good;  his  dance  routine  is  the  outstanding  bit  in 
the  picture.  The  romance  between  Miss  Hayworth 
and  Lee  Bowman  is  appealing : — 

Sympathetic  to  the  aspirations  of  Marc  Piatt,  an 
unknown  dancer,  Rita  Hayworth  and  Janet  Blair, 
performers  in  a  London  revue,  induce  Florence  Bates, 
the  show's  owner,  to  give  him  a  trial.  Piatt  dances  with 
the  girls  and,  together,  all  rise  to  stardom.  Blind  to 
Janet's  love  for  him,  Piatt  falls  in  love  with  Rita.  But 
Rita  meets  and  falls  in  love  with  Lee  Bowman,  an 
RAF  Squadron  Leader.  When  Bowman  is  ordered 
away  on  a  secret  mission,  Rita,  unaware  that  he  was 
not  permitted  to  communicate  with  her,  dejectedly 
assumes  that  he  had  forgotten  about  her.  But  a  visit 
from  Rev.  Philip  Merivale,  Bowman's  father,  who 
proposes  for  his  son  by  proxy,  soon  raises  her  spirits. 
Upon  his  return  from  his  mission,  Bowman  asks  Rita 
to  accompany  him  to  Canada,  where  he  was  being 
sent  to  instruct  fliers.  Rita,  mindful  of  the  show 
troupe's  determination  to  never  miss  a  show,  despite 
Nazi  bombings,  hesitates,  but  Piatt  and  Janet  urge 
her  to  leave.  Disconsolate  at  losing  Rita  to  Bowman, 
Piatt  goes  to  a  pub  nearby,  where  he  is  followed  by 
Janet.  Both  die  when  a  Nazi  bomb  scores  a  direct  hit 
on  the  pub.  With  Janet  and  Piatt  dead,  and  with  Rita 
about  to  leave,  Miss  Bates  announces  that  the  show 
must  close.  Rita,  feeling  that  Janet  and  Piatt  would 
have  liked  the  show  to  continue,  decides  to  remain. 
She  parts  with  Bowman,  who  understandingly  ap- 
proves her  decision. 


Lesser  Samuels  and  Abem  Finkel  wrote  the  screen 
play  based  up  on  the  play,  "Heart  of  a  City,"  and 
Victor  Saville  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Leslie  Brooks,  Professor  Lamberti  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"A  Tree  Grows  in  Brooklyn"  with 
Dorothy  McGuire,  James  Dunn 
and  Joan  Blondell 

(20th  Century-Fox,  February;  time,  128  min.) 
Based  on  the  widely-read  novel  of  the  same  title, 
this  emerges  as  a  powerful  human-interest  drama, 
which  on  different  occasions  stirs  the  emotions  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  will  be  difficult  for  the  spectator  to 
hold  back  the  tears.  It  is  the  sort  of  entertainment  that 
will  be  understood  and  enjoyed  by  the  masses,  because 
it  concerns  itself  with  plain  people,  and  tells  its  story 
in  an  honest,  direct,  convincing  and  realistic  manner. 
By  the  excellence  of  the  direction  and  acting,  the  spec- 
tator is  made  to  share  in  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  an 
impoverished  family  as  they  struggle  to  keep  body  and 
soul  together  in  the  hope  that  they  will  one  day  know 
a  better  life.  James  Dunn,  as  the  father,  makes  a 
forceful  comeback  with  is  part.  As  a  jovial,  unem- 
ployed singing  waiter,  he  arouses  one's  sympathy  be- 
cause of  his  helplessness  in  that  he  cannot  adjust  him- 
self to  earn  a  living  for  his  family.  His  untimely 
death,  while  seeking  work,  gives  the  picture  its  most 
tragic  and  pathetic  moments.  The  deep  attachment 
between  Dunn  and  his  young  daughter,  Peggy  Ann 
Garner,  is  stirring.  Dorothy  McGuire,  as  the  practical, 
self-sacrificing  mother,  is  excellent;  with  this  part, 
she  establishes  herself  as  one  of  the  screen's  foremost 
dramatic  actresses.  Outstanding  support  is  provided 
by  Joan  Blondell,  as  the  man-chasing  aunt;  Ted  Don- 
aldson, as  the  youngest  child;  James  Gleason,  as  a 
saloon  keeper;  and  Lloyd  Nolan  as  the  understanding 
policeman  on  the  beat.  The  squalor  of  a  tenement 
district  in  Brooklyn,  a  generation  ago,  has  been  repro- 
duced with  such  care  that  it  gives  the  proceedings  a 
realistic  touch. 

Briefly,  the  story  revolves  around  the  monetary 
problems  that  beset  the  poverty-ridden  family  as  a 
result  of  Dunn's  inability  to  find  a  job.  Worried  about 
the  coming  of  a  new  baby,  Dorothy  plans  to  take 
Peggy  out  of  school  so  that  she  could  go  to  work  and 
help  defray  expenses.  Peggy,  a  quiet,  sensitive  child 
of  thirteen,  dreamed  of  becoming  a  writer,  and  Dunn, 
a  dreamer  himself,  had  been  encouraging  her.  Lest 
she  be  compelled  to  quit  her  schooling,  Dunn  deter- 
mines to  find  any  sort  of  work.  Thinly  clad  against 
the  wintry  blasts,  he  catches  pneumonia  and  dies.  His 
tragic  death  makes  Dorothy's  problems  even  more 
acute,  but  James  Gleason,  a  friendly  saloon  keeper, 
employs  the  children  after  school  hours,  paying  them 
enough  wages  to  help  Dorothy  meet  expenses.  Shortly 
after  the  new  baby  arrives,  and  on  the  day  both  chil- 
dren graduate  from  grammar  school,  Lloyd  Nolan,  a 
shy  policeman,  who  had  for  some  time  admired  Doro- 
thy, asks  her  to  marry  him.  Dorothy  accepts  his  pro- 
posal, and  he  wins  over  the  children  by  telling  them 
that,  though  he  cannot  replace  their  father,  he  can  be 
a  good  friend. 

Tess  Slesinger  and  Frank  Davis  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  the  novel  by  Betty  Smith,  Louis  D.  Lighton 
produced  it,  and  Elia  Kazan  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Ruth  Nelson,  John  Alexander  and  others. 


16 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  27,  1945 


have  compelled  the  exhibitors  to  turn  to  reissues  to  keep 
their  theatres  open.  This  print  shortage  has  resulted  in  the 
reissue  market  turning  into  so  profitable  a  business  that  some 
of  the  distributors  have  seen  fit  to  reduce  sharply  the  num- 
ber of  new  features  they  released  normally  in  order  to  add 
more  of  the  old  ones  to  their  release  schedules.  And  as 
though  this  subtle  forcing  of  reissues,  at  exorbitant  rentals, 
was  not  enough,  rationed  raw  stock,  which  is  needed  so 
badly  for  prints  of  new  features,  has  been  and  is  used  to 
make  fresh  prints  of  the  old  pictures. 

The  disposition  of  raw  stock  has  gotten  out  of  hand  and, 
as  this  paper  has  already  pointed  out,  there  is  immediate 
need  for  revision  of  the  method  by  which  the  WPB  allo- 
cates stock  to  the  industry.  A  step  in  the  right  direction  is 
indicated  in  a  report  by  the  daily  trade  papers  that  undis- 
closed industry  sources  have  submitted  to  the  WPB  recom- 
mendations that  the  use  of  raw  stock  for  reissues  be  banned 
so  long  as  the  tight  film  situation  continues.  While  this 
recommendation,  if  adopted,  would  prove  helpful,  it  would 
not  in  itself  be  enough  to  curb  the  distributors'  overall  abuse 
of  their  privilege  to  dispose  of  their  stock  quotas  in  what- 
ever manner  they  see  fit. 

The  situation  calls  for  the  formulation  by  the  WPB  of 
definite  restrictions  covering  the  use  of  the  stock,  designed 
to  compel  the  distributors  to  recognize  exhibition's  undeni- 
able equity  in  the  stock.  And  it  is  up  to  Allied  and  other 
exhibitor  organizations  to  protect  that  equity.  These  organi- 
zations should  seek  and  demand  representation  for  exhibition 
at  all  conferences  with  the  WPB  regarding  raw  stock.  They 
should  make  known  to  this  Government  agency  the  result 
of  the  distributors'  misuse  of  the  stock,  and  they  should 
recommend  that  strict  regulations  be  formulated  to  prevent 
its  continuance. 

To  repeat,  there  is  immediate  need  for  revision  of  the 
WPB's  method  of  allocating  raw  stock,  for  therein,  to  a 
great  extent,  lies  the  root  of  many  of  the  abuses  that  beset 
exhibitors  today. 


COOPERATIVE  BUYING 
ORGANIZATIONS 

In  urging  the  exhibitors  to  intensify  their  efforts  to  hold 
down  film  rentals,  Mr.  Myers,  in  his  annual  report  to  Allied's 
Board  of  Directors,  made  the  following  observation  relative 
to  the  rapid  growth  of  buying  and  booking  combines: 

"The  rapid  increase  in  cooperative  buying  reflects  an  in- 
creasing appreciation  of  the  danger  [high  fi'm  rentals],  al- 
though in  some  instances  it  may  represent  only  the  efforts  of 
self-seeking  promoters.  It  would  seem  the  part  of  wisdom, 
in  all  such  ventures,  for  the  exhibitors  to  retain  a  high  degree 
of  control  over  such  organizations  so  that  they  will  not  de- 
velop into  Frankenstein  monsters.  .  .  ." 

Harrison's  Reports  should  like  to  add  to  Mr.  Myers' 
wise  observation  that  extreme  caution  must  be  taken  by  the 
exhibitors  to  make  sure  that  any  buying  combine  they  either 
form  or  join  confines  its  activities  to  the  buying  of  film  on 
better  terms  without  in  any  way  employing  its  buying  power 
for  the  purpose  of  making  it  either  difficult  or  impossible  for 
other  exhibitors  to  buy  film. 

The  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  in  its  recent  Crescent  Case 
decision,  took  pains  to  distinguish  between  pooling  the  buy- 
ing power  of  independent  theatres  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing product  on  better  rental  terms,  and  a  combination  of 
exhibitors  for  the  purpose  of  either  depriving  another  ex- 
hibitor of  an  opportunity  to  obtain  product  or  resorting  to 
other  acts,  the  effect  of  which  might  be  to  drive  him  out  of 
business.  The  latter  combination  would  be  considered  a 
conspiracy  in  restraint  of  interstate  commerce,  even  if  the 
conspiracy  was  effected  within  a  single  state,  and  would  be 
punishable  under  the  Sherman  anti-trust  laws. 

Exhibitors  who  join  a  cooperative  buying  organization  in 
good  faith  and  with  honest  motive  should  heed  Mr.  Myers' 
admonition.  They  should  "retain  a  high  degree  of  control" 


over  the  organization,  in  order  to  make  it  impossible  for  some 
"self-seeking  promoter"  to  steer  the  organization  away  from 
its  proper  course. 


A  NEW  ZEALAND  EXHIBITOR  ADVISES 
THE  AMERICAN  PRODUCERS 

Hollywood  heroics  and  excessive  flag-waving  in  war  pic- 
tures, about  which  Harrison's  Reports  has  often  com- 
plained, and  which  has  been  a  source  of  embarrassment  to 
the  American  servicemen,  particularly  those  stationed  in 
foreign  lands,  are  apparently  just  as  distasteful  to  our  friends 
in  New  Zealand.  Here  is  what  Mr.  Edwin  R.  Greenfield, 
managing  director  of  Modern  Theatres  (Provincial)  Ltd., 
of  Auckland,  N.  Z.,  has  to  say  on  the  subject  in  a  letter 
dated  December  L,  1944  addressed  to  this  paper: 

"May  I  through  you,  take  this  opportunity  of  uttering  a 
word  of  warning  to  American  producers.  I  give  this  warn- 
ing in  sincere  friendship  and  not  by  way  of  carping  criticism. 

"If  American  goes  on  producing  pictures  as  they  have 
been  in  these  last  12  months  or  so,  they  will  not  only  ruin 
their  market  in  English-speaking  countries  but  also  our  busi- 
ness as  exhibitors  as  well.  This  is  quite  apart  from  the  very 
bad  effect  they  arc  having  on  non-American  people  politi- 
cally. 

"The  people  of  New  Zealand  are  sick  and  tired  of  war 
and  flying  pictures  that  are  so  theatrical  that  they  make  a 
joke  of  war.  If  producers  could  hear  audiences  laugh  openly 
at  the  flag  waving  over-statements  uttered  in  these  pictures, 
exaggerating  the  ability  and  prowess  of  the  American  sol- 
dier, sailor  or  airman,  they  would  realize  that  they  are  doing 
America  no  good. 

"We  in  New  Zealand,  through  personal  contact,  have  the 
greatest  admiration  for  the  real  American  soldier,  sailor  or 
airman;  and  the  behaviour  of  the  American  girls  has  been 
absolutely  outstanding.  A  close  friendship  has  grown  up, 
but  it  is  more  than  human  friendship  can  stand  to  hear  the 
American  fighting  man  spoken  of  in  every  picture  we  have 
as  'the  greatest  in  the  world'  or  'the  greatest  in  history'.  We 
feel  here,  that  England  has  also  done  a  little  bit  in  this  war 
and  we  are  also  somewhat  proud  of  our  own  New  Zealand 
Division,  small  as  it  may  have  been. 

"The  screen  is  a  valuable  medium  for  propaganda,  but  if 
that  propaganda  is  laid  on  with  such  ludicrous  exaggeration 
it  kills  its  own  value.  A  glaring  example  of  why  English  pic- 
tures are  now  forging  ahead  in  popularity  may  be  seen  in 
comparing  'DESPERATE  JOURNEY'  with  ONE  OF  OUR 
AIRCRAFT  IS  MISSING'.  The  basic  theme  of  this  Amer- 
ican film  is  the  same  as  the  English  one,  but  whereas  every- 
thing in  the  latter  does  at  least  come  within  the  realm  of 
possibility,  the  former,  with  its  humanly  impossible  heroics 
was  regarded  by  our  audiences  more  as  a  Mack  Sennett 
comedy  than  as  a  serious  drama. 

"I  do  hope  you  will  accept  this  warning  in  the  spirit  that 
it  is  given,  but  we  exhibitors  here  in  New  Zealand  are  find- 
ing our  figures  going  down  and  down  because  of  this  type 
of  picture  driving  the  public  away  from  the  theatres." 

There  is  sage  advice  in  Mr.  Greenfield's  letter.  Will  the 
producers  heed  it?  This  paper  believes  that  they  had  better 
heed  it! 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  3,  1945  No.  5 


MORE  ABOUT  RATIONING 
OF  RAW  FILM  STOCK 

Emphasizing  that  independent  producers  must  be 
given  direct  allotments  of  raw  stock  in  order  to  sur- 
vive,  Samuel  Goldwyn,  in  an  interview  last  Tuesday 
with  the  trade  press,  issued  the  following  prepared 
statement : 

"More  important  than  any  previous  issue  facing 
the  motion  picture  industry  is  the  problem  of  ration- 
ing of  raw  stock  by  the  W.P.B. 

"The  question  to  be  decided  is  whether  the  inde- 
pendent producers  are  to  look  to  their  Government  or 
to  the  distributors  for  their  raw  film  stock.  Up  to  now, 
ration  cards  had  been  handed  out  to  distributors  and 
not  to  producers.  The  producers,  as  the  original  crea- 
tors of  the  industry,  demand  a  standing  that  will  per- 
mit them  to  survive.  No  longer  do  they  intend  to 
remain  subservient  to  the  distributors  who,  by  holding 
ration  cards,  have  in  many  cases  possessed  the  power 
of  life  or  death  over  an  independent  producer. 

"Newsprint,  the  other  great  medium  of  public  ex- 
pression, has  been  rationed  to  the  publishers  and  not 
to  the  wholesalers  and  distributors. 

"No  producer  complains  because  there  is  not 
enough  raw  stock  to  go  around.  They  all  know  that 
there  is  a  war  on.  Producers  do  complain  that  during 
a  war  the  vast  accumulations  of  finished  films  by  the 
producer-distributor  combinations  is  in  effect  a  most 
dangerous  and  unsound  hoarding.  Some  of  these  films 
have  been  stored  away  for  a  year  or  more. 

"We  must  prevent  these  accumulations  and  recog- 
nize that  in  effect,  they  constitute  a  hoarding  that  will 
strangle  the  creative  efforts  of  the  independent  pro- 
ducer at  the  very  time  when  the  importance  of  the 
independent  producer  in  this  industry  is  greater  than 
it  has  ever  been. 

"There  is  a  further  point,  a  very  important  one, — 
which  is  that  the  purpose  of  film  rationing  is  the  public 
and  for  the  public  interest, — that  and  nothing  more. 
In  it,  the  independent  producer  has  a  great  stake,  and 
the  public  has  a  great  stake  in  the  independent  pro- 
ducer. 

"The  last  point  is  that  raw  stock  should  be  made 
available  in  increasing  quantities  for  the  distribution 
in  the  United  States  of  pictures  made  in  England  and 
other  foreign  countries.  An  honest  realization  of  the 
place  of  films  in  international  understanding  and  in 
commerce  would  dictate  this  as  basic  and  essential.'" 

Harrison's  Reports  has  many  times  had  occasion 
to  differ  in  these  columns  with  the  opinions  and  poli- 
cies of  Samuel  Goldwyn,  but  in  this  vital  matter — the 
method  used  by  the  War  Production  Board  in  the 
rationing  of  raw  film  stock — it  agrees  with  him  whole- 
heartedly insofar  as  this  method  affects  the  interests 
of  the  independent  producers. 


Mr.  Goldwyn  sums  up  the  situation  well  when  he 
says  that  the  distributors,  under  the  present  method 
of  raw  stock  allocation,  possess  "the  power  of  life  or 
death  over  an  independent  producer." 

As  this  paper  disclosed  in  its  issue  of  January  20, 
the  W.P.B.  rations  the  available  raw  stock  to  the 
distributors  only,  and  it  does  not  impose  on  them  any 
rules  or  regulations  as  to  the  stock's  disposition.  In 
addition  to  using  whatever  quantity  of  their  quota 
they  wish  for  new  productions,  for  positive  prints  of 
pictures,  for  positive  prints  of  old  pictures  (reissues), 
and  for  the  foreign  markets,  the  distributors  furnish 
to  those  of  the  independent  producers  with  whom  they 
have  releasing  agreements  allotments  of  raw  stock  for 
new  productions.  These  producers — men  like  Gold- 
wyn and  others  who  have  been  producing  pictures 
independently  for  years — have  no  standing  with  the 
Government  insofar  as  their  raw  film  stock  require- 
ments are  concerned;  they  must  look  to  the  distribu- 
tors to  fill  their  needs.  And  the  deplorable  part  of  it 
all  is  that  the  distributors  are  not  compelled,  either  to 
give  them  some  specific  percentage  of  the  rationed  film 
stock,  or  to  deal  with  them  at  all. 

In  normal  times,  most  of  the  distributors  would 
have  considered  it  good  business  to  come  to  terms  with 
a  leading  independent  producer  for  the  distribution  of 
his  pictures.  In  fact,  it  sometimes  happened  that  the 
quality  of  the  few  pictures  delivered  by  the  indepen- 
dent was  of  a  caliber  that  served,  not  only  as  the 
bright  spots  in  an  otherwise  dull  program,  but  also  to 
raise  the  prestige  of  the  distributor  considerably. 

Today,  however,  the  shortage  of  raw  film  stock, 
plus  the  abnormal  theatre  attendance,  are  enough  to 
cool  the  distributors'  enthusiasm  for  such  a  deal;  every 
foot  of  raw  stock  given  to  an  outside  producer  means 
that  just  so  much  less  stock  is  available  for  the  pro- 
ducer-distributor's own  pictures,  which,  in  these  times, 
give  him  more  profit  per  foot  of  raw  stock  than  do 
the  pictures  of  the  independent  producers  from  whom 
he  can  realize  no  more  than  a  distribution  fee. 

While  Harrison's  Reports  has  not  heard  of  even 
one  instance  where  a  producing-distributing  company 
has  used  its  control  over  raw  stock  to  freeze  out  an 
independent  producer,  it  wishes  to  point  out  that, 
under  the  present  method  of  stock  allocation,  such  a 
situation  is  possible.  Accordingly,  a  condition  that 
enables  one  branch  of  the  industry  to  possess  "the 
power  of  life  or  death"  over  another  branch  should 
not  be  permitted  to  exist. 

This  paper  agrees  that  distribution  has  a  definite 
stake  in  the  available  raw  film  stock.  At  the  same  time, 
the  fact  cannot  be  overlooked  that  both  independent 
production  and  exhibition  have  equally  important 
stakes.  All  three  branches  of  the  industry  are  inter- 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


18 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  3, 1945 


"Roughly  Speaking"  with  Rosalind  Russell 
and  Jack  Carson 

(Warner  Bros.,  no  release  date  set;  time,  128  min.) 

There  is  a  charming,  entertaining  quality  about  this 
domestic  comedy-drama,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  its 
pace  is  leisurely  and  its  running  time  is  much  too  long. 
Based  on  the  autobiography  of  Louise  Randall  Pier- 
son,  the  story  revolves  around  that  lady's  colorful  life 
from  1902  to  the  present  day  and,  through  a  series  of 
different  episodes,  some  of  which  are  disconnected, 
depicts  how  she,  as  a  progressive-minded  woman  with 
a  determination  to  get  the  most  out  of  life,  failed  to 
attain  her  objectives.  The  depiction  of  her  unconven- 
tional family  life  and  her  financial  ups  and  downs 
give  the  picture  many  humorous  and  pathetic  mo- 
ments. Rosalind  Russell,  as  Mrs.  Pierson,  gives  a 
vibrant  and  charming  performance,  winning  one's 
sympathy  and  admiration  by  her  ability  to  retain  her 
courage  and  unfailing  sense  of  humor  despite  her 
many  heart-breaking  disappointments.  She  receives 
excellent  support  from  Jack  Carson,  as  her  second 
husband,  a  happy-go-lucky  fellow,  who  understands 
her  ambitions  but  strives  unsuccessfully  to  help  her 
attain  them.  The  production  values  are  very  good. 

The  story  begins  with  the  death  of  Louise's  father 
when  she  was  twelve-years-old,  and  her  determina- 
tion, at  that  age,  to  make  something  of  herself.  At 
eighteen,  she  enrolls  in  college  to  prepare  for  a  busi- 
ness career,  eventually  obtaining  a  secretarial  position 
at  Yale  University.  There  she  meets  Rodney  Crane 
(Donald  Woods),  a  banker's  son,  and  marries  him 
after  a  whirlwind  courtship.  In  time,  they  are  blessed 
with  four  children.  Rodney  prospers,  and  the  family 
moves  to  the  country.  Tragedy  strikes  when  the  chil- 
dren are  stricken  with  infantile  paralysis.  All  recover, 
except  a  daughter,  who  is  left  a  cripple.  When  Rod- 
ney loses  his  job,  Louise  carries  on  cheerfully,  even 
finding  employment  herself.  Rodney,  his  pride  hurt, 
leaves  her  for  another  woman.  Months  later,  Louise 
secures  a  divorce  and  marries  Harold  Pierson  (Jack 
Carson),  an  admitted,  irresponsible  playboy,  whose 
temperament  was  very  much  like  her  own.  Harold 
endears  himself  to  Louise's  children  and,  eventually, 
he  and  Louise  have  a  child  of  their  own.  They  estab- 
lish a  huge  greenhouse  business  for  the  culture  of 
roses,  but  they  go  bankrupt  when  the  rose  market  be- 
comes flooded.  They  next  become  interested  in  a  new 
type  of  airplane  and,  just  when  success  is  within  their 
grasp,  the  stock  market  crash  wipes  out  their  backers. 
Despite  these  setbacks,  they  manage  to  put  the  chil- 
dren through  college  while  they  themselves  go  through 
varying  stages  of  financial  worries  as  Harold  tries  his 
hand  at  selling  vacuum  cleaners  and  doing  landscape 
work  at  the  New  York  World's  Fair.  Following  the 
attack  on  Pearl  Harbor,  they  see  their  three  sons  off  to 
the  war.  With  their  two  remaining  children  in  a  po- 
sition to  take  care  of  themselves,  Louise  and  Harold 
again  face  an  uncertain  future,  but  face  it  unafraid. 

Mrs.  Pierson  wrote  the  screen  play  from  her  book, 
"Roughly  Speaking,"  Henry  Blanke  produced  it,  and 
Michael  Curtis  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ray 
Collins,  Kathleen  Lockhart,  Cora  Sue  Collins,  Alan 
Hale,  John  Qualen,  Andrea  King,  Robert  Hutton, 
John  Sheridan,  Jean  Sullivan  and  others. 


"What  a  Blonde"  with  Leon  Errol 
and  Veda  Ann  Borg 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  71  min.) 
Despite  the  familiarity  of  its  story,  this  program 
comedy  should  get  by  with  audiences  that  are  not  too 
fussy.  Discriminating  patrons,  however,  will  probably 
find  the  proceedings  pretty  dull,  for  the  plot  is  devel- 
oped in  so  obvious  a  fashion  that  one  knows  well  in 
advance  just  what  is  going  to  happen.  The  comedy 
situations,  which  range  from  slapstick  to  the  bed- 
room-farce variety,  are  quite  familiar  as  well  as  ludi- 
crous, but  they  provide  enough  laughs  to  make  it 
amusing  for  those  who  are  easily  entertained.  Leon 
Errol  struggles  valiantly  with  the  material,  and  occa- 
sionally is  pretty  funny: — 

Errol,  a  wealthy  lingerie  manufacturer,  is  refused 
additional  gas  coupons  by  his  ration  board  unless  he 
obtains  riders  to  share  his  car.  Approached  by  Michael 
St.  Angel,  a  young  inventor  with  a  process  for  making 
artificial  silk,  Errol  employs  him  as  a  share-the-ride 
passenger.  Richard  Lane,  Errol's  butler,  who  retained 
his  job  because  he  knew  of  Errol's  amorous  escapades, 
invites  a  group  of  unemployed  show  girls,  including 
Veda  Ann  Borg,  to  live  in  Errol's  home  and  to  act  as 
share-the-ride  passengers.  Desperate  for  gas,  Errol, 
whose  wife  was  away  visiting  her  mother,  agrees  to 
the  scheme.  Complications  arise  when  Clarence  Kolb, 
an  over-pious,  raw  material  tycoon,  who  was  Errol's 
only  source  of  supply,  pays  a  visit  to  the  house  with 
his  wife.  Lest  Kolb  misunderstand  and  refuse  to  do 
business  with  him,  Errol  persuades  Veda  to  pose  as 
his  wife,  and  arranges  for  her  friends  to  pose  as  maids. 
Matters  become  even  more  complicated  when  Kolb 
decides  to  stay  overnight.  In  the  midst  of  this  confu- 
sion, Errol's  wife  returns  unexpectedly.  To  get  out 
of  his  predicament,  Errol  tells  Kolb  that  she  was  his 
housekeeper,  and  arranges  for  Veda  to  act  as  the 
young  inventor's  wife.  There  follows  a  series  of  in- 
cidents in  which  every  one  hides  in  other  people's 
bedrooms  until  Kolb  discovers  the  deception  and  sev- 
ers business  relations  with  his  host.  Errol  looks  to  the 
young  inventor  to  take  care  of  his  material  needs  only 
to  learn  that  his  process  cannot  be  used  until  after  the 
war.  With  no  gas  and  with  no  silk,  Errol  faces  the 
gloomy  task  of  squaring  matters  with  his  wife. 

Charles  Roberts  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ben  Stoloff 
produced  it,  and  Leslie  Goodwins  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Elaine  Riley,  Chef  Milani  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"I  Love  a  Mystery"  with  Jim  Bannon, 
Nina  Foch  and  George  Macready 

(Columbia,  Jan.  25;  time,  69  min.) 
A  better-than-average  program  murder-mystery 
melodrama.  The  story  unfolds  in  an  interesting  man- 
ner and,  since  the  involvements  of  the  plot  are  not 
cleared  up  until  the  finish,  one  is  kept  pretty  well 
mystified  throughout.  The  story,  of  course,  is  far 
fetched;  but  this  fact  will  probably  be  overlooked  by 
the  followers  of  the  eerie-mystifying  type  of  enter- 
tainment. There  is  no  comedy  to  relieve  the  tension, 
nor  is  there  any  romantic  interest.  The  direction  is 
skillful  and  the  acting  good,  but  the  players  mean 
little  at  the  box-office: — 


February  3,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


19 


Intrigued  by  the  strange  behaviour  of  George  Mac- 
ready  in  a  San  Francisco  cafe,  Jim  Bannon  and  Barton 
Yarborough  learn  that  he  feared  decapitation  at 
the  hands  of  a  peg-legged  man.  Macready  tells  them 
of  a  wierd  plot  on  his  life  instituted  by  a  secret  oriental 
cult,  which  had  offered  him  $10,000  for  his  head,  be- 
cause he  was  the  image  of  the  cult's  founder.  The 
founder's  body  had  been  preserved  for  many  years, 
but  the  head  was  deteriorating  and  a  new  one  was 
needed  to  take  its  place.  At  Macready 's  home,  Bannon 
meets  Nina  Foch,  his  paralytic  wife,  and  her  actions 
lead  him  to  suspect  that  her  illness  was  faked.  Bannon 
sets  a  trap  for  the  peg-legged  man,  but  his  scheme  is 
foiled  by  Carole  Matthews,  a  mysterious  woman  who 
had  atached  herself  to  Macready  in  the  cafe.  On  the 
following  day,  Bannon  learns  that  the  peg-legged 
man  and  Carole,  who  were  father  and  daughter, 
had  been  murdered.  Bannon,  continuing  his  investi- 
gation, learns  that  the  secret  cult  was  non-existant, 
and  that  Lester  Matthews,  an  art  dealer,  Gregory 
Gay,  Nina's  physician,  and  Nina  herself,  were  work- 
ing together  in  a  diabolical  plot  to  drive  Macready 
insane  in  order  to  gain  possession  of  his  estate.  All 
three  suspected  one  another  of  killing  Carole  and  her 
father,  who  were  part  of  the  conspiracy.  None,  not 
even  Bannon,  knew  that  Macready  had  discovered 
their  scheme  and  had  committed  the  two  murders  to 
avenge  himself.  Lest  Bannon  find  him  out,  Macready 
tries  unsuccessfully  to  kill  him.  Fleeing  from  the  de- 
tective, Macready  overturns  his  car  and  is  decapi- 
tated. Nina  and  her  confederates  are  taken  into 
custody. 

Charles  O'Neal  wrote  the  screen  play,  Wallace 
MacDonald  produced  it,  and  Henry  Levin  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Thunderhead — Son  of  Flicka" 
with  Roddy  McDowall  and  Preston  Foster 

(20th  Century-Fox,  March;  time,  78  min.) 
This  sequel  to  "My  Friend  Flicka"  retains  all  the 
wholesomeness,  human  interest  and  pictorial  beauty 
of  its  predecessor;  it  is  the  sort  of  entertainment  that 
should  appeal  to  all  types  of  audiences.  The  outdoor 
Technicolor  photography  and  the  exceptionally  fine 
shots  of  horses  roaming  the  range  are  so  magnificent 
that  they  alone  are  worth  the  price  of  admission.  The 
sequence  in  which  two  majestic  white  stallions  have  a 
fight  to  the  death  is  extremely  thrilling.  An  exciting 
horse  race  and  a  hunt  for  a  wild,  vicious  albino  stal- 
lion provide  a  number  of  other  thrills.  As  in  "My 
Friend  Flicka,"  the  story  is  a  simple,  sentimental  tale 
about  a  young  lad's  love  for  his  horse — this  time, 
Flicka's  foal,' and  it  has  been  told  with  considerable 
charm  and  feeling.  Roddy  McDowall,  who  again 
plays  the  part  of  the  rancher's  son,  is  very  good;  he 
has  poise,  and,  by  not  overacting,  gives  credence  to  the 
part : — 

Thrilled  when  Flicka  presents  him  with  a  white 
colt,  Roddy  plans  to  train  it  as  a  race  horse,  despite 
his  father's  (Preston  Foster)  warning  that  the  colt  will 
be  as  wild  as  its  grandsire,  a  wild  albino  stallion  that 
had  been  raiding  Foster's  herds,  leading  many  mares 
away.  Roddy,  however,  patiently  trains  the  animal 
and,  with  the  help  of  his  mother  (Rita  Johnson),  in- 
duces his  father  to  pay  a  $500  fee  to  enter  Thunder- 


head  in  a  $5,000  handicap  race.  With  Roddy  as  his 
jockey,  Thunderhead  shows  remarkable  speed  and 
quickly  takes  the  lead,  but,  towards  the  finish,  with  the 
race  almost  won,  the  horse  pulls  a  tendon  and  loses. 
His  racing  days  over,  Thunderhead  becomes  Roddy's 
saddle  horse.  Meanwhile  the  $500  entrance  fee  had 
cut  deeply  into  Foster's  finances,  causing  him  con- 
siderable concern.  To  make  matters  worse,  the  wild 
albino  raids  his  herd  again,  killing  a  prize  stallion.  To 
rid  himself  and  the  neighboring  ranchers  of  this 
vicious  animal,  Foster,  taking  Roddy  and  James  Bell, 
his  handyman,  with  him,  determines  to  track  down 
and  kill  the  albino.  While  camping  overnight,  Roddy 
sees  Thunderhead  break  loose  from  his  stake  and  start 
off  towards  the  hills.  Roddy  follows  the  animal  into  a 
hidden  valley,  where  he  finds  the  albino  guarding 
many  of  his  father's  missing  mares.  The  vicious  animal 
rushes  at  Roddy,  but  Thunderhead  comes  to  his  rescue 
and,  in  a  desperate  struggle,  deals  the  albino  a  death 
blow  with  his  hoofs.  Thunderhead  leads  the  herd  back 
to  the  ranch  and,  as  a  reward,  Roddy  gives  him  his 
freedom.  The  horse  heads  into  the  wilderness. 

Dwight  Cummins  and  Dorothy  Yost  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Robert  Bassler  produced  it,  and  Louise 
King  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Diana  Hale,  Ralph 
Sanford  and  others. 


"Here  Come  the  Co-Eds" 
with  Abbott  and  Costello 

(Universal,  Feb.  2;  time,  87  min.) 

Like  most  Abbott  and  Costello  slapstick  comedies, 
this  one  provokes  hearty  laughter  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  story  is  completely  nonsensical.  It  makes  use 
of  many  gags  and  routines,  some  new  and  some  old; 
but  these  are,  for  the  most  part,  comical.  One  sequence 
that  will  cause  considerable  laughter  is  where  Cos- 
tello, eating  a  bowl  of  oyster  stew,  is  molested  by  a 
belligerent  live  oyster.  His  antics  in  a  wrestling  match 
with  Lon  Chaney  as  his  opponent,  his  participation  in 
a  girl's  basketball  game,  and  his  sohg-and-dance 
routine  with  Peggy  Ryan,  are  other  high  spots  in  the 
comedy.  The  musical  interludes  furnished  by  Phil 
Spitalny  and  his  all-girl  orchestra  are  pleasant : — 

Seeking  to  publicize  his  dancing  sister  (Martha 
O'Driscoll) ,  But  Abbott  "plants"  a  story  in  a  national 
magazine  that  her  ambition  was  to  earn  enough  money 
to  attend  Bixby  College,  an  exclusive  school  for  young 
ladies.  Donald  Cook,  Bixby 's  young  dean,  seeking  to 
modernize  the  school,  awards  a  scholarship  to  Martha. 
Abbott  and  Costello  accompany  her  to  Bixby,  where 
they  obtain  employment  as  caretakers.  Cook's  award- 
ing of  the  scholarship  to  Martha  arouses  Charles 
Dingle,  who  held  an  overdue  mortgage  on  the  school; 
he  demands  that  Martha  be  dismissed  lest  he  foreclose. 
Learning  that  the  mortgage  amounted  to  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  Abbott  and  Costello  decide  to  come 
to  the  rescue.  They  rally  the  support  of  the  students 
and,  through  Costello's  participation  in  a  wrestling 
match  and  in  a  girls'  basketball  game,  in  which  he 
outwits  a  crooked  gambler,  they  raise  the  necessary 
funds  to  pay  off  the  mortgage  and  save  the  school. 

Arthur  T.  Horman  and  John  Grant  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Mr.  Grant  produced  it,  and  Jean  Yar- 
brough  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  June  Vincent, 
Richard  Lane,  Joe  Kirk,  Bill  Stern  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


20 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  3,  1945 


dependent,  for  one  cannot  exist  without  the  facilities 
and  the  aid  of  the  others.  Consequently,  for  the 
W.P.B.  to  follow  a  system  of  rationing  that  gives  one 
a  decided  advantage  over  the  others  is  a  violation,  not 
only  of  the  intent  of  rationing,  but  also  of  one  of  the 
basic  principles  of  our  democracy — free  enterprise. 

The  independent  producers'  survival  is  of  vital  im- 
portance to  the  exhibitors,  for  their  creative  efforts 
have  been  and  still  are  a  major  force  in  the  progress 
of  motion  picture  production.  Moreover,  their  pictures 
serve  to  create  keener  competition  among  the  distribu- 
tors. And  the  keener  the  competition  the  better  off 
the  exhibitors. 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  therefore,  that  the  War  Produc- 
tion Board,  awakened  by  the  demands  of  the  independ- 
ent producers,  will  take  the  necessary  steps  to  rear- 
range its  present  method  of  stock  allocation  so  that  the 
interests  of  all  branches  of  the  industry  will  be  pro- 
tected fully  in  accordance  with  war-time  exigencies. 
*       *  * 

According  to  reports  in  the  daily  trade  papers,  the 
industry's  advisory  committee  to  the  War  Production 
Board  on  raw  stock,  which  up  to  now  has  been  com- 
prised of  distributor  representatives  only,  has  been 
enlarged  to  include  representation  for  the  independ- 
ent producers  as  well  as  for  the  companies  dealing 
with  the  distribution  of  reissues. 

This  enlarged  advisory  committee  was  scheduled 
to  meet  with  the  WPB  in  Washington  on  February  1 
regarding  stock  allocations  for  the  first  quarter  of 
1945.  While  the  results  of  this  meeting  will  not  be 
known  until  after  this  paper  has  gone  to  press,  it  is  a 
foregone  conclusion  that,  because  of  pressure  exerted 
by  the  new  members  on  the  committee,  the  WPB  will 
re-arrange  its  method  of  allocating  stock  so  as  to  give 
due  consideration  to  the  different  interests  the  new 
committeemen  represent. 

But  where  is  exhibition?  Why  haven't  the  inde- 
pendent exhibitors,  through  their  organizations,  de- 
manded representation  on  the  advisory  committee? 
The  independent  producers,  having  raised  their 
voices  in  protest,  were  given  representation  on  the 
committee  quickly,  and  it  goes  without  saying  that 
their  protests  will  bear  fruit. 

As  this  paper  pointed  out  in  last  week's  editorial, 
the  root  of  many  of  the  abuses  that  beset  exhibitors 
today  lies,  to  a  great  extent,  in  the  WPB's  failure  to 
regulate  the  producer- distributors'  disposal  of  the 
stock  allocated  to  them.  The  WPB  will  not  go  out 
of  its  way  to  protect  the  exhibitors'  equity  in  rationed 
raw  stock  unless  the  exhibitors  raise  their  voices  and 
demand  that  their  equity  be  protected  by  regulatory 
restrictions  on  the  disposition  of  the  stock.  It  is  high 
time  the  exhibitors  stopped  complaining  to  themselves. 
There  is  still  a  moment  left  in  which  to  take  the  com- 
plaint to  Washington  and  make  demands  for  recog- 
nition and  representation  in  a  matter  that  is  vital  to 
their  business  existence. 


MORE  ON  SPARING 
THE  PUBLIC'S  FEELINGS 

Hollywood's  lack  of  consideration  for  the  public's 
present  troubled  state  of  mind  has  prompted  the  Inde- 
pendent Theatre  Owners  of  Northern  California  to 
issue  the  following  statement  in  a  bulletin  dated 
January  19: 


"The  big  shots  in  Hollywood  have  no  ears,  except 
for  their  'Yes  Men.'  They  will  not  listen  to  their 
Customers,  the  Exhibitors,  who  in  turn  listen  to  their 
Customers,  the  Theatre-going  public.  Time  and  time 
again  the  Exhibitors  personally,  and  through  their 
Trade  Papers,  have  asked  and  begged  the  Hollywood 
Big  Shots  to  stop  using  the  War  as  a  background 
for  their  pictures  and  to  eliminate  the  heart-rending, 
tear-jerking  scenes,  the  general  public  has  enough 
trouble  of  its  own  without  going  to  our  theatres  and 
having  its  heart  pulled  out.  Have  they  listened?  Have 
they  acted?  Hell  no,  they  go  right  on  in  their  stupid 
way,  hurting  the  Industry  and  driving  Patrons  out 
of  our  Theatres.  We  know  numerous  people  who 
are  staying  out  of  the  Theatres  because  they  refuse 
to  be  continually  hurt.  If  you  think  we  are  kidding, 
read  this  reprint  from  one  of  Walter  Winchell's  Col- 
umns of  recent  date. 

"  'A  Cleveland  reader  writes:  "I  lost  my  own  son 
less  than  four  months  ago  in  the  Pacific.  He  was  19.  I 
write  to  ask  your  help  in  getting  the  movie  makers  to 
omit  certain  episodes.  Last  week  was  the  first  time 
(since  receiving  our  tragic  news)  that  my  husband 
and  I  went  to  a  movie  theatre.  So  we  chose  one  we 
thought  would  give  us  a  lift.  It  was  'American  Ro- 
mance.' The  scene  where  the  parents  read  the  tele- 
gram from  the  War  Department  was  almost  more 
than  I  could  bear,  as  it  almost  paralleled  our  own 
grief.  Then  we  saw  'Janie'  and  it  was  full  of  similar 
misery  for  us  all  and,  I  am  sure,  other  parents  whose 
sons  have  been  killed  in  action.  Why  doesn't  the  movie 
industry  consider  all  of  us  and  not  open  parent's 
wounds  again  and  again?"  ' 

"Exhibitors  have  to  answer  questions  just  like  the 
above,  and  all  we  can  say  is  'The  Fat  Heads  in  Holly- 
wood will  not  listen  to  us  or  you,  the  Public.  When 
they  preview  their  pictures  the  more  you  cry  the  bet- 
ter they  like  it,  and  they  think  their  picture  is  a  suc- 
cess!' Our  advice  should  be,  stay  out  of  the  Theatres 
until  after  the  War.  Making  a  profit  on  the  misery  of 
others  is  bad  business.  For  the  morale  of  the  coun- 
try Hollywood  should  produce  only  pictures  that  will 
lift  up,  not  bear  down." 

While  Harrison's  Reports  does  not  condone  the 
strong  language  this  exhibitor  organization  has  used  to 
apprise  the  producers  of  their  mistakes,  it  thoroughly 
agrees  with  its  viewpoint. 


THE  "BROWNOUT"  ORDER 

Exhibitors  who  operate  theatres  in  territories  af- 
fected by  the  WPB's  "brownout"  order,  which,  until 
further  notice  limits  the  lighting  of  marquees  to  60- 
watts  and  bans  entirely  the  use  of  all  other  exterior 
lighting,  may  obtain  permission  for  greater  illumina- 
tion if  they  can  prove  that  it  is  necessary  for  the  public 
health  or  safety,  or  that  the  restriction  places  an  un- 
reasonable hardship  on  their  operations. 

In  seeking  greater  lighting  because  of  public  health 
or  safety,  a  certificate  to  that  effect  must  be  obtained 
from  the  local  fire,  police  or  health  department.  For 
reasons  of  unreasonable  hardship,  a  statement  setting 
forth  all  the  pertinent  facts  must  be  made  in  writing. 
The  certificate  and  statement  are  to  be  sent  to  he 
nearest  WPB  field  office. 

The  WPB  has  warned  that  violators  of  the  "brown- 
out" order  will  be  subject,  not  only  to  discontinuance 
of  the  electric  service,  but  also  to  fine  and  imprison- 
ment. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH   AVENUE  Published     Weekly  by 

United  States   *15.00  Rnnni  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  i\oom  ioia  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  A  Motjon  picture  Reviewing  Service   

ureat  Britain  ............  xo.<o  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

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35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  10,  1945  No.  6 


THE  BITTER  FRUITS  OF  INACTION 


As  most  of  you  undoubtedly  know  by  this  time, 
the  War  Production  Board,  at  its  meeting  in  Wash' 
ington  on  February  1  with  the  industry's  advisory 
committee  on  raw  stock,  has  announced  that  the 
industry  will  receive  sixteen  million  feet  less  raw 
stock  for  the  first  quarter  of  1945  than  it  received 
during  the  last  quarter  of  1944.  Originally,  the  WPB 
had  estimated  that  the  cut  would  be  approximately 
thirty  million  feet. 

This  latest  quarterly  stock  allocation  takes  on  a 
special  significance  because,  for  the  first  time  since 
the  WPB  began  to  ration  raw  film  stock  to  the  indus- 
try, it  has  seen  fit  to  place  a  restriction  on  its  usage. 
It  has  ordered  the  producer' distributors  to  limit  the 
number  of  positive  prints  on  new  features  to  a  maxi' 
mum  of  285.  The  WPB  has  indicated,  however,  that 
this  order  will  be  relaxed  in  the  event  a  distributor 
can  prove  that  a  particular  feature  has  not  exhausted 
its  playing  time  and  that  the  285  prints  or  a  portion 
of  them  are  no  longer  in  a  condition  to  give  satis- 
factory  projection  in  theatres  still  to  be  played.  In 
such  a  case,  additional  prints  may  be  authorized. 

I  don't  know  what  prompted  the  WPB  to  confine 
its  restrictions  on  the  use  of  raw  stock  solely  to  a 
limitation  of  the  number  of  positive  prints  processed. 
But  I  do  know  that  a  ruling  more  detrimental  to  the 
interests  of  the  already  burdened  subsequent-run 
exhibitors  could  not  have  been  made. 

The  deplorable  part  of  this  ruling  limiting  prints 
is  that,  in  effect,  it  permits  the  producer-distributors 
to  absorb  the  cut  of  sixteen  million  feet  at  the  expense 
of  the  exhibitors.  Simple  mathematics  prove  this.  Let 
us  assume,  for  example,  that  the  eleven  distributing 
companies  will  deliver  approximately  400  feature 
pictures  for  the  season.  Dividing  this  number  by  four 
gives  us  100  features  for  each  quarter.  To  be  con- 
servative, let  us  assume  that  an  average  of  20  fewer 
prints  will  be  processed  on  each  feature  picture  than 
have  heretofore  been  made.  This  assumption  is  indeed 
conservative,  since  the  distributors  generally  process 
from  300  to  400  prints  on  important  features.  That 
will  give  us  a  total  of  2000  fewer  prints  for  the 
quarter.  Still  keeping  our  figures  conservative,  let  us 
say  that  the  average  length  of  each  feature  is  8000 
feet.  Multiply  this  length  by  2000  prints  and  you  get 
a  total  of  16,000,000  feet  saved,  which  is  equal  to 
the  total  cut  in  raw  stock  for  the  quarter. 

The  aforementioned  figures  are,  mind  you,  con- 
servative. To  effect  a  still  greater  savings  of  raw 
stock,  all  that  the  producer-distributors  have  to  do  is 
to  keep  reducing  the  number  of  prints.  And  to  those 
who  would  complain  about  a  shortage  of  prints,  the 


producer-distributors  need  do  no  more  than  refer 
them  to  the  WPB's  directive.  But  let  us  not  concern 
ourselves  with  what  the  distributors  might  do  under 
this  latest  directive.  Let  us  instead  examine  the  con- 
ditions that  will  be  brought  about  by  the  producer- 
distributors'  conformity  with  the  directive.  With 
fewer  prints  available,  it  follows  that  the  subsequent- 
run  exhibitors  will  have  to  rely  more  than  ever  on 
reissues  in  order  to  keep  their  theatres  in  operation. 
With  fewer  prints,  it  follows  also  that  the  producer- 
distributors'  stranglehold  on  exhibition  will  be  tight- 
ened. The  limitation  of  prints  will  serve,  therefore,  to 
expand  the  producer-distributors'  operations  in  the 
reissue  market  from  which  they  are  already  realizing 
handsome  profits.  Just  imagine,  then,  how  much  more 
profitable  it  will  become  when  the  exhibitors,  desper- 
ate for  product,  find  themselves  compelled  to  book 
reissues.  With  no  restrictions  on  the  use  of  raw  stock 
for  prints  of  reissues,  the  producer-distributors,  under 
their  present  policy  of  unreasonable  rental  demands 
for  this  type  of  product,  will  turn  the  situation  into  a 
veritable  bonanza  for  themselves. 

The  savings  in  raw  stock  at  the  expense  of  the 
exhibitor  will  serve,  not  only  to  bolster  the  reissue 
market,  but  also  to  further  the  producer-distributors' 
expansion  of  their  interests  in  foreign  markets.  Last 
week,  this  paper  discussed  the  difficult  situation  that 
the  distributor  had  to  face  in  Mexico,  where  the 
officials  are  demanding  that  foreign  producers  bring 
in  their  own  raw  stock  for  the  processing  of  prints  to 
be  exhibited  in  that  country.  Now  Argentina  has  be- 
come huffy.  The  officials  of  that  country  have  in- 
formed the  representatives  of  foreign  film  companies 
that  they  will  restrict  the  number  of  pictures  imported 
unless  raw  stock  is  allocated  to  the  Argentinian  film 
industry.  According  to  a  report  in  Film  Daily,  Argen- 
tina is  demanding  as  much  raw  stock  as  there  is  in 
the  number  of  prints  sent  into  the  country  by  foreign 
companies.  Argentina  and  Mexico  are  lucrative  film 
markets,  and  so  are  many  other  foreign  markets  where 
a  similar  shortage  of  raw  stock  exists.  To  retain  their 
holds  on  these  markets,  the  producer-distributors  will 
have  to  draw  from  their  regular  stock  quotas.  There 
is  nothing  to  stop  them  from  doing  so.  Yet  the  fact 
remains  that  every  foot  of  raw  stock  they  withdraw 
for  a  foreign  market  makes  just  that  much  less  avail- 
able for  the  home  exhibitors. 

In  view  of  the  situation's  seriousness,  some  ques- 
tions are  very  much  in  order.  Why  has  a  restriction 
been  placed  on  the  number  of  prints  for  new  features, 
which  are  the  life-blood  of  exhibition,  while  no  re- 
( Continued  on  last  page) 


22 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  10, 1945 


"Leave  it  to  Blondie"  with  Arthur  Lake 
and  Penny  Singleton 

(Columbia,  Feb.  22;  time,  73  min.) 

The  followers  of  the  "Blondie"  pictures  should  find 
much  enjoyment  in  this  latest  of  the  series,  which  is 
the  first  one  produced  in  about  two  years;  it  will  serve 
as  a  good  supporting  feature  wherever  something  light 
is  needed  to  round  out  a  double  bill.  The  story  follows 
the  usual  pattern  employed  in  the  series,  with  Arthur 
Lake,  as  "Dagwood,"  finding  himself  in  numerous 
predicaments  as  the  result  of  a  misunderstanding,  but 
this  time  the  comedy  situations  and  the  dialogue  are  a 
good  deal  funnier  than  that  of  the  previous  pictures. 
Even  the  musical  accompaniment  plays  a  very  effec- 
tive part  in  provoking  laughter.  It  holds  one's  interest 
well,  for  there  is  something  happening  all  the  time. 
The  popularity  of  the  "Blondie"  radio  program  should 
mean  something  at  the  box-office: — 

Finding  themselves  with  a  $100  surplus  after  bal- 
ancing their  budget,  Arthur  Lake  and  Penny  Single- 
ton decide  to  contribute  the  amount  to  a  charity  fund. 
Each,  however,  unwittingly  draws  a  $100  check  for 
this  purpose,  giving  the  checks  to  different  committees. 
Neither  one  has  the  courage  to  renege  on  the  con- 
tribution, and  both  become  concerned  over  the  reali- 
zation that  one  of  the  checks  will  "bounce."  Mean- 
while Larry  Sims,  their  young  son,  finds  an  old  song, 
"That  Blue-Eyed  Sweetheart  of  Mine,"  written  by 
Lake's  uncle  twenty  years  previously,  and,  to  help  his 
parents  out  of  their  financial  muddle,  he  enters  the 
tunc  in  a  song  contest  sponsored  by  Eula  Morgan,  a 
wealthy  dowager,  hoping  it  will  win  the  first  prize  of 
$250.  Unaware  that  Larry  had  put  his  name  on  the 
song  as  the  composer,  Lake  is  astonished  when  in- 
formed that  he  was  one  of  the  three  finalists  in  the 
contest.  Penny,  blue-eyed  herself,  believes  that  Lake 
had  written  the  song  for  her.  Jonathan  Hale,  Lake's 
employer,  seeking  to  sell  some  of  his  property  to  Miss 
Morgan,  instructs  Lake  to  change  the  title  of  the  song 
from  "Blue-Eyed"  to  "Black-Eyed,"  and  to  flatter  her 
with  attention  as  he  sings  it  in  the  finals.  Marjorie 
Weaver,  a  black-eyed  brunette,  is  assigned  to  teach 
Lake  how  to  sing.  Penny,  listening  in  on  the  rehearsal 
and  overhearing  the  change  in  title,  misunderstands 
and  locks  Lake  out  of  the  house.  Lake  spends  a  mis- 
erable night  during  which  he  catches  a  severe  cold. 
His  voice  reduced  to  a  whisper,  Lake  arranges  for  a 
special  recording  to  be  played  behind  the  curtain  while 
he  goes  through  the  motions  of  singing.  Every  one  at 
the  finals  is  impressed  until  the  needle  on  the  record 
sticks,  exposing  the  hoax.  Lake,  helpless,  confesses  to 
Miss  Morgan  that  he  did  not  write  the  song  and  that 
he  had  an  ulterior  motive  in  flattering  her.  Impressed 
by  his  honesty,  she  buys  Hale's  property  and  arranges 
for  Lake  to  receive  a  handsome  bonus. 

Connie  Lee  wrote  the  screen  play,  Burt  Kelly  pro- 
duced it,  and  Abby  Berlin  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Chick  Chandler,  Maude  Eburne  and  others. 

"Sergeant  Mike"  with  Larry  Parks 
and  Jeanne  Bates 

(Columbia,  K[ov.  9;  time,  60  min.) 
Produced  on  a  very  modest  budget,  this  is  a  minor 
war  melodrama,  best  suited  for  the  juvenile  trade  in 
neighborhood  and  small-town  theatres.  Adults  will 
find  it  to  be  but  mildly  interesting.  The  story,  which 
deals  with  the  training  of  war  dogs  and  their  exploits 


in  battle,  offers  little  originality  but  it  has  enough 
action  of  the  type  to  satisfy  youngsters.  A  considerable 
number  of  stock  shots  have  been  incorporated  into  the 
footage.  The  principal  characters  are  pleasant,  but 
there  is  nothing  outstanding  about  their  actions.  The 
romantic  interest  is  mild  and  unimportant: — 

Ordered  to  report  to  the  K-9  Corps,  Larry  Parks  is 
assigned  to  train  Sergeant  Mike,  a  huge  German 
shepherd.  A  letter  from  eight-year-old  Larry  Joe 
Olsen,  the  dog's  former  owner,  inquiring  about  his 
pet,  brings  Parks  to  Baltimore  where  he  visits  the 
boy  and  reassures  him  of  the  dog's  welfare.  Parks  also 
meets  Jeanne  Bates,  the  boy's  widowed  mother,  whose 
husband  had  been  killed  in  action.  A  mutual  friend- 
ship develops  and  Parks  promises  Larry  that  he  will 
make  a  hero  out  of  Sergeant  Mike.  Their  training 
completed,  Parks  and  the  dog  board  a  transport  bound 
for  a  Jap-held  Pacific  island.  Leading  a  patrol,  Parks 
and  the  dog  head  for  the  island's  interior  with  orders 
to  contact  the  enemy.  The  men  grope  their  way 
through  the  jungle  cautiously,  and  the  alertness  of  the 
war  dogs  enable  them  to  wipe  out  two  Japanese  ma- 
chine gun  nests.  Eventually,  the  men  find  themselves 
cut  off  by  superior  Jap  forces.  Parks  dispatches  Mike 
with  a  message  to  headquarters  for  reinforcements, 
which  arrive  in  time  to  destroy  the  Japanese.  Upon 
their  return  to  the  United  States,  Parks  and  Sergeant 
Mike  are  decorated  for  bravery  while  Larry  and  his 
mother  look  on  with  admiration. 

Robert  Lee  Johnson  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jack 
Fier  produced  it,  and  Henry  Levin  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Jim  Bannon  and  others. 

"The  Chicago  Kid"  with  Donald  Barry, 
Otto  Kruger  and  Lynne  Roberts 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  68  min.) 

A  fair  gangster-type  program  melodrama.  The 
plot,  revolving  around  a  conscientious  young  man 
who  turns  to  a  life  of  crime  to  avenge  his  father's 
death  in  prison,  is  routine;  but  it  has  enough  exciting 
situations  to  give  satisfaction  to  audiences  that  enjoy 
pictures  of  this  type.  The  black  market  activities  of 
the  criminals  give  the  story  a  timely  angle.  The  per- 
formances are  reasonably  good,  with  Donald  Barry, 
as  the  young  man  seeking  vengeance,  playing  his  part 
in  a  style  that  is  reminiscent  of  the  gangster  roles 
played  by  James  Cagney.  The  fact  that  the  gangsters, 
including  the  hero,  eventually  pay  for  their  crimes 
lessens  the  demoralizing  effects  of  their  acts : — 

Embittered  when  he  learns  that  his  father  had  died 
in  prison  on  the  eve  of  his  release,  Donald  Barry,  who 
had  always  felt  that  his  father's  conviction  was  a 
frame-up,  determines  to  even  matters  with  Otto 
Kruger,  wealthy  head  of  the  auditing  firm  that  had 
employed  his  father;  Kruger "s  testimony  had  con- 
victed him  for  embezzlement.  Barry  deliberately  ar- 
ranges to  meet  Kruger,  bis  daughter,  Lynne  Roberts, 
and  his  son,  Henry  Daniels  and,  concealing  his  iden- 
tity, wins  their  unsuspecting  friendship  and  secures 
employment  in  Kruger 's  firm.  Enabled  to  obtain  con- 
fidential information  on  government- frozen  commodi- 
ties stored  in  warehouses,  Barry  teams  up  with  Tom 
Powers,  a  racketeer,  and  arranges  for  a  series  of  ware- 
house robberies,  storing  the  loot  in  a  warehouse  of 
their  own  for  black  market  distribution.  Despite  his 
love  for  Lynne,  Barry  determines  to  frame  her  father 
in  connection  with  the  robberies.  One  day,  however, 


February  10,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


23 


he  discovers  evidence  that  convinces  him  of  his  father's 
guilt  and  proves  that  Kruger  had  protected  him  from 
a  more  serious  charge.  Powers,  unaware  of  the  changed 
state  of  affairs,  arranges  to  have  Kruger  murdered  in 
the  belief  that  he  was  doing  Barry  a  favor.  Barry, 
conscience-stricken,  resigns  his  position.  Too  involved 
to  discontinue  his  illegal  activities,  Barry  becomes 
callous  and  replaces  Powers  as  leader  of  the  gang.  The 
police,  suspicious  of  Barry's  transportation  business, 
which  served  as  a  front  for  his  black  market  dealings, 
ask  Lynne  and  her  brother  to  help  trap  Barry.  Young 
Daniels,  scoffing  at  their  suspicions,  agrees  to  secure  a 
job  in  Barry's  office  and  to  report  secretly  to  them;  he 
meant  to  prove  Barry's  innocence.  Powers,  learning 
of  Daniels'  connection  with  the  police,  attempts  to  kill 
the  lad,  but  Barry  saves  him.  To  protect  Barry  from 
the  gang,  Lynne  and  Daniels  take  him  to  their  moun' 
tain  lodge.  The  gang  follows  them  and,  in  a  showdown 
fight,  Barry  wipes  them  out  and  is  himself  wounded 
fatally.  Dying,  he  makes  a  full  confession  to  Lynne. 

Jack  Townley  wrote  the  screen  play,  Eddy  White 
produced  it,  and  Frank  McDonald  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Chick  Chandler,  Joseph  Crehan,  Paul 
Harvey  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"It's  in  the  Bag"  with  Fred  Allen, 
Jack  Benny  and  Binnie  Barnes 

(United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time,  87  min.) 

Very  entertaining.  It  is  not  an  hilarious  comedy, 
but  it  does  keep  one  chuckling  all  the  way  through. 
The  story,  which  revolves  around  Fred  Allen's  misad' 
ventures  as  he  tries  to  prevent  three  crooks  from 
swindling  him  out  of  a  huge  inheritance,  makes  little 
sense,  but  it  serves  very  well  as  a  means  to  tie  in  a 
number  of  highly  amusing  sequences  in  which  Allen 
trades  gags  with  Jack  Benny,  William  Bendix,  Robert 
Benchley,  Jerry  Colonna,  and  Minerva  Pious,  the 
"Mrs.  Nussbaum"  of  radio  fame.  Another  comical 
sequence  is  the  one  in  which  Allen  appears  with  Don 
Ameche,  Victor  Moore,  and  Rudy  Vallee  as  singing 
waiters  in  a  "Gay  Nineties  Cafe."  One  of  the  funniest 
situations  concerns  Allen's  troubles  with  ushers  in  an 
over-crowded  movie  house  as  they  shunt  him  from  one 
aisle  to  another  in  his  search  for  seats.  The  action 
slows  down  occasionally,  but  for  the  most  part  the 
pace  is  lively.  Allen's  current  popularity,  and  the 
drawing  powers  of  the  other  players,  should  put  the 
picture  over  pretty  well : — 

Allen,  a  penniless  flea  circus  owner,  learns  from  the 
newspapers  that  he  had  inherited  twelve  million  dob 
lars  from  a  grand-uncle  who  had  died  under  mysteri- 
ous circumstances.  With  his  wife,  Binnie  Barnes,  his 
daughter,  Marion  Pope,  and  his  young  son,  Dickie 
Tyler,  Allen  moves  into  a  swanky  penthouse  apart- 
ment and  splurges  wildly  on  clothes  and  other  lux- 
uries. On  the  following  day,  he  learns  from  John 
Carradine,  his  uncle's  crooked  attorney,  that  the  for- 
tune had  been  dissipated  and  that  his  sole  inheritance 
was  five  antique  chairs.  Distracted,  Allen  returns  to 
his  hotel  to  face  his  many  financial  commitments. 
When  the  five  chairs  arrive,  Allen  sells  them  to  an 
antique  dealer  for  $300.  Shortly  after,  a  bank  messen- 
ger arrives  with  a  sealed  package  containing  a  record- 
ing of  his  uncle's  voice.  In  his  "voice  from  the  grave," 
the  uncle  informs  Allen  that  his  partner  (John  Mil- 
jan)  and  Carradine  had  swindled  him  out  of  his 


millions,  but  that  he  had  salvaged  $300,000,  which 
he  had  concealed  in  one  of  the  five  chairs.  Allen  be- 
comes frantic  when  he  learns  that  the  chairs  had  been 
resold  and  that  the  list  of  purchasers  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  fire.  His  search  for  the  missing  chairs  leads 
him  into  a  series  of  misadventures  with  numerous  per- 
sons, and  he  even  finds  himself  suspected  of  murdering 
his  uncle.  It  is  not  until  he  locates  the  fifth  chair  in  the 
office  of  William  Bendix,  a  notorious  gangster,  that 
Allen,  with  Bendix's  aid,  retrieves  the  $300,000  and 
brings  his  uncle's  murderers  to  justice. 

Jay  Dratler  and  Alma  Reville  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Jack  H.  Skirball  produced  it,  and  Richard  Wal- 
lace directed  it.  The  cast  includes  William  Terry, 
Sidney  Toler,  George  Cleveland,  Emory  Parnell  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Kid  Sister"  with  Judy  Clark 
and  Roger  Pryor 

(PRC,  Feb.  6;  time,  55  min.) 
Just  a  minor  program  comedy.  Those  who  look  for 
fast  action  may  find  this  somewhat  tiresome  because 
it  is  mostly  dialogue;  it  may,  however,  entertain  au' 
diences  that  can  be  amused  at  the  antics  of  a  'teen- 
aged,  love-struck  girl.  Not  only  is  the  story  thin,  but 
it  has  been  developed  in  a  weak  manner  and  fails  to 
carry  a  punch.  Parts  of  the  picture  seem  lifeless,  but 
the  meager  story  material,  not  the  players,  is  to  be 
blamed : — 

Revolting  against  her  mother's  insistence  that  she 
remain  in  the  background  until  Constance  Worth, 
her  older  sister,  acquired  a  husband,  Judy  Clark  de- 
termines to  follow  her  romantic  deeires.  When  Roger 
Pryor,  a  wealthy  bachelor,  is  invited  to  dinner  at  her 
home,  Judy,  forbidden  to  attend,  poses  as  the  maid 
and  receives  him.  The  ruse  riles  her  mother  and,  Judy, 
to  escape  her  wrath,  sneaks  out  of  the  house  through  a 
bedroom  window.  She  is  seen  by  Frank  Jenks,  a 
prowling  burglar,  who,  believing  her  to  be  a  member 
of  his  craft,  drives  her  away  in  a  stolen  car.  Pursued 
by  a  motorcycle  policeman,  they  stop  the  car  and 
escape  on  foot.  The  policeman  overtakes  Judy  on  the 
grounds  of  Pryor 's  estate,  but  he  releases  her  when 
she  convinces  him  that  she  was  employed  there  as  a 
maid.  Judy,  confronted  by  Clark,  becomes  aware  that 
she  had  aroused  his  interest.  She  allows  him  to  think 
that  she  was  a  female  "raffles"  and  agrees  to  let  him 
"save"  her.  Matters  become  complicated  when  Jenks 
shows  up  to  rescue  his  "partner-in-crime."  Judy  fights 
him  off,  forcing  him  to  flee,  but  the  incident  compels 
her  to  reveal  her  identity  to  Pryor,  who  becomes 
peeved  at  having  been  victimized.  Weeks  later,  at  an- 
other dinner  party  in  her  home,  Judy  and  Pryor  sneak 
away  for  an  evening  of  dancing.  Returning  late,  they 
find  themselves  confronted  by  Richard  Byron,  Judy's 
irate  schoolday  sweetheart.  While  Pryor  tries  to  calm 
the  young  man,  Judy  dashes  into  the  house  only  to  be 
stopped  by  Jenks,  who  accuses  her  of  double-crossing 
him  and  demands  to  be  led  to  the  safe.  After  a  series 
of  misadventures  in  which  the  whole  household  is 
aroused,  Judy  succeeds  in  trapping  the  burglar.  She 
and  Pryor  announce  their  engagement  much  to  the 
consternation  of  her  bewildered  mother  and  sister. 

Fred  Myton  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sigmund  Neu- 
feld  produced  it,  and  Sam  Newfield  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Minerva  Urecal,  Ruth  Robinson  and 
others. 


24 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  10, 1945 


strictions  have  been  placed  on  the  use  of  rationed  raw 
stock  for  (a)  prints  of  reissues;  (b)  short  subjects; 
(c)  the  producer-distributors'  expansion  in  foreign 
markets;  (d)  new  productions  that  will  add  to  back' 
logs  that  are  already  in  excess  of  the  market's  require- 
ments; (e)  features  of  excessive  length;  (f)  Techi- 
color  productions,  which  require  approximately  25% 
more  raw  stock  than  is  used  on  a  black  and  white 
feature  of  equal  length?  By  what  line  of  reasoning, 
or,  shall  we  say,  by  whose  line  of  reasoning  has  the 
WPB  determined  that  the  raw  stock  situation  will 
best  be  alleviated  by  a  limitation  of  prints  only? 

Harrison's  Reports  assumes  that  the  WPB  based 
its  determination  on  the  recommendations  of  the 
industry's  advisory  committee  on  raw  stock  with 
whom  it  has  been  meeting  at  regular  intervals.  The 
purpose  of  this  committee,  as  this  paper  understands 
it,  is  to  keep  the  WPB  advised  of  the  industry's  prob- 
lems with  respect  to  the  raw  stock  shortage,  and  to 
recommend  in  accordance  with  war  time  exigencies 
ways  and  means  with  which  to  meet  the  shortage. 
But  who  are  the  members  of  this  committee  and 
what  are  their  affiliations?  Every  member  represents 
cither  production  or  distribution.  Not  one  represents 
exhibition. 

Harrison's  Reports  has  no  grievance  against  the 
producer-distributors  for  their  being  the  only  ones 
represented  on  the  committee.  Nor  docs  it  quarrel 
with  the  WPB  for  dealing  with  them  and  accepting 
their  recommendations.  The  producer-distributors  are 
doing  the  natural  thing  to  protect  their  interests,  and 
the  WPB,  hearing  only  their  side  of  the  story,  accepts 
their  word  and  acts  accordingly.  Had  the  exhibitors, 
as  this  paper  urged  repeatedly,  presented  their  side 
of  the  story  to  the  WPB,  in  all  probabilities  rules  and 
regulations  would  have  been  formulated  to  protect 
their  interests,  and  a  restriction  limiting  the  number 
of  prints  might  not  have  come  into  being. 

What  better  example  can  the  exhibitors  have  of 
the  power  of  a  unified  protest  than  the  one  raised  by 
the  independent  producers  regarding  the  WPB's 
policy  of  allocating  raw  stock  to  the  distributors  only? 
The  independent  producers  protested  that  this  policy 
placed  them  at  the  mercy  of  the  distributors  whose 
control  of  the  stock  gave  them  the  power  of  life  or 
death  over  independent  production.  The  WPB  recog- 
nized the  justice  of  their  claim  and,  as  a  result  of  their 
protests,  modified  its  policy  so  that  each  qualified 
independent  producer  would  receive  a  stock  quota 
directly  from  the  Government  with  the  right  to  trans- 
fer his  quota  from  one  distributor  to  another. 

In  arranging  for  these  separate  allocations,  Stanley 
Adams,  head  of  the  WPB  Consumers  Durable  Goods 
Division,  stated  that  his  bureau  would  make  certain 
that  no  producer  or  distributor  uses  his  raw  stock  as 
a  lever  for  advantage  over  the  other.  There  is  no  rea- 
son to  believe  that  Mr.  Adams  feels  differently  about 
the  producer-distributors  using  this  same  stock  as  a 
lever  for  advantage  over  the  exhibitors.  But  until  ex- 
hibition makes  known  its  equity  in  raw  stock,  and 
until  it  makes  known  the  abuses  it  is  undergoing  as 
a  result  of  the  producer- distributors'  indiscriminate 
use  of  the  stock,  no  one  can  expect  Mr.  Adams  to 
take  any  action. 

Having  urged  the  exhibitors  for  many  weeks  to 
take  action  in  this  matter,  this  paper  was  indeed 
gratified  to  learn  that  the  Independent  Theatre 


Owners  Association  of  New  York,  roused  by  the 
order  limiting  the  number  of  prints,  and  realizing 
that  it  would  bring  hardship  to  subsequent-run  ex- 
hibitors, telegraphed  Mr.  Adams  last  week-end  and 
demanded  an  immediate  hearing  to  discuss  the  facts. 
The  ITOA's  telegram  pointed  out  that  "there  can  be 
no  quarrel  with  an  order  which  is  equitable  to  all 
parties  concerned,  but  this  order  will  be  so  discrimina- 
tory that  an  irreparable  injustice  will  be  heaped  upon 
the  subsequent-run  independent  exhibitors  of  this 
country." 

The  ITOA  is  to  be  commended  for  being  the  first 
exhibitor  organization  to  take  the  lead  in  seeking  rec- 
ognition of  the  exhibitor's  equity  in  rationed  raw 
stock.  To  succeed,  they  will  require  strong  support 
from  independent  exhibitors  throughout  the  country. 

The  use  of  raw  stock  in  these  days  is  a  matter  of 
vital  importance  to  every  exhibitor,  regardless  of 
what  run  he  enjoys.  Its  equitable  use  can  be  beneficial; 
its  misuse,  detrimental.  The  present  situation  calls 
for  immediate  action.  Send  your  protests,  either  by 
telegraph  or  letter,  to  Mr.  Stanley  Adams,  Director, 
War  Production  Board,  Consumers  Durable  Goods 
Division,  Washington,  D.  C.  Tell  him  why  a  reduc- 
tion of  feature  prints  will  affect  your  operations,  and 
demand  that  rules  and  regulations  be  formulated  to 
control  the  use  of  raw  stock  in  a  manner  that  will  not 
permit  the  producer-distributors  to  hold  an  advantage 
over  the  exhibitor. 

As  it  has  already  been  said,  Mr.  Adams  has  made 
clear  that  his  department  will  not  allow  the  dis- 
tributors or  the  independent  producers  to  use  their 
raw  stock  quotas  as  a  club  over  one  another.  By  the 
same  line  of  reasoning,  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  he 
will  not  allow  these  two  branches  of  the  industry  to 
use  those  same  quotas  as  a  club  over  the  exhibitors. 
But  unless  you,  the  exhibitors,  call  his  attention  to 
the  abuses  arising  out  of  the  misuse  of  raw  stock,  you 
cannot  expect  him  to  give  you  relief. 


REPUBLIC  MOVES  AHEAD 

The  recent  announcement  by  Herbert  J.  Yates,  Sr., 
president  of  Republic  Pictures,  that  his  company  had 
concluded  a  special  producing-directing  pact  with 
Frank  Borzage  marks  a  huge  step  forward  in  the  many 
strides  Republic  has  made  in  its  ten-year  history. 

The  contract,  in  which  Borzage  enjoys  a  substantial 
financial  interest  and  which  is  for  a  long  term,  calls 
for  the  institution  of  a  separate  producing  unit  with 
Borzage  the  sole  authority  over  stories  and  plays  to  be 
purchased  and  produced,  and  stars  to  be  featured. 
According  to  Mr.  Yates,  each  Borzage  production  will 
be  in  the  top-budget  bracket,  costing  well  in  excess  of 
one  and  one-half  million  dollars. 

Mr.  Yates  has  stated  that  the  Borzage  arrangement 
is  but  the  first  of  other  similar  associations  being 
planned,  all  aimed  at  greater  expansion  of  the  com- 
pany's activities  in  both  production  and  distribution. 

Since  its  inception  ten  years  ago,  Republic's  rise 
under  Yates'  expert  leadership  has  been  sound  and 
steady.  The  advancement  of  the  smaller  companies 
has  always  been  of  special  interest  to  Harrison's 
Reports,  and  it  predicts  that  Republic,  with  a  few 
more  arrangements  similar  to  the  one  with  B>rzage, 
will  soon  be  classed  as  one  of  the  big  companies  in 
the  business. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH   AVENUE  Published     Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  Rnni«1R12  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  m    °  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico  Cuba.  Spain           16.50  A  MoUon  pjcture  Reviewing  Service 

o,rea.t  ^"tain  ............  id.io  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,   

India,  Europe  Asia  ....  17.50      Jtg  Editoria,  Policy.  No  problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  17,  1945  No.  7 


The  Department  of  Justice  Means  Business 


As  most  of  you  know,  the  United  States  Government, 
through  the  Department  of  Justice,  has  made  application 
to  proceed  with  the  trial  of  the  New  York  antitrust  case, 
in  which  the  Consent  Decree  had  been  entered  against  the 
five  consenting  distributors.  When  it  was  found  that  the  trial 
could  not  take  place  until  the  fall  of  this  year,  the  Govern' 
ment  applied  for  temporary  relief  pending  the  outcome  of 
the  trial  and  the  entry  of  a  final  decree.  In  its  brief  supporting 
the  application  for  temporary  relief,  the  Department  of  Jus- 
tice  has  worked  out  a  case  against  the  distributors  on  the 
subject  of  clearance  which  seems  to  be  as  powerful  as  it  is 
astounding. 

Abram  F.  Myers,  General  Counsel  of  National  Allied,  in 
a  release  dated  February  9,  1945,  analyzes  the  brief  in  so 
clear  a  manner  that  its  subject  matter  and  its  significance 
can  be  understood  by  the  layman.  And,  since  Harrison's 
Reports  considers  the  matter  of  the  New  York  anti-trust 
suit  of  importance  to  every  one  in  the  industry,  the  pertinent 
portions  of  Mr.  Myers'  release  are  herewith  reproduced.  Says 
Mr.  Myers: 

"The  temporary  relief  requested  is  confined  to  clearance, 
more  especially  unreasonable  clearance  granted  to  affiliated 
theatres.  ...  In  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  relief  available  on 
a  motion  in  advance  of  a  trial  on  the  merits  is  limited.  But 
while  narrow  in  scope  the  requested  order,  if  granted,  will  be 
devastating  in  its  effect  upon  the  elaborate  clearance  system 
which  the  defendants  have  built  up  for  the  protection  of 
their  affiliated  prior-run  theatres. 

"But  the  real  significance  of  the  Government's  brief, 
which  appears  to  have  been  overlooked  in  the  comments  thus 
far  made,  is  that  it  raises  legal  questions  which  strike  at  the 
very  foundations  of  the  defendants'  monopoly.  A  weakness 
of  the  defendants — which  has  cropped  out  in  all  attempts 
by  exhibitors  to  discuss  industry  problems  with  them- — is  that 
they  have  stressed  the  legality  of  each  act  or  practice,  con- 
sidered  separately  and  apart  from  all  the  others,  and  have 
closed  their  eyes  to  the  altered  legal  status  of  such  acts  and 
practices  when  viewed  as  parts  of  a  system  or  combination. 
The  Government's  brief  should  jar  them  into  an  over-all 
survey  of  the  legal  predicament  into  which  they  have  drifted. 
"LEGALITY  OF  CLEARANCE 

"The  brief  treats  of  clearance  from  the  standpoints  of 
economics,  the  law,  and  enforceability.  It  is,  in  effect,  a 
searching  treatise  on  the  subject  and  is  bound  to  have  a 
profound  influence  on  industry  practices.  Clearance,  it  points 
out,  obviously  restricts  the  ability  of  one  theatre  to  compete 
with  another;  therefore,  an  agreement  fixing  clearance  is  a 
violation  of  the  Sherman  Act,  unless  the  restraint  is  a  reason- 
able  one.  Such  restrictions  have  in  the  past  been  imposed  by 
the  distributors  on  the  theory  that  their  copyrights  entitle 
them  to  impose  such  conditions  'as  are  necessary  and  appro- 
priate to  realize  maximum  revenue  from  the  exploitation  of 
the  copyright.'  Upon  this  theory,  the  distributors  have  cus- 
tomarily undertaken  to  fix  the  minimum  admission  prices 
at  which  their  films  should  be  exhibited  to  the  public.  The 
brief  sets  forth,  in  the  appendix,  excerpts  from  the  exhibition 
contracts  of  the  five  consenting  defendants  showing  that 
maintenance  of  those  minimum  prices  is  made  a  condition  of 
the  enjoyment  of  such  run  and  clearance  privileges  as  the 
distributor  grants. 


"It  is  then  pointed  out  that  the  prescribed  minimum  ad- 
mission price  is  not  a  price  paid  for  the  right  to  exhibit  the 
picture — the  consideration  for  that  right  is  the  film  rental 
stipulated  in  the  license.  At  this  stage  the  brief  brushes  aside 
all  distinction  betwen  pictures  licensed  on  flat  rentals  and 
those  licensed  on  percentage.  In  either  case,  it  says,  the 
amount  of  the  film  rental  will  vary  with  the  ability  of  the 
film  to  attract  patrons  to  the  theatre  and  thus,  in  both  cases, 
the  distributor  has  a  'stake'  in  the  exhibitor's  admission 
prices.  Thus  the  Government,  in  its  first  line  of  attack,  takes 
the  extreme  position  that  any  attempt  by  the  distributors  to 
regulate  admission  prices,  regardless  of  the  terms  under 
which  the  film  is  licensed,  constitutes  resale  price  main- 
tenance in  violation  of  the  Sherman  Act.  But  the  most  deadly 
blow  aimed  at  the  heart  of  the  defendants'  monopoly  is  con- 
tained in  a  later  passage. 

"The  brief  recites  that  each  of  the  five  consenting  de- 
fendants— Fox,  Loew,  Paramount,  RKO  and  Warner — 
(1)  controls  a  large  circuit  of  theatres,  (2)  licenses  films  to 
its  own  circuit,  the  circuits  owned  by  the  others  and  theatres 
competing  with  them,  by  license  agreements  which  fix  the 
minimum  admission  prices  to  be  charged  by  all  of  the 
theatres  licensed,  (3)  maintenance  of  those  admission  prices 
is  tied  to  run  and  clearance  provisions  determining  the  rela- 
tive time  at  which  films  licensed  become  available  for  exhibi- 
tion in  competing  theatres.  The  brief  then  ties  all  this  up 
into  a  bundle  which  might  aptly  be  labeled  'Gigantic  Price- 
Fixing  Combination.'  It  says: 

"  'We  submit  that  such  a  system  of  admission  price-fixing 
by  cross-licensing  is  prima  facie  illegal  because  it  is  in  effect 
a  means  by  which  affiliated  theatre  operators,  through  their 
distribution  affiliates,  agree  with  each  other  as  to  the  admis- 
sion prices  that  should  be  charged  by  their  various  theatres 
in  the  competitive  areas  in  which  each  operates  and  as  to 
those  to  be  charged  by  independent  theatre  operators  who 
compete  with  these  affiliated  theatres.  Such  a  price-fixing 
system  is  unreasonable  per  se  and  may  not  be  justified  under 
the  Sherman  Act  by  any  proof  that  these  defendants  might 
offer.' 

"A  BLOW  FOR  LIBERTY 

"Independent  exhibitors  will  be  gratified  that  the  brief 
strikes  a  blow  at  the  gradual  usurpation  by  the  distributors 
of  control  over  the  operating  policies  of  the  theatres — an 
encroachment  against  which  Allied  has  many  times  pro- 
tested. Ownership  of  the  copyright  of  a  feature  film  is  only 
one  of  the  many  property  rights  involved  in  the  exhibition  of 
motion  pictures.  The  brief  speaks  a  word  for  good  old  brick 
and  mortar.  The  distributors  are  reminded  that  they  do  not 
sell  their  film  to  the  thcatrc-going  public;  that  they  merely 
license  it  to  the  exhibitor.  And  the  exhibitor  does  not  sub- 
license it  to  the  public  'but  sells  his  patrons  the  right  to 
witness  a  performance  ...  of  which  the  exhibition  of  a  single 
feature  film  may  be  only  a  part.'  'The  exhibitor,"  says  the 
brief,  'who  possesses  the  theatre,  determines  the  program  of 
entertainment  to  be  offered  and  collects  the  admission  fees 
which  make  the  exhibition  of  the  film  profitable,  would  nor- 
mally determine  independently  the  price  at  which  that  enter- 
tainment should  be  made  available  to  the  public.  .  .  .' 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


26 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  17, 1945 


"Frisco  Sal"  with  Susanna  Foster, 
Turhan  Bey  and  Alan  Curtis 

(Universal,  Feb.  23;  time,  94  min.) 

Even  though  this  is  colorful  and  more  or  less  melodramatic, 
it  seldom  rises  above  the  level  of  fair  entertainment.  At 
times,  it  is  quite  tedious.  The  story,  which  deals  with  the 
hurly-burly  days  of  San  Francisco's  Barbary  Coast  during 
the  gay  nineties,  has  been  done  many  times,  and  this  version 
offers  little  that  is  either  original  or  outstanding.  With  the 
exception  of  two  slapstick  saloon  brawls,  the  action  is 
liesurely.  Susanna  Foster's  singing  is,  of  course,  delightful. 
The  performances  are  adequate  enough,  considering  the  fact 
that  the  players  were  up  against  story  material  that  is  not 
only  trite  but  also  thin: — 

Arriving  at  San  Francisco's  Barbary  Coast  to  seek  in- 
formation on  the  reported  murder  of  her  brother,  whom  she 
had  not  seen  for  many  years,  Susanna  Foster,  a  New  Eng- 
land choir  singer,  blunders  into  a  cafe  operated  by  Turhan 
Bey  in  search  of  employment.  Bey  refuses  to  hire  her;  he 
was  not  in  a  receptive  mood,  for  Alan  Curtis,  leader  of  a 
gang  of  hoodlums,  had  just  threatened  to  wreck  his  cafe 
unless  he  paid  for  "protection."  Curtis  returns  with  his  gang 
and  starts  a  fight.  The  police  intervene,  and  Susanna  finds 
herself  among  those  arrested.  Bey,  amused,  bails  her  out  and 
employs  her  as  a  singer,  subsequently  falling  in  love  with 
her.  Finding  a  ring  with  her  brother's  name  on  it  in  Bey's 
office,  Susanna  suspects  that  Bey  had  something  to  do  with 
his  disappearance.  She  enlists  the  aid  of  detective  Thomas 
Gomez.  Knowing  Curtis'  hatred  for  Bey,  Gomez  goes  to 
him  for  information  about  Susanna's  brother.  Curtis,  seeing 
an  opportunity  to  break  up  the  romance  between  Susanna 
and  Bey,  builds  up  a  case  against  his  rival  that  convinces 
Susanna  that  he  was  responsible  for  her  brother's  death.  Bey, 
ignorant  of  Susanna's  suspicions,  makes  plans  for  his  mar- 
riage to  her,  but  she  turns  down  his  proposal  and  accuses  him 
of  murdering  her  brother.  Susanna  leaves  him  to  attend  a 
Christmas  party  given  by  Curtis.  At  the  party,  she  comes 
across  evidence  that  convinces  her  that  Curtis  himself  was 
her  missing  brother.  Without  revealing  her  discovery,  she 
returns  to  Bey's  cafe.  Curtis,  furious  at  her  return,  gathers 
his  henchmen  and  storms  Bey's  cafe  for  a  showdown  fight. 
In  the  midst  of  the  brawl,  Curtis  breaks  into  Bey's  office  to 
shoot  him,  but  Susanna  stops  him,  revealing  that  she  and 
Bey  had  been  married  only  a  few  minutes  before.  The  two 
new  brothers-in-law  declare  peace. 

Curt  Siodmak  and  Gerald  Geraghty  wrote  the  screen 
play,  and  George  Waggncr  produced  and  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Andy  Devine,  Collette  Lyons,  Samuel  S.  Hinds, 
Fuzzy  Knight  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally 

"Having  Wonderful  Crime" 
with  Pat  O'Brien,  George  Murphy 
and  Carole  Landis 

(RKO,  release  date  not  set;  time,  70  min.) 

Despite  the  hard  work  by  the  members  of  the  cast,  "Hav- 
ing Wonderful  Crime"  never  rises  much  above  the  level  of 
moderately  entertaining  program  fare.  It  is  a  breezy  type 
murder-mystery  melodrama  in  which  the  comedy  is  stressed 
more  than  the  murder  angle,  but  the  story  material  is  so 
weak  and  the  comedy  so  forced  that  little  of  it  makes  an 
impression.  Not  only  is  the  story  thin,  but  it  is  also  confus- 
ing; few  will  be  able  to  follow  its  developments.  None  of 
the  characters  do  anything  to  arouse  sympathy,  since  most 
of  their  actions  are  ridiculous.  There  is  some  suspense  in 
the  closing  scenes,  but  hardly  enough  to  excite  any  one: — 

Pat  O'Brien,  an  attorney  and  amateur  sleuth,  finds  him- 
self continuously  in  trouble  with  the  police  because  of  the 
practical  jokes  played  on  him  by  George  Murphy  and  Carole 
Landis,  newlyweds,  who  were  his  close  friends.  All  three 
are  at  a  theatre  when  George  Zucco,  a  magician,  fails  to 
reappear  after  doing  a  disappearing  act.  O'Brien,  lest  he 
become  involved  in  the  mystery,  accompanies  the  newly- 
weds  to  a  vacation  resort.  En  route,  they  come  across  Lenore 
Aubert,  the  missing  magician's  assistant,  whose  car  was 
stalled.  They  offer  to  give  her  a  lift  but  become  suspicious 
when  she  insists  that  they  take  along  her  huge  trunk;  they 
believed  it  contained  the  magician's  body.  Arriving  at  the 
hotel,  Murphy  deliberately  registers  Lenore  as  O'Brien's 
wife  and  orders  her  trunk  sent  up  to  his  room.  The  trio  open 
the  trunk  at  the  first  opportunity  and  find  nothing  but  magic 
equipment  in  it.  Later,  however,  they  discover  Zucco's  body 
in  it.  While  the  three  try  to  figure  out  how  not  to  become 
involved  in  the  murder,  the  trunk  disappears.  O'Brien  de- 
termines to  solve  the  mystery.  Aided  by  Carole  and  Murphy, 
he  embarks  on  an  investigation  that  leads  all  three  into  a 
series  of  difficulties  that  nearly  cost  them  their  lives.  After 


numerous  narrow  escapes  and  an  additional  killing,  they 
eventually  trap  the  murderer. 

Howard  J.  Green,  Stewart  Sterling  and  Parke  Levy  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Robert  Fellows  produced  it,  and  Eddie 
Sutherland  directed  it. 

"Bring  on  the  Girls"  with  Veronica  Lake, 
Eddie  Bracken  and  Sonny  Tufts 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  92  mm.) 

While  not  exceptional,  this  Technicolor  musical  is  fairly 
enjoyable  because  of  the  tuneful  songs,  the  dancing,  the 
romantic  involvements,  the  comedy,  and  the  lavish  settings. 
The  story,  which  is  a  variation  of  the  boy-meet-girl  theme, 
is  pretty  thin,  but  it  moves  along  at  a  steady  pace  and  offers 
a  number  of  laugh-provoking  situations.  The  most  comical 
sequence  takes  place  in  a  nightclub,  where  Spike  Jones  and 
his  Orchestra  play  a  comedy  version  of  the  song  "Chloe." 
This  sequence,  incidentally,  is  the  only  one  in  which  Jones' 
orchestra  appears,  but  it  is  the  funniest  part  of  the  picture 
and,  since  it  comes  toward  the  finish,  it  will  send  the  audi- 
ence out  in  a  happy  frame  of  mind: — 

To  make  sure  that  people,  particularly  girls,  would  like 
him  for  himself  and  not  for  his  money,  Eddie  Bracken,  a 
wealthy  young  man,  decides  to  enlist  in. the  navy.  His  legal 
advisors,  however,  insist  that  Sonny  Tufts,  a  junior  partner, 
enlist  with  him  and  act  as  his  guardian.  Both  arc  sent  to  the 
same  training  camp.  Bracken  manages  to  keep  his  wealth  a 
secret  and,  the  first  time  he  is  given  liberty,  he  manages  to 
sneak  away  from  Tufts  and  goes  to  a  nightclub.  There  he 
meets  and  falls  in  love  with  Veronica  Lake,  a  cigarette  girl, 
unaware  that  she  was  Tufts'  former  sweetheart.  Veronica, 
a  "gold-digger,"  does  not  let  on  that  she  knew  of  his  wealth. 
Learning  of  Bracken's  new-found  love,  Tufts  mistakenly 
concludes  that  the  girl  was  Marjorie  Reynolds,  the  club's 
singer.  He  investigates  Marjorie  and  becomes  satisfied  that 
she  was  not  the  sort  of  girl  to  fall  in  love  with  Bracken  for 
his  money.  When  Bracken's  family  becomes  disturbed  over 
news  of  his  engagement,  Tufts,  still  thinking  the  girl  was 
Marjorie,  reassures  them.  He  is  shocked  no  end  when  he 
learns  that  the  girl  was  Veronica.  Tufts  warns  Bracken 
against  her,  but  the  young  man,  believing  him  jealous,  re- 
fuses to  listen.  Tufts  decides  to  woo  Veronica  and  win  her 
for  himself,  thus  saving  Bracken.  Meanwhile  Marjorie  had 
fallen  in  love  with  Bracken  but  kept  her  feelings  to  herself. 
Tufts'  interference  with  his  romance  so  confuses  Bracken 
that  he  begins  to  doubt  Veronica's  love.  He  pretends  to 
have  become  stone  deaf  in  order  to  learn  what  she  really 
thought  of  him.  Veronica  sees  through  the  ruse,  but  Mar- 
jorie unwitingly  allows  him  to  overhear  her  declaration  of 
love.  After  a  series  of  farcical  interludes  in  which  Veronica's 
love  for  Tufts  flames  anew,  it  all  ends  with  Veronica  in 
Tufts'  arms  and  with  Bracken  realizing  his  love  for 
Marjorie. 

Karl  Tunberg  and  Darrell  Ware  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Fred  Kohlmar  produced  it,  and  Sidney  Lanfield  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Grant  Mitchell,  Peter  Whitney,  Alan 
Mowbray,  Huntz  Hall  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Betrayal  from  the  East" 
with  Lee  Tracy  and  Nancy  Kelly 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  82  min.) 

Supposedly  based  on  factual  Japanese  espionage  activities 
in  this  country  prior  to  the  attack  on  Pearl  Harbor,  this  is 
an  interest-holding,  exciting  melodrama,  well  directed  and 
acted.  The  interest  lies  in  the  counter-espionage  methods 
employed  by  Army  Intelligence  to  trap  the  spies.  Since  the 
hero  becomes  a  member  of  the  spy  ring  to  aid  the  U.  S. 
Government,  one  is  naturally  held  in  suspense  fearing  for 
his  safety.  The  picture  makes  no  concession  to  the  squeam- 
ish in  its  depiction  of  Jap  brutalities.  Towards  the  end,  the 
action  becomes  quite  thrilling,  culminating  in  the  roundup 
of  the  spies: — 

When  Philip  Ahn,  his  Japanese  friend,  questions  him 
about  the  Panama  Canal,  Lee  Tracy,  an  ex-soldier  of  shady 
character,  intimates  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
Zone  and  that  one  of  his  Army  pals  was  stationed  there. 
Ahn  makes  Tracy  a  sizeable  loan  and,  hinting  at  a  profitable 
job,  induces  him  to  come  to  Los  Angeles.  There,  Tracy  is  in- 
terviewed in  a  darkened  room  by  a  mysterious  Jap  who  hires 
him  to  secure  military  information  from  his  friend  in  Pana- 
ma. Tracy  manages  to  contact  Capt.  Addison  Richards,  of 
Army  Intelligence,  and  lays  the  enemy's  plan  before  him. 
Richards  instructs  him  to  play  along  with  the  spies  to  enable 
his  department  to  break  up  the  ring.  Before  leaving  for 
Panama,  Tracy  learns  that  Nancy  Kelly,  with  whom  he  had 
become  friendly  on  the  train  to  Los  Angeles,  was  an  Amer- 


February  17,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


27 


ican  agent.  In  Panama,  Tracy  aided  by  Army  Intelligence, 
deceives  the  spies  by  giving  them  false  information.  With 
the  desired  information  in  their  hands,  the  spies  plot  to  kill 
Tracy,  but  Nancy,  who  was  posing  as  the  Danish  girl-friend 
of  a  Nazi  spy,  learns  of  the  plot  and  enables  Tracy  to  make 
a  safe  getaway.  The  spies,  suspecting  Nancy's  friendship 
with  Tracy,  torture  her  to  death  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt 
to  make  her  talk.  In  San  Francisco,  Tracy,  still  feigning 
cooperation  with  the  spies,  boards  a  Japanese  ship  to  deliver 
more  information  and  discovers  that  Richard  Loo,  a  Japa- 
nese- American  posing  as  a  cabin  boy,  was  directing  the 
spies'  activities.  The  two  engage  in  a  murderous  fight  in 
which  Tracy  is  killed  just  as  the  police  arrive.  His  heroism, 
however,  enables  them  to  crack  the  espionage  organization 
wide  open. 

Kenneth  Garnet  and  Aubrey  Wisberg  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Herman  Schlom  produced  it,  and  William  Berke 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Regis  Toomey  and  others. 

"The  Enchanted  Cottage" 
with  Dorothy  McGuire,  Robert  Young 
and  Herbert  Marshall 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  92  min.) 

First  National  made  a  silent  version  of  this  story  in  1924 
with  Richard  Barthelmess  and  May  McAvoy.  As  was  the 
case  with  that  picture,  this  one,  too,  is  a  fine  production  with 
a  particular  appeal  for  the  cultured  element  among  picture- 
goers.  Others,  particularly  children,  may  find  it  difficult  to 
understand  and  appreciate  either  the  psychological  aspect 
of  the  story,  or  the  visualization  of  mental  impressions. 
While  it  cannot  be  considered  a  picture  for  the  masses,  it 
may  go  over  with  adult  audiences,  for  the  story,  having 
been  brought  up  to  date,  is  timely,  and  the  romance  is  an 
unusually  appealing  one.  It  should  be  said,  however,  that, 
since  the  story  revolves  around  a  veteran  who  returns  from 
the  war  badly  disfigured,  many  persons  with  loved  ones  in 
the  service  may  find  the  subject  matter  too  depressing.  John 
Cromwell's  direction  is  excellent,  as  is  the  acting  of  both 
the  principal  and  featured  players: — 

Ordered  overseas  on  his  wedding  day,  Robert  Young,  a 
flier,  postpones  his  marriage  to  Hillary  Brooke.  He  crashes 
on  his  first  flight,  and  the  accident  leaves  him  badly  disfig- 
ured. Returning  home,  he  finds  that  he  cannot  bear  the 
distressing  sympathy  of  both  his  family  and  his  fiancee.  He 
isolates  himself  in  a  small  cottage  owned  by  Mildred  Nat- 
wick,  where  he  had  planned  to  spend  his  honeymoon  be- 
cause of  its  reputed  enchantment  for  young  married  couples. 
There  he  meets  Dorothy  McGuire,  a  physically  unattractive 
young  spinster,  who  helped  Miss  Natwick  care  for  the  cot- 
tage. Through  Dorothy,  Young  makes  the  acquaintance  of 
Herbert  Marshall,  a  blind  pianist,  who  helps  him  regain 
confidence  in  himself.  Grateful  that  Dorothy  was  not  re- 
pelled by  his  appearance,  and  realizing  that  their  lots  were 
similar,  Young  asks  her  to  marry  him.  Dorothy,  deeply  in 
love  with  him,  consents.  Under  the  spell  of  their  deep  love, 
each  sees  physical  changes  in  the  other,  and  they  credit  the 
phenomenon  to  the  cottage's  enchantment.  Marshall,  though 
blind,  realized  that  their  physical  appearances  had  not 
changed,  but  he  encourages  them  to  enjoy  their  happiness. 
The  transformation  is  so  real  to  the  young  couple  that  they 
welcome  a  visit  from  Young's  mother.  But  her  tactless  pity 
brings  them  to  the  realization  that  they  had  not  changed. 
Marshall,  however,  convinces  them  that  the  illusion  would 
never  leave  them  because  of  their  deep  love  for  one  another. 

DeWitt  Bodeen  and  Herman  J.  Manckiewicz  wrote  the 
expert  screen  play,  and  Harriet  Parsons  produced  it.  The 
cast  includes  Spring  Byington,  Richard  Gaines  and  others. 


"Circumstantial  Evidence" 
with  Lloyd  Nolan  and  Michael  O'Shea 

(20th  Century-Fox,  March;  time,  68  min.) 

This  program  melodrama  should  make  a  fairly  good  sup- 
porting feature.  The  story  revolves  around  the  efforts  of  a 
kindly  postman  to  prove  the  innocence  of  his  best  friend, 
who  had  been  convicted  of  murder  on  circumstantial  evi- 
dence. In  spite  of  the  fact  that  what  transpires  is  not  always 
logical,  it  holds  one's  interest  to  a  fair  degree.  Moreover,  it 
has  considerable  human  interest.  A  novel,  though  incredible, 
twist  has  the  convicted  man  breaking  out  of  jail  unobserved 
only  to  find  himself  faced  with  the  task  of  making  his  way 
back  to  his  cell  lest  he  lost  the  opportunity  of  being  granted 
a  new  trial.  The  performances  are  good: — 

Enraged  when  a  surly  merchant  maltreats  his  young  son 
(Billy  Cummings),  Michael  O'Shea  remonstrates  with  the 
man  and  demands  that  he  return  the  boy's  hatchet,  which 
he  had  taken  away  from  him.  In  a  scuffle  for  the  hatchet,  the 


man  is  killed  when  he  trips  and  strikes  his  head  against  an 
obstacle.  To  those  witnessing  the  fight  it  appeared  as  though 
O'Shea  had  struck  the  man  with  the  hatchet.  Protesting  his 
innocence,  O'Shea  becomes  panicky  and  prepares  to  leave 
town,  but  Lloyd  Nolan,  his  old  friend,  compels  him  to  re- 
main and  clear  himself.  At  the  trial,  O'Shea  is  convicted  on 
circumstantial  evidence  and  sentenced  to  die.  Stunned, 
O'Shea  denounces  his  friend  for  interfering  with  his  get- 
away. Nolan,  despite  O'Shea's  animosity,  keeps  a  watchful 
eye  on  his  young  son  and  tries  desperately  to  obtain  a  new 
trial.  His  efforts,  however,  are  to  no  avail.  With  but  one 
week  left  before  O'Shea  goes  to  the  chair,  Nolan  hits  upon 
a  scheme  to  save  him.  He  organizes  a  boxing  contest  among 
a  group  of  young  boys,  including  the  sons  of  the  trial  judge 
and  the  governor,  and  arranges  for  the  boys'  parents  as 
well  as  the  witnesses  to  attend  the  event.  Under  the  guise 
of  a  quarrel,  the  sons  of  the  judge  and  the  governor  re-enact 
the  exact  circumstances  of  the  fight  that  had  convicted 
O'Shea,  with  one  of  the  boys  falling  to  the  ground.  Immedi' 
ately,  eye-witnesses  accuse  one  of  the  boys  of  striking  the 
other  with  a  hammer.  The  boys  reveal  the  ruse  and  all  pres- 
ent become  convinced  of  how  an  accident  can  be  mistaken 
for  murder.  Impressed,  the  governor  decides  to  grant  O'Shea 
a  new  trial.  Meanwhile  O'Shea  had  broken  out  of  prison  and 
had  come  to  town  for  a  last  visit  with  his  son,  but  when  he 
learns  of  the  new  turn  in  events  he  finds  himself  faced 
with  the  problem  of  getting  back  to  his  cell  lest  his  absence 
be  discovered  and  his  chance  for  a  new  trial  ruined.  He 
succeeds  in  re-entering  the  prison  unobserved  and,  subse- 
quently, is  freed. 

Robert  Metzler  wrote  the  screen  play,  William  Girard 
produced  it,  and  John  Larkin  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Trudy  Marshall,  Ruth  Ford  and  others. 

"Keep  Your  Powder  Dry"  with  Lana  Turner, 
Laraine  Day  and  Susan  Peters 

(MGM,  March;  time,  93  min.) 

Undiscriminating  audiences  may  find  this  service  comedy- 
drama  fairly  entertaining,  but  those  who  are  even  the  least 
bit  discerning  will  probably  find  it  quite  ordinary  and  tire- 
some. In  its  favor  is  the  marquee  value  of  the  players,  but 
their  talents  are  wasted  on  a  plot  that  is  artificial  to  the 
point  of  annoyance.  The  story,  which  revolves  around  the 
intense  dislike  and  rivalry  between  two  young  women  in 
the  Womens  Army  Corps  is  made  up  of  familiar  ingredients 
and  lacks  depth.  Their  eventual  reconciliation  after  a  quarrel 
that  almost  costs  them  their  commissions  as  officers,  and 
their  realization  that  duty  to  their  country  rises  above  per- 
sonal matters,  is  a  rehash  of  situations  that  have  been  done 
many  times.  In  contrast  to  the  constant  bickering  between 
Lana  Turner  and  Laraine  Day,  Susan  Peters,  as  their  mutual 
friend,  is  cast  as  a  reserved  girl  whose  quiet  heroism  plays 
a  major  part  in  bringing  the  other  two  to  their  senses.  But 
even  her  role  is  a  synthetic  one: — 

Informed  that  she  must  prove  herself  worthy  to  gain  her 
inheritance,  Lana  Turner,  a  wealthy  playgirl,  enlists  in  the 
WAC,  planning  to  resign  after  receiving  the  money.  At 
training  camp,  Laraine  Day,  daughter  of  a  general,  who 
had  enlisted  to  keep  the  military  tradition  of  her  family 
unbroken,  is  openly  contemptuous  of  Lana,  sneering  at  the 
thought  of  a  social  butterfly  making  good  in  the  WAC. 
Lana,  angered,  determines  to  match  Laraine's  prowess  as 
a  soldier.  Susan  Peters,  who  enlisted  when  her  husband  was 
sent  overseas,  becomes  a  self-appointed  peacemaker  between 
the  two.  After  making  good  in  Motor  Transport,  the  three 
girls  go  on  to  Officers  Candidate  School.  Lana  and  Laraine 
forget  their  animosity  and  become  friends  until  Laraine 
learns  of  Lana's  original  motive  for  enlisting.  Lana,  now 
thoroughly  patriotic  and  imbued  with  a  desire  to  become  an 
officer,  fails  to  convince  Laraine  that  her  attitude  had 
changed.  Their  enmity  flares  up  anew,  and  Laraine  de- 
termines that  Lana  shall  not  become  an  officer.  While 
serving  as  deputy  commander,  Laraine  goads  Lana  into  dis- 
obeying orders,  thus  causing  her  to  face  dismissal  from  OCS. 
The  commanding  officer  (Agnes  Moorchcad),  however, 
understanding  Laraine's  motive,  informs  her  that  she  herself 
was  considered  poor  officer  material.  Both  girls  plan  to  re- 
sign. Meanwhile  Susan,  who  had  just  learned  of  her  hus- 
band's death,  puts  aside  her  own  grief  and  tries  to  reason 
with  them.  In  face  of  Susan's  quiet  heroism,  the  girls  become 
ashamed  of  themselves.  They  ask  the  commanding  officer 
for  permission  to  remain  in  the  Corps,  even  if  only  as  en- 
listed women.  Miss  Moorchead,  however,  permits  them  to 
remain  eligible  for  graduation  from  OCS. 

Mary  C.  MaCall,  Jr.,  and  George  Bruce  wrote  the  screen 
play,  George  Haight  produced  it,  and  Edward  Buzzcll  di- 
rected it. 


28 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  17,  1945 


"The  effect  of  clearance  upon  the  booking  of  pictures  by 
subsequent-runs  also  was  noted:  'The  primary  evil  inherent 
in  .  .  .  any  clearance  is  not  that  it  suppresses  competition  for 
patronage  but  that  it  establishes  a  discriminatory  sequence 
of  exhibition  which  has  no  relation  to  the  legitimate  needs 
of  the  distributor  or  the  public.  What  it  does  is  simply  to 
give  the  theatre  enjoying  the  clearance  booking  control  over 
the  theatre  against  which  it  is  held.  The  latter  thus  becomes 
entirely  dependent  upon  the  manner  in  which  the  former 
books  pictures  as  they  may  not  be  made  available  in  the  sec- 
ond theatre  until  after  they  have  been  played  in  the  first  and 
this  is  true  whether  the  clearance  is  one  day  or  thirty  days." 

Mr.  Myers  discloses  that,  although  the  brief  does  not 
contain  a  suggested  form  of  order  to  be  entered,  it  does  out- 
line the  substance  of  the  requested  relief,  which,  in  short, 
is  as  follows : 

1.  The  distributors  should  be  prohibited  from  imposing 
"any  clearance  between  theatres  not  in  substantial  compe- 
tition with  each  other."  Note  that  no  distinction  is  made 
between  independent  theatres,  affiliated  theatres  and  large 
independent  circuits. 

2.  The  distributors  should  be  prohibited  from  granting 
"any  clearance  between  theatres  charging  substantially  the 
same  admission  prices."  Here  again  the  prohibition  applies 
to  all  classes  of  theatres. 

3.  There  should  be  a  "prohibition  of  all  clearance  in  ex- 
cess of  that  reasonably  related  to  the  maintenance  of  compe- 
tition between  two  or  more  competing  theatres  charging 
different  admission  prices." 

Mr.  Myers  then  continues: 

"  'The  distributor  may,  as  he  frequenlty  does,  deal  with  the 
refusing  to  abolish  all  clearance  in  many  cases  where  there 
was  only  trifling  competition  or  where  admission  prices  were 
the  same,  apparently  assumed  that  this  would  be  'an  unwar- 
ranted interference  with  the  distributor's  right  to  license  the 
competing  exhibitors  on  such  runs  as  he  may  deem  necessary 
to  exploit  his  films  properly.'  The  brief  then  goes  on  to  say 
that  the  elimination  of  clearance  does  not  necessarily  involve 
a  transfer  of  the  run  from  one  exhibitor  to  the  other  and,  in 
this  connection,  includes  a  dissertation  on  'open'  booking, 
which  exhibitors  sometimes  call  'catch-as-catch-can'  booking. 

"The  distributor  may,  as  he  frequently  docs,  deal  with  the 
two  theatres  upon  an  open  booking  basis;  that  is  to  say,  per- 
mit each  to  book  the  films  licensed  for  exhibition  to  his  thea- 
tre without  regard  to  the  time  at  which  they  are  exhibited 
in  the  other.  The  mere  mechanics  of  booking  films  for  ex- 
hibition from  eight  to  ten  different  distributors,  all  of  whom 
serve  numerous  customers  with  each  positive  print,  may 
seldom  permit  the  playing  of  the  same  film  simultaneously 
in  the  two  theatres,  but  they  may  be  served  without  dis- 
crimination by  supplying  prints  as  the  prints  and  playing 
time  in  the  theatres  involved  become  available.  Thus  the 
pictures  released  by  a  particular  distributor  may  alternately 
be  made  available  first  to  one  theatre  and  then  to  the  other 
so  that  at  the  end  of  the  season,  although  they  have  never 
played  the  same  pictures  simultaneously,  neither  theatre  has 
been  relegated  to  a  fixed  inferior  position  by  the  distributor 
in  question.  Thus  all  that  the  elimination  of  clearance  in  a 
particular  situation  does  is  to  permit  service  of  prints  to  the 
theatres  involved  upon  a  non-discriminatory  basis,  if  the 
disrtibutor  licenses  them  both.  .  . 

".  .  .  In  a  Government  of  law  special  indulgences  cannot 
indefinitely  be  granted  to  a  particular  group,  no  matter  how 
influential  it  may  be.  And  regardless  of  what  disposition 
Judge  Goddard  may  make  of  the  motion  on  March  5>,  the 
motion  and  brief  should  accomplish  three  highly  desirable 
ends: 

"1.  The  clear  and  frank  disclosure  of  the  fundamentals 
of  the  Government's  suit  should  bring  Judge  Goddard  to  a 
realization  of  the  seriousness  of  the  proceeding. 

"2.  Since  notice  of  the  motion  was  filed  on  counsel  for 
all  of  the  defendants,  it  will  serve  to  bring  the  non-consent- 
ing defendants — Columbia,  United  Artists  and  Universal — 
back  into  the  proceeding. 

"3.  The  motion,  whether  granted  or  denied,  should  re- 
sult in  setting  the  case  for  trial  on  the  merits  on  a  day 
certain." 

It  is,  of  course,  usually  most  difficult  to  obtain  from  a  court 
temporary  relief  so  extraordinary  as  the  relief  sought  in  this 
case.  But  whether  the  temporary  relief  should  be  granted  or 
not,  the  Department  of  Justice  has  done  a  remarkable  piece 
of  work  in  behalf  of  free  competition  in  the  industry,  and  the 
independent  exhibitor  has  been  given  a  new  hope  for  ulti- 
mate victory  in  the  pending  suit. 


"Crime,  Incorporated"  with  Leo  Carrillo, 
Tom  Neal  and  Martha  Tilton 

(PRC,  April  IT;  time,  75  min.) 

The  followers  of  gangster  pictures  should  find  this  pro- 
gram melodrama  to  their  liking.  The  story,  which  is  based 
on  an  original  by  associate  producer  Martin  Mooney  and 
which  in  many  ways  parallels  his  own  experiences  as  a  crime 
reporter,  revolves  around  the  machinations  of  a  crime  syndi- 
cate headed  by  outwardly  respectable  business  men,  and 
around  the  efforts  of  the  police  to  break  up  their  "rackets." 
It  has  all  the  ingredients  generally  found  in  pictures  of  this 
type — suspense,  cold-blooded  killings,  grand  jury  investiga- 
tions, gang  warfare  and  other  similar  activities.  Although  the 
ending  is  quite  obvious,  one's  interest  is  held  fairly  well. 
There  is  a  pleasant  but  unimportant  romantic  angle.  The 
action  takes  place  during  the  prohibition  era: — 

Defying  the  crime  syndicate's  dictum  to  join  up  with 
them,  Danny  Morton,  extortionist  and  leader  of  a  small 
"mob,"  kidnaps  Leo  Carrillo,  one  of  the  syndicate'6  heads, 
and  compels  the  organized  crime  ring  to  pay  $100,000  for 
his  release.  Morton,  concerned  over  the  welfare  of  his 
young  sister  (Martha  Tilton)  in  the  event  he  met  sudden 
death,  asks  Tom  Neal,  a  crime  reporter,  to  watch  over  her, 
offering  to  help  him  expose  the  secret  leaders  of  the  syndi- 
cate in  return  for  his  favor.  Neal,  who  had  been  waging  a 
one-man  war  against  crime,  accepts.  Through  Morton,  Neal 
learns  that  Lionel  Atwill,  a  celebrated  criminal  lawyer,  was 
one  of  the  secret  leaders,  and,  through  other  information 
furnished  by  Morton,  he  writes  a  book  titled,  "Crime,  Inc." 
Shortly  after,  the  syndicate  murders  Morton.  His  killing 
precipitates  a  crusade  against  crime,  and  the  -governor  ap- 
points a  special  grand  jury  to  investigate.  Neal's  book  is  so 
sensational  that  he  is  hailed  before  the  jury  to  reveal  the 
source  of  his  information.  True  to  newspaper  ethics,  he  re- 
fuses to  reveal  the  source,  but  he  joins  a  secret  committee 
organized  by  the  police  commissioner  (Harry  Shannon)  to 
break  up  the  syndicate.  Through  information  furnished  him 
by  Neal,  the  commissioner  becomes  aware  of  corruption 
within  his  own  department  and,  through  the  use  of  dicta- 
phones and  camera  traps,  is  enabled  to  arrest  the  syndicate's 
leaders  when  they  assemble  for  one  of  their  "board"  meet- 
ings. The  organized  crime  ring  smashed,  the  jury  thanks 
Neal  for  his  cooperation  and  all  the  members  act  as  wit- 
nesses to  his  marriage  to  Martha. 

Ray  Shrock  wrote  the  screen  play,  Leon  Fromkess  pro- 
duced it,  and  Lew  Landers  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Sheldon  Leonard,  Grant  Mitchell,  George  Meeker  and 
others. 

"Her  Lucky  Night"  with  Andrews  Sisters, 
Martha  O'DriscolI  and  Noah  Beery,  Jr. 

(Universal,  Feb.  9;  time,  63  min.) 

Just  a  minor  program  comedy  with  music.  The  story  is 
rather  silly,  but  it  manages  to  provoke  a  few  laughs  in  cer- 
tain situations.  A  good  part  of  the  comedy  is  slapstick,  with 
one  particularly  ridiculous  sequence  taking  place  in  a  night- 
club, where  the  hero's  dress  suit  keeps  coming  apart  as  he 
cavorts  about  the  place.  Because  of  the  story's  silliness,  there 
is  no  human  interest.  Its  chief  attraction  is  the  harmony  sing- 
ing of  the  Andrew  Sisters: — 

Despite  the  scoffing  of  the  Andrew  Sisters,  her  co-workers 
in  a  night-club,  Martha  O'DriscolI  decides  to  visit  a  fortune 
teller  to  learn  of  her  romantic  future.  When  the  fortune  teller 
informs  her  that  she  will  find  her  true  love  sitting  next  to  her 
in  a  motion  picture  theatre,  Martha  buys  two  reserved 
tickets  to  a  local  movie  and  tosses  one  out  of  a  window  in 
the  hope  that  it  would  be  picked  up  by  her  future  boy-friend. 
Martha  becomes  so  disappointed  when  George  Barbier,  a 
grumpy  but  wealthy  realtor,  occupies  the  seat  next  to  her 
that  she  starts  a  row  with  him.  Barbier,  learning  the  cause 
of  her  disappointment  and  impressed  with  her  spurt,  employs 
her  to  investigate  Noah  Beery,  Jr.,  his  nephew  and  sole  heir; 
Barbier  wanted  to  find  out  if  he  was  a  capable  person.  Beery, 
a  shy,  bungling  young  man,  innocently  gets  himself  into 
many  predicaments,  incurring  Barbier's  wrath.  Martha,  how- 
ever, falls  in  love  with  him,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  Andrew 
Sisters  and  of  the  fortune  teller  she  manages  to  save  Beery 
from  disinheritance  by  his  uncle. 

Clyde  Bruckman  wrote  the  screen  play,  Warren  Wilson 
produced  it,  and  Edward  Lilley  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Olin  Howlin,  Maurice  Cass  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVII  NEW  YORK,  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  17,  1945  No.  7 

(Partial  Index  No.  1 — Pages  2  to  24  Incl.) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Beyond  the  Pecos — Universal  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Big  Bonanza,  The — Republic  (69  min.)   6 

Big  Show-Off,  The— Republic  (70  min.)   10 

Castle  of  Crimes— PRC  (60  min.)   2 

Chicago  Kid,  The — Republic  (68  min.)   22 

Eadie  Was  a  Lady — Columbia  (67  min.)   11 

Forever  Yours — Monogram  (see  "They  Shall  Have 

Faith")   '.   2 

Great  Flamarion,  The — Republic  (78  min.)   10 

Great  Stage  Coach  Robbery,  The — Republic 

(56  min.)  . . .  .  not  reviewed 

Grissley's  Millions — Republic  (72  min.)   6 

Gun  Smoke — Monogram  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Hangover  Square — 20th  CenturyFox  (77  min.)   10 

Here  Come  the  Co-Eds — Universal  (87  min.)   19 

His  Brother's  Ghost — PRC  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

I  Love  a  Mystery — Columbia  (69  min.)   18 

It's  in  the  Bag — United  Artists  (87  min.)   23 

Jade  Mask,  The — Monogram  (66  min.)   14 

Kid  Sister,  The— PRC  (55  min.)   23 

Leave  it  to  Blondie — Columbia  (73  min.)   22 

Let's  Go  Steady — Columbia  (60  min.)   6 

Mr.  Emmanuel — United  Artists  (92  min.)   7 

Objective  Burma — Warner  Bros.  (142  min.)   14 

Rogues  Gallery— PRC  (58  min.)   3 

Roughly  Speaking — Warner  Bros.  (128  min.)   18 

Sage  Brush  Heroes — Columbia  (54  m.)  not  reviewed 

Sergeant  Mike — Columbia  (60  min.)   22 

Shadows  of  Death — PRC  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

She  Get's  Her  Man — Universal  (74  min.)   7 

Sing  Me  a  Song  of  Texas — Columbia  (66  m.)  .not  reviewed 

Song  to  Remember,  A — Columbia  (113  min.)   11 

They  Shall  Have  Faith — Monogram  (83  min.)   2 

This  Man's  Navy— MGM  ( 100  min.)    3 

Thoroughbreds — Republic  (55  min.)   14 

Thunderhead — Son  of  Flicka — 20th  Century-Fox 

(78  min.)    19 

Tonight  and  Every  Night — Columbia  (92  min.)   15 

Topeka  Terror,  The — Republic  (55  min.) . . .  .not  reviewed 
Tree  Grows  in  Brooklyn,  A — 20th  Century-Fox 

(128  min.)    15 

Under  Western  Skies — Universal  (57  min.)   2 

What  a  Blonde— RKO  (71  min.)   18 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 
Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Tiew  Tor\  19,  H.  Y.) 
6032  She's  a  Sweetheart — Frazee-Parks  Dec.  7 

6038  Dancing  in  Manhattan — Donnell-Brady. .  .  .Dec.  14 

6203  Saddle  Leather  Law — Starrett  (55  m.)  Dec.  21 

6003  Together  Again — Boyer-Dunne   Dec.  22 

6025  Tahiti  Nights — Falkenburg-O'Brien  Dec.  28 

6039  Let's  Go  Steady — Parrish-Moran  Jan.  4 

.6041  Youth  on  Trial— Collins-Reed  Jan.  11 

6014  Eadie  Was  a  Lady— Miller-Besser  Jan.  18 

6024  I  Love  a  Mystery — Bannon-Foch  Jan.  25 

6204  Sage  Brush  Heroes — Starrett  (54  m.)  Feb.  1 

6221  Sing  Me  a  Song  of  Texas — Lane  (66  m.)  . .  .  .Feb.  8 

Tonight  and  Every  Night — Hayworth- 
Bowman  Feb.  22 


Leave  it  to  Blondie — Lake-Singleton  Feb.  22 

Crime  Doctor's  Courage — Baxter-Crane  Feb.  27 

A  Song  to  Remember — Muni-Oberon  Mar.  1 

Rough  Ridin'  Justice — Starrett  Mar.  5 

A  Guy,  A  Gal  and  a  Pal — Hunter-Merrick .  .Mar.  8 
Rough,  Tough  and  Ready — McLaglen- 

Morris  Mar.  22 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

( 1 540  Broadway,  Hew  Tot\  19,  >J.  Y.) 
Block  9 

501  The  Seventh  Cross — Tracy-Gurie  September 

502  Barbary  Coast  Gent — Beery  September 

503  Waterloo  Bridge — Taylor-Leigh  (reissue) .  .September 

504  Maisie  Goes  to  Reno — Sothern-Hodiak  September 

505  Marriage  is  a  Private  Affair — Turner- 

Craig   October 

506  Kismet — Dietrich-Colman   October 

507  Mrs.  Parkington — Pidgeon-Garson  November 

508  Naughty  Marietta — MacDonald-Eddy 

(reissue)   November 

510  An  American  Romance — Donlevy  November 

509  Lost  in  a  Harem — Abbott  6?  Costello  December 

Block  10 

513  The  Thin  Man  Goes  Home — Powell-Loy  January 

514  Main  Street  After  Dark — Arnold  January 

515  Music  for  Millions — O'Brien-Allyson. .February 

516  Blonde  Fever — Astor-Dorn  February 

517  This  Man's  Navy — Beery-Drake  February 

518  Between  Two  Women — Johnson-Barrymore. .  .March 

519  Nothing  But  Trouble — Laurel  S*  Hardy  March 

520  Keep  Your  Powder  Dry — Peters-Turner-Day .  .March 

Specials 

500  Dragon  Seed — Hepburn-Huston  August 

511  Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo — Tracy- Johnson . .  January 

512  Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis — Garland-O'Brien  January 

National  Velvet — Rooney-Taylor  Not  set 


Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  7<[ew  Tor\  19,  J^.  Y.) 

461  Song  of  the  Range — Wakely  (57  m.)  Dec.  1 

421  Crazy  Knights — Gilbert-Howard  Dec.  8 

416  Shadow  of  Suspicion — Weaver-Cookson  Dec.  15 

403  Alaska — Taylor-Lindsay   Dec.  22 

409  Bowery  Champs — East  Side  Kids  Dec.  29 

455  Navajo  Trail — J.  M.  Brown  Jan.  5 

414  Army  Wives — Knox-Rambeau  Jan.  12 

420  Adventures  of  Kitty  O'Day — Parker-Cookson. Jan.  19 

417  The  Jade  Mask — Sidney  Toler   .Jan.  26 

401  Forever  Yours — Storm-Brown  (Formerly 

"They  Shall  Have  Faith")  Jan.  26 

429  The  Cisco  Kid  Returns — Renaldo  Feb.  9 

454  Gun  Smoke— J.  M.  Brown  (59  m.)  Feb.  16 

There  Goes  Kelly — Moran-McKay  Feb.  16 

Dillinger — Tierney-Lowe   Feb.  23 

Fashion  Model — Lowery- Weaver  Mar.  2 

G.  I.  Honeymoon — Storm-Cookson  (reset) . .  .Mar.  9 


February  17,  1945       HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


Paramount  Features 

(HOI  Broadway.  Hew  York  18,  H-  T.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  3 

4411  Here  Come  the  Waves — Crosby -Hutton. .  .  . 

4412  Dangerous  Passage — Lowery-Brooks  

4413  For  Whom  the  Bell  Tolls — Cooper-Bergman 

4414  Practically  Yours — Colbert-MacMurray .  . . . 

4415  Double  Exposure — Morris-Kelly  

Block  4 

4416  Bring  on  the  Girls — Tufts-Bracken-Lake... 

4417  The  Unseen — McCrca-Russell  

4418  Salty  O'Rourkc— Ladd-Russell   

4419  High  Powered — Lowery-Brooks  

Special 

4432  Sign  of  the  Cross — Reissue  


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  22,  H-  T.) 

512  I  Accuse  My  Parents — Hughes-Lowell  Nov.  4 

552  Dead  or  Alive — Texas  Rangers  (56  m.)  Nov.  9 

506  Bluebeard — Carradine-Parker  Nov.  11 

511  The  Great  Mike — Erwin-Henry  Nov.  15 

514  Rogues'  Gallery — Jenks-Raymond  Dec.  6 

556  Oath  of  Vengeance — Buster  Crabbe  (57  m.).  .Dec.  9 
501  The  Town  Went  Wild — Lydon-Bartholomew. Dec.  15 

513  Castle  of  Crimes — English-made  Dec.  22 

553  The  Whispering  Skull— Texas  Rangers  (56m). Dec.  29 

557  His  Brother's  Ghost— Buster  Crabbe  (56  m.) .  .Feb.  3 
521  The  Kid  Sister— Pryor-Clark  Feb.  6 

554  Marked  for  Murder — Texas  Rangers  ( 58  m.) .. Feb.  8 

523  The  Spell  of  Amy  Nugent— English  cast  Feb.  10 

516  Fog  Island — Atwill-Zucco  (reset)   Feb.  15 

515  Hollywood  6*"  Vine — Ellison-McKay  Mar.  1 

507  The  Man  Who  Walked  Alone— O'Brien-Aldndge 

(reset)   Mar.  15 

Shadows  of  Death — Crabbe  (56  m.)  Mar.  24 

Strange  Illusion — Lydon-William  (re.)  Mar.  31 

Crime,  Inc.— Tilton-Neal  (reset)   Apr.  15 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway.  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

1943-44 

3308  Red  River  Valley — Autry  (reissue)   Dec.  1 

(End  of  season) 
Beginning  of  1944-45  Season 

3311  Tucson  Raiders— Elliott-Hayes  (55  m.)  May  14 

3312  Marshal  of  Reno— Elliott-Blake  (56  m.)  July  2 

461  Silver  City  Kid — Lane-Stewart  (55  m.)  July  20 

451  Bordertown  Trail — Burnette-Carson  (56m). Aug.  11 

401  Sing,  Neighbor,  Sing — Taylor-Terry  Aug.  12 

3313  San  Antonio  Kid — Elliott-Stirling  (56  m.).  .Aug.  16 

462  Stagecoach  to  Monterey — Lane-Stewart 

(55  m.)   Sept.  15 

3314  Cheyenne  Wildcat— Elliott-Blake  (56  m.)..Sept.  30 

452  Code  of  the  Prairie — Burnette-Carson  (56m). Oct.  6 

403  My  Buddy— Barry-Terry  Oct.  12 

463  Sheriff  of  Sundown — Lane-Stirling  (56  m.).Nov.  7 

402  End  of  the  Road — Norris- Abbott  Nov.  10 

3315  Vigilantes  of  Dodge  City— Elliott  (55  m.) .  .Nov.  15 

404  Faces  in  the  Fog — Withers-Kelly  Nov.  30 

405  Brazil — Guizar-Bruce   Nov.  30 

453  Firebrands  of  Arizona — Burnette-Carson 

(56  m.)   Dec.  1 

408  Thoroughbreds — Neal-Mara   Dec.  23 

406  Lake  Placid  Serenade — Ralston  Dec.  23 

407  The  Big  Bonanza — Arlcn-Livingston  Dec.  30 

3316  Sheriff  of  Las  Vegas— Elliott-Blake  (55  m.).Dec.  31 

409  Grissly's  Million's— Kelly-Grey   Jan.  16 

410  The  Big  Show-Off— Lake-Dale  Jan.  22 

464  The  Topeka  Terror — Lane-Stirling  (55  m.).  .Jan.  26 

3317  Great  Stage  Coach  Robbery— Elliott  (56  m.)  .Feb.  15 

411  A  Song  for  Miss  Julie — Dolin-Markova  Feb.  19 


RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  York  20,  H-  T.) 
(No  National  Release  Dates) 
Block  2 

506  Girl  Rush — Carney-Brown  , 

507  Falcon  in  Hollywood — Conway-Borg  

508  Murder,  My  Sweet — Powell-Shirley  (formerly 

"Farewell,  My  Lovely")  

509  Nevada — Mitch um -Jeffreys   

510  Experiment  Perilous — Lamar-Brent  

Block  3 

511  What  a  Blonde— Errol-Borg  

512  Betrayal  from  the  East — Tracy-Kelly  

513  Pan  Americana — Terry- Arden  

514  Having  a  Wonderful  Crime — O'Brien-Landis. 

515  The  Enchanted  Cottage — Young-McGuire . . . 

Specials 

551  The  Princess  and  the  Pirate — Bob  Hope  

581  Casanova  Brown — Cooper-Wright   

582  Woman  in  the  Window — Bennett-Robinson. 

583  Belle  of  the  Yukon — Scott-Lee  

584  It's  a  Pleasure — Henie-O'Shea  

591  The  Three  Caballeros— Disney  


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St..  Hew  Tor\  19.  H-  T.) 


Block  5 

512  Winged   Victory — McCallister-O'Brien ....  December 

513  Sunday  Dinner  for  a  Soldier — Baxter- 

Hodiak   December 

(Note:  Beginning  with  January,  the  practice  of  desig- 
nating releases  by  blocks  has  been  discontinued.) 

514  Keys  of  the  Kingdom — Peck-Mitchell  January 

511  The  Way  Ahead — David  Niven  January 

515  The  Fighting  Lady — Documentary  January 

516  Hangover  Square — Cregar-Darnell  February 

517  A  Tree  Grows  in  Brooklyn — McGuire-Dunn .  February 

518  Thunderhead — Son  of  Flicka — McDowall  March 

519  Circumstantial  Evidence — Nolan-O'Shea  March 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

Since  You  Went  Away — All  star  cast  Special 

Dark  Waters — Oberon-Tone   Nov.  10 

3  Is  a  Family — Ruggles-Broderick  Nov.  23 

Guest  in  the  House — Baxter-Bellamy  Dec.  8 

Tomorrow,  the  World — March-Field  Dec.  29 

I'll  Be  Seeing  You — Rogers-Cotten-Temple  Jan.  5 

Mr.  Emmanuel — English-made  Jan.  19 

It's  in  the  Bag — Fred  Allen  Not  set 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  York  20,  H-  T.) 
9037  My  Gal  Loves  Music— Crosby-McDonald .  .  .Dec.  15 
9082  The  Old  Texas  Trail— Cameron-Dew  (59m)  .Dec.  15 


9023  Destiny — Jean-Curtis  Dec.  22 

9071  Can't  Help  Sineing — Durbin-Paige  Dec.  29 

9035  Night  Club  Girl — Austin-Norris  Jan.  5 

9020  She  Gets  Her  Man — Davis-Errol  Jan.  12 

9039  Under  Western  Skies— O'Dnscoll-Beery,  Jr.. Jan.  19 

9010  The  Suspect — Laughton-Raines  Jan.  26 

9002  Here  Come  the  Co-Eds — Abbott-Costello  Feb.  2 

Her  Lucky  Night — Andrews  Sisters  Feb.  9 

9013  House  of  Frankenstein — Karloff-Chaney  Feb.  16 

9036  The  Mummy's  Curse — Lon  Chaney  Feb.  16 

9083  Beyond  the  Pecos — Rod  Cameron  (59  m.) . .  .Feb.  23 

Frisco  Sal — Bey-Foster-Curtis   Feb.  23 

Sudan — Montez -Hall-Bey   Mar.  2 

See  My  Lawyer — Olsen  ii  Johnson  Mar.  9 

The  House  of  Fear — Rathbone-Bruce  Mar.  16 

I'll  Remember  April — Jean-Grant  Mar.  23 

Swing  Out  Sister — Cameron-Burke  Mar.  30 

Honeymoon  Ahead — Jones-McDonald  Apr.  13 

Salome  Where  She  Danced — DeCarlo-Bruce.  Apr.  20 

I'll  Tell  the  World— Tracy- Joyce  Apr.  27 

The  Naughty  Nineties — Abbott  &  Costello.  .May  4 

Blonde  Ransom — Grey-Cook  May  11 

Penthouse  Rhythm — Collier-Norris  May  18 

That's  the  Spirit — Oakie-Ryan  May  25 


Page  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index       .February  17,  1945 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  Tor\  18,  H-  T.) 

406  The  Very  Thought  of  You — Morgan-Parker. Nov.  11 

407  The  Doughgirls — Sheridan-Carson  Nov.  25 

409  Hollywood  Canteen — All  star  cast  Dec.  30 

410  To  Have  and  Have  Not— Bogart-Bacall  Jan.  20 

411  Objective  Burma — Errol  Flynn  Feb.  17 

412  Roughly  Speaking — Russell-Carson   Mar.  3 

413  Hotel  Berlin — Emerson-Dantine  Mar.  17 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 
Columbia — One  Reel 

6654  Community  Sings  No.  4  (9  m.)  Dec.  1 

6953  Rootin  Tootin'  Band— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.)  .Dec.  8 
5657  Christmas  Carols — Com.  Sings  (reissue) 

(10J/2  m.)  Dec.  8 

6804  Striking  Champions — Sports  (10  m.)  Dec.  22 

6855  Screen  Snapshots  No.  5  (10  m.)  Dec.  28 

6655  Community  Sings  No.  5  (9  m.)  Jan.  1 

6501  Dog,  Cat  &  Canary— Col.  Rhap.  (6  m.)  Jan.  5 

6856  Screen  Snapshots  No.  6  (9  m.)  Jan.  26 

6805  Kings  of  the  Fairway — Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  2 

6954  Korn  Kobblers— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.)  Feb.  2 

6656  Community  Sings  No.  6  (10  m.)  Feb.  9 

6602  Kickapoo  Juice — Li'l  Abner  (7  m.)  (re.)  Feb.  23 

6857  Screen  Snapshots  No.  7  (9  m.)  Feb.  25 

6806  Rough  and  Tumble — Sports  Mar.  2 

6752  The  Egg  Yegg— Fox    Crow  (7J/2  m.)  (re.)  .Mar.  2 

6502  Rippling  Rhapsody — Col.  Rhap.  (reset)  Mar.  8 

6657  Community  Sings  No.  7  Mar.  15 

6703  Goofy  News  Views — Phantasy  Mar.  23 

6858  Screen  Snapshots  No.  8  Mar.  29 

6753  Kukunuts — Fox  &  Crow  Mar.  30 

6503  Fiesta  Time — Color  Rhapsody  Apr.  4 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

6127  The  Vanishing  Dagger — Black  Arrow  No.  8 

(15  m.)   Dec.  8 

6128  Escape  from  Death — Black  Arrow  No.  9 

6429  Heather  and  Yon — Clyde  (17  m.)  Dec.  8 

(15  m.)   Dec.  15 

6129  The  Gold  Cache— Black  Arrow  No.  10 

(15  m.)   Dec.  22 

6130  Curse  of  the  Killer— Black  Arrow  No.  11 

(15  m.)   Dec.  29 

6422  She  Snoops  to  Conquer — V.  Vague  Dec.  29 

6131  Test  by  Torture— Black  Arrow  No.  12 

(15  m.)   Jan.  5 

6410  Woo,  Woo!— Hugh  Herbert  (16  m.)  Jan.  5 

6132  Sign  of  Evil— Black  Arrow  No.  13  (15  m.)  .  .Jan.  12 

6133  An  Indian's  Revenge — Black  Arrow  No.  14 

(15  m.)   Jan.  19 

6403  Three  Pests  in  a  Mess — Stooges  (15  m.) . . .  .Jan.  19 

6134  The  Black  Arrow  Triumphs — Black  Arrow  No.  15 

(15  m.)   Jan.  26 

6430  Snooper  Service — Brendel  ( 14J/2  m.)  Feb.  2 

6431  Off  Again,  On  Again — Howard  (16  m.)  Feb.  16 

6432  Two  Local  Yokels— Clyde  Mar.  2 

6404  Booby  Dupes — Stooges  (17  m.)  Mar.  17 

6433  Pistol  Packin'  Nitwits — Brendel  Apr.  4 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 
1943-44 

K-574  A  Lady  Fights  Back— Pass.  Par.  (10  m.) . .  .Nov.  11 

S-558  Safety  Sleuth— Pete  Smith  (9  m.)  Nov.  25 

T-522  Wandering  Here  and  There — Travel.  (9m)  .Dec.  9 

W-541  Mouse  Trouble — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Dec.  23 

W-542  Barney  Bear's  Polar  Pet — Cartoon  (7m.).  .Dec.  30 

W-543  Screwy  Truant — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Jan.  13 

W-544  The  Unwelcome  Guest — Cartoon  Feb.  17 

(More  to  come) 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

1943-44 

A-501  Dark  Shadows — Special  (22  m.)  Dec.  16 

(More  to  come) 


Paramount — One  Reel 

U4-2  Two  Gun  Rusty — Puppetoon  (7 J/2  m.)....Dec.  1 

E4-1  She-Sick  Sailors— Popeye  (7  m.)  Dec.  8 

R4-3  Long  Shots  and  Favorites — Sport.  (9  m.)...Dec.  8 
P4-2  Gabriel  Churchkitten — Noveltoon  (7  m.)...Dec.  15 

J4-2  Popular  Science  No.  2  (10  m.)  Dec.  22 

D4-2  Birthday  Party — Little  Lulu  (9  m.)  Dec.  29 

U4-3  Hot  Lip  Jasper — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

L4-2  Unusual  Occupations  No.  2  (10  m.)  Jan.  12 

Y4-2  Who's  Who  in  Animal  Land — Speaking  of 

Animals  (9  m.)   Jan.  19 

R4-4  Out  Fishin' — Sportlight  (9  m.)  Jan.  26 

E4-2  Pop-Pie-Ala-Mode— Popeye  (7  m.)  Jan.  26 

P4-3  When  G.  I.  Johnny  Comes  Home — 

Noveltoon  (8m.)  Feb.  2 

J4-3  Popular  Science  No.  3  Feb.  16 

R4-5  Blue  Winners — Sportlight  (re.)  Feb.  23 

D4-3  Beau  Ties — Little  Lulu  Mar.  2 

P4-4  Scrappily  Married — Noveltoon  Mar.  3 

L4-3  Unusual  Occupations  No.  3  (10  m.)  Mar.  9 

Y4-3  In  the  Public  Eye— Speak,  of  Animals  (8m)  .Mar.  16 

E4-3  Tops  in  the  Big  Top — Popeye  Mar.  16 

U4-4  Jasper  Tell — Puppetoon  (8  m.)  Mar.  23 

R4-6  Game  Bag — Sportlight  (9  m.)  Mar.  30 

Paramount — Two  Reels 
FF4-1  Bonnie  Lassie — Musical  Parade  (19  m.)...Oct.  6 

FF4-2  Star  Bright— Musical  Parade  (20  m.)  Dec.  15 

FF4-3  Bombalera— Musical  Parade  (20  m.)  Feb.  9 

Republic — Two  Reels 

481  Zorro's  Black  Whip — Lewis-Stirling 

(12  episodes)   Dec.  16 

482  Manhunt  of  Mystery  Island — Bailey-Stirling 

(15  episodes)  Mar.  8 

RKO— One  Reel 

54302  School  for  Dogs — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Oct.  6 

54202  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  2  (7J/2  m.)  Oct.  27 

54303  Saddle  Starlets — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Nov.  3 

54304  Parallel  Skiing — Sportscope  (8m.)  Dec.  1 

54105  Donald's  Off  Day— Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  8 

54203  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  3  (9  m.)  Dec.  8 

54305  Five  Star  Bowlers — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Dec.  29 

54106  Tiger  Trouble — Disney  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

54204  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  4  (9  m.)  Jan.  19 

54107  The  Clock  Watcher — Disney  (8  m.)  Jan.  26 

RKO — Two  Reels 

53202  Swing  It— Headliners  (16  m.)  Oct.  20 

53401  Go  Feather  Your  Nest — Edgar  Kennedy 

(17  m.)  Oct.  23 

53702  He  Forgot  to  Remember — Leon  Errol (17m)  .Oct.  27 

53101  West  Point— This  is  America  (17  m.)  Nov.  17 

53203  Swing  Vacation — Headliners  (19  m.)  Dec.  1 

53102  New  Americans — This  is  America  (19J/2m).Dec.  15 

53402  Ali  Baba— Edgar  Kennedy  (18  m.)  Jan.  5 

53103  Power  Unlimited — This  is  America  (17  m.)  .Jan.  19 
53702  Birthday  Blues— Leon  Errol  (17  m.)  Feb.  16 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

5507  Gandy's  Dream  Girl — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  Dec.  8 

5352  Trolling  for  Strikes — Sports  (8  m.)  Dec.  15 

5508  Dear  Old  Switzerland — Terrytoon  (7  m.)..  .Dec.  22 

5257  Canyons  of  the  Sun — Adventure  (8  m.)  Jan.  5 

5509  Mighty  Mouse  &  the  Pirate — Terry.  (6m.).  .Jan.  12 
5302  Steppin'  Pretty — Sports.  (8  m.)  Jan.  19 

5510  Port  of  Missing  Mice — Terrytoon  Feb.  2 

5353  Nova  Scotia — Sports  (8  m.)  Feb.  9 

5511  Ants  in  Your  Pantry — Terrytoon  Feb.  16 

5255  City  of  Paradox — Adventure  (8  m.)  Mar.  2 

5512  Raiding  the  Raiders — Terrytoon  Mar.  9 

5256  Alaskan  Grandeur — Adventure  (8  m.)  Mar.  16 

5513  Post  War  Inventions — Terrytoon  Mar.  23 

5514  Fisherman's  Luck — Terrytoon  Mar.  30 

5902  Good  Old  Days— Lew  Lehr  Apr.  6 

5515  Mighty  Mouse  6?  the  Kilkenny  Cats — 

Terrytoon  Apr.  13 

5258  Land  of  10,000  Lakes— Adventure  (8  m.).  .Apr.  27 

5516  Mother  Goose — Nightmare — Terrytoon  ....May  4 


February  17,  1945       HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Patfe  D 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  11  No.  3 — Uncle  Sam,  Mariner — March  of 

Time  (16m.)  Nov.  3 

Vol.  1 1  No.  4 — Inside  China  Today — March  of 

Time  (17l/2  m.)  Dec.  1 

Vol.  1 1  No.  5— The  Unknown  Battle — March  of 

Time  (W/2  m.)  Dec.  29 

Vol.  1 1  No.  6 — Report  on  Italy — March  of 

Time  (17  m.)   Jan.  26 


NEWSWEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


9353 

9372 
9235 
9234 
9373 
9374 
9354 
9236 

9693 
9124 
9581 

9582 
9583 

9584 

9125 
9585 

9586 
9126 
9587 

9588 

9589 
9590 
9591 
9592 
9593 


Universal — One  Reel 

Mr.  Chimp  at  Coney  Island — Var.  Views 

(9  m.)  (reset)   Dec.  11 

One  Man  Newspaper — Per.  Odd.  (9m)  (re.) .  Dec.  18 
Painter  and  the  Pointer — Cartune  (7  m.).  .  .Dec.  18 
Pied  Piper  of  Basin  St. — Cartune  (7  m.) .  . .  .Jan.  15 

ABC  Pin-up— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Jan.  15 

Pigtail  Pilot— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Jan.  22 

White  Treasure — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Jan.  29 

Chew  Chew  Baby — Cartune  (7  m.)  Feb.  5 

Universal — Two  Reels 

Tl\e  Boomerang — River  Boat  No.  13  (17  m.).Jan.  10 

Jive  Busters — Musical  (15  m.)  Jan.  17 

Invitation  to  Death — Jungle  Queen  No.  1 

(17  m.)   Jan.  23 

Jungle  Sacrifice — Jungle  Queen  No.  2  (17m)  .Jan.  30 
The  Flaming  Mountain — Jungle  Queen  No.  3 

(17  m.)  Feb.  6 

Wild  Cats  Stampede — Jungle  Queen  No.  4 

(17  m.)  Feb.  13 

Melody  Parade — Musical  (15m.)  Feb.  14 

The  Burning  Jungle — Jungle  Queen  No.  5 

(17  m.)   Feb.  20 

Danger  Ship — Jungle  Queen  No.  6  (17  m.J.Feb.  27 

Swing  Serenade — Musical  (15  m.)  Feb.  28 

Trip  Wire  Murder — Jungle  Queen  No.  7 

(17  m.)   Mar.  6 

The  Mortar  Bomb — Jungle  Queen  No.  8 

(17  m.)   Mar.  13 

Death  Watch — Jungle  Queen  No.  9  (17  m.)  .Mar.  20 
Execution  Chamber — Jungle  Queen  (17  m.)  .Mar.  27 
The  Trail  to  Doom — Jungle  Queen  ( 17  m.)  .Apr.  3 
Dragged  Under — Jungle  Queen  (17  m.) .  .  .  .Apr.  10 
The  Secret  of  the  Sword — Jungle  Queen 

(17  m.)   Apr.  17 


Vitaphone — One  Reel 

1305  Plenty  of  Money     You— Hit  Par.  (7  m.)  . .  .Dec.  9 

1605  Jammin'  the  Blues — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Dec.  16 

1501  California  Here  We  Are— Sports  (re.)  ( 10m)  .Dec.  16 

1502  Birds     Beasts  Were  There— Sports  (10  m.)  .Dec.  30 

1721  Herr  Meets  Hare — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Jan.  13 

1503  Glamour  in  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  Jan.  13 

1306  Fella  with  a  Fiddle— Hit.  Par.  (7  m.)  Jan.  20 

1606  Rhythm  of  the  Rhumba — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.).Jan.  27 

1701  Draftee  Daffy — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Jan.  27 

1504  Bikes  and  Skis— Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  10 

1722  Unruly  Hare— Bugs  Bunny  (re.)  (7  m.)  Feb.  10 

1307  When  I  Yoo  Hoo— Hit  Parade  (7m.)  Feb.  24 

1702  Trap  Happy  Porky — Looney  Tune  (7  m.) .  .  .Feb.  24 

1505  Cuba  Calling— Sports  (10  m.)  Mar.  10 

1404  Overseas  Roundup — Varieties  (10  m.)  Mar.  17 

1308  I  Only  Have  Eyes  for  You— Hit  Par.  (7m.)  .Mar.  17 

1607  Musical  Mexico — Merrie  Melody  (7m.)...  .Mar.  24 

1703  Life  with  Feathers — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  Mar.  24 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

1104  I  Wont  Play— Featurette  (20  m.)  Nov.  11 

1105  Nautical  but  Nice — Featurette  (20  m.)  Dec.  2 

1101  I  Am  An  American — Featurette  (20  m.)  Dec.  23 

1002  Beachhead  to  Berlin — Special  (20  m.)  Jan.  6 

1106  Congo — Featurette  (20  m.)  (reset)  Feb.  17 

1003  Pledge  to  Bataan— Special  (20  m.)  (re.)  Feb.  3 

1107  Navy  Nurse — Featurette  (20  m.)  Mar.  3 

1004  Coney  Island  Honeymoon — Special  (20  m.)  .Mar.  31 


Pathe  News 

55151  Sat.  (O)  . .  .Feb.  17 
55252  Wed.  (E).  .Feb.  21 
55153  Sat.  (O)  .  .  .Feb.  24 
55254  Wed.  (E) 
55155  Sat.  (O) 
55256  Wed.  (E) 
55157  Sat.  (O) 
55258  Wed.  (E).  .Mar.  14 
55159  Sat.  (O)  .  .Mar.  17 
55260  Wed.  (E) 
55161  Sat.  (O) 
55262  Wed.  (E) 
55163  Sat.  (O) 


.Feb.  28 
Mar.  3 
Mar.  7 
Mar.  10 


Mar.  21 
Mar.  24 
Mar.  28 
Mar.  31 


55264  Wed.  (E).  .Apr.  4 


Paramount 

49  Sunday  (O). 

50  Thurs.  (E).. 

51  Sunday  (O) . 

52  Thurs.  (E). . 

53  Sunday  (O) . 

54  Thurs.  (E)  . . 

55  Sunday  (O). 

56  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

57  Sunday  (O). 

58  Thurs.  (E) . . 

59  Sunday  (O) . 

60  Thurs.  (E) . . 

61  Sunday  (O). 


News 

.  .Feb.  18 
. .Feb.  22 
.  .Feb.  25 
.Mar.  1 
.Mar.  4 
.Mar.  8 
.Mar.  11 
.Mar.  15 
.Mar.  18 
.Mar.  22 
.Mar.  25 
.Mar.  29 
.Apr.  1 


Fox  Movietone 

49 

Tues.  (O) . .  . 

.  .Feb. 

20 

50 

Thurs.  (E).. 

,  ..Feb. 

22 

51 

Tues.  (O).., 

,  .Feb. 

27 

52 

Thurs.  (E).. 

.  .Mar. 

1 

53 

Tues.  (O) . . 

.  .Mar. 

6 

54 

Thurs.  (E) . . 

.  .Mar. 

8 

55 

Tues.  (O).. 

.  .Mar. 

13 

56 

Thurs.  (E).. 

.  .Mar. 

15 

57 

Tues.  (O).. 

. .  Mar. 

20 

58 

Thurs.  (E) . . 

.  .Mar. 

22 

59 

Tues.  (O).. 

.  .Mar. 

27 

60 

Thurs.  (E).. 

.  .Mar. 

29 

61 

Tues.  (O).. 

. .  Apr. 

3 

Metrotone 

247  Tues.  (O). 

248  Thurs.  (E), 

249  Tues.  (O) . 

250  Thurs.  (E). 

251  Tues.  (O). 

252  Thurs.  (E). 

253  Tues.  (O). 

254  Thurs.  (E). 

255  Tues.  (O). 

256  Thurs.  (E). 

257  Tues.  (O). 

258  Thurs.  (E). 

259  Tues.  (O) . . 


News 

.  .Feb.  20 
.  .Feb.  22 
. .  Feb.  27 
..Mar.  1 
..Mar.  6 
..Mar.  8 
.  .Mar.  13 
.  .Mar.  15 
.  .Mar.  20 
.  .Mar.  22 
.  .Mar.  27 
.  .Mar.  29 
..Apr.  3 


Universal 

373  Tues.  (O)  Feb.  20 

374  Thurs.  (E). .  .Feb.  22 

375  Tues.  (O) . . .  .Feb.  27 

376  Thurs.  (E). .  .Mar.  1 

377  Tues.   (0)...Mar.  6 

378  Thurs.  (E). .  .Mar.  8 

379  Tues.   (O) . .  .Mar.  13 

380  Thurs.  (E) .  .  .Mar.  15 

381  Tues.   (O). .  .Mar.  20 

382  Thurs.  (E). .  .Mar.  22 

383  Tues.   (O)  . .  .  Mar.  27 

384  Thurs.  (E)  . .  .Mar.  29 

385  Tues.   (0)...Apr.  3 


All  American  News 

121  Friday  Feb.  16 

122  Friday  Feb.  23 

123  Friday   Mar.  2 

124  Friday   Mar.  9 

125  Friday   Mar.  16 

126  Friday   Mar.  23 

127  Friday   Mar.  30 

128  Friday   Apr.  6 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

""f'S'  Spain «  «  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service 

Australia    New  ' Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Ug  E(Jitoria]  Poijcy.  No  problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

iic  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  24,  1945  No.  8 


HERE  AND  THERE 

MR.  DEWEY  ANDERSON,  counsel  for  the  U.S.  Senate 
Small  Business  Committee,  is  reported  to  have  announced 
that  the  Committee  will,  in  the  near  future,  institute  an  in' 
vestigation  of  the  motion  picture  industry  to  determine 
whether  independents  in  all  branches  of  the  industry  are 
heinp  forced  out  of  business  by  monopolies. 

If  this  Committee's  sole  purpose  is  to  learn  whether  or 
not  the  small  independents  are  being  affected  by  monopolistic 
practices,  then  all  it  has  to  do  is  to  send  an  inquiry  to  the 
Department  of  Justice,  which  has  spent  many  years  carefully 
gathering  information  and  facts  relative  to  these  conditions. 
The  Department  of  Justice  can  give  to  the  Committee  all 
the  information  on  the  subject  that  the  Committee  could 
gather  in  months  of  investigation. 

The  motion  picture  industry  has  its  hands  full  trying  to 
conduct  its  business  despite  war-time  restrictions,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  it  is  carrying  a  major  portion  of  the  work 
and  responsibility  in  connection  with  the  different  drives  in 
support  of  the  nation's  war  effort.  It  should  not,  therefore, 
be  burdened  and  handicapped  further  by  investigations 
that  can  readily  be  dispensed  with. 

The  Senate  Small  Business  Committee,  on  the  other 
hand,  has  not  the  facilities,  the  manpower,  or  the  funds  for 
a  thorough  investigation.  Besides,  the  investigation  is  entirely 
unnecessary,  for  all  the  information  that  the  Committee 
needs  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Department  of  Justice.  So,  why* 
waste  time  investigating? 

The  Committee  could  spend  its  time  to  better  advantage 
if  it  would  digest  the  information  that  the  Department  of 
Justice  could  give  it.  From  this  information  it  would  soon 
learn  about  the  existence  of  monopolistic  and  other  despic- 
able practices.  The  Committee  could  then  render  a  real  ser- 
vice by  merely  formulating  a  proposed  plan  to  eliminate 
these  practices. 

But  let's  not  waste  any  more  time  or  money  on  investiga- 
tions. 

*        *  * 

THE  RULING  BY  Director  of  War  Mobilisation  James 
F.  Byrnes  calling  upon  all  public  places  of  amusement  to 
observe  a  midnight  curfew  beginning  Monday,  February  26, 
should  have  little  effect  upon  the  operations  of  the  majority 
of  the  country's  motion  picture  theatres.  The  last  show  in 
most  theatres  ends  before  midnight,  and  those  that  are  now 
running  a  little  later  than  midnight  should  not  find  it  too 
difficult  to  rearrange  their  schedules.  Certain  large  metro- 
politan theatres,  where  the  final  show  keeps  them  open  until 
two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  will  be  affected  by  the 
ruling,  but  they  make  up  a  very  small  part  of  the  nation's 
theatres. 

When  one  takes  into  consideration  the  drastic  effect  this 
ruling  will  have  on  night-clubs,  cabarets,  dance-halls,  road- 
side taverns  and  bars,  motion  picture  exhibitors  can  indeed 
consider  themselves  fortunate.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  the  order  will  serve  to  boom  attendance 
in  the  small-town  and  subsequent-run  neighborhood  theatres. 
In  small  towns,  for  example,  those  who  formerly  looked  to 
a  roadhouse  tavern  or  cabaret  for  an  evening  of  fun  may 
find  the  prospect  of  a  midnight  curfew  hardly  worth  the 


trouble  and,  instead,  may  prefer  to  spend  those  few  hours 
at  a  movie.  In  large  cities,  many  people  attend  downtown 
theatres  with  the  idea  that,  after  the  show,  they  will  go  to 
some  other  place  of  amusement  for  a  few  drinks  and  perhaps 
some  dancing;  they,  too,  may  find  the  midnight  curfew  a 
deterrent  and,  consequently,  they  may  prefer  to  attend 
their  neighborhood  theatres. 

While  the  purpose  of  the  curfew  order  is  primarily  to 
save  coal  consumed  in  heating  and  in  providing  electricity, 
it  all  adds  up  to  a  curtailment  of  the  public's  entertainment 
facilities.  The  order  will  probably  result  in  a  wide-spread 
change  in  the  amusement  habits  of  many  people  and,  since 
motion  picture  theatres  will  be  affected  less  than  the  other 
entertainment  facilities,  the  change  may  very  well  be  in 
their  favor. 


GRATIFIED  AS  THIS  paper  was  to  learn  that  the  Inde- 
pendent Theatre  Owners  Association  of  New  York  had 
taken  steps  to  apprise  Stanley  Adams,  head  of  the  War 
Production  Board's  Consumers  Durable  Goods  Division,  of 
the  great  injustice  that  would  be  done  to  the  subsequent-run 
exhibitors  by  the  ruling  limiting  prints  to  a  maximum  of 
28?,  it  was  even  more  gratified  to  learn  that  National  Allied, 
through  Abrani  F.  Myers,  its  general  counsel,  had  served 
notice  on  the  WPB  that  it  is  preparing  a  comprehensive 
statistical  report,  compiled  by  its  regional  units,  which  will 
outline  in  detail  the  difficulties  independent  exhibitors  will 
be  faced  with  under  a  curtailment  of  prints. 

In  a  statement,  Mr.  Myers  had  this  to  say: 

"Actually,  the  distributors  have  been  gradually  reducing 
the  print  number  over  a  period  of  years  and  this  WPB 
limitation  does  not  pose  a  new  problem  to  us.  It  does,  how- 
ever, point  up  the  older  problem  and  threatens  to  drive  it 
home  more  sharply.  We  intend  to  gather  all  the  facts  we  . 
need  and  put  them  before  the  WPB  rather  than  simply 
protest  on  general  grounds.  We  will  stand  on  the  facts  we 
compile." 

At  the  meeting  between  Max  Cohen,  representing  the 
ITOA,  and  Mr.  Adams,  the  latter  assured  Mr.  Cohen  that 
the  WPB  would  see  to  it  that  full  protection  is  afforded  the 
subsequent-run  theatres.  Mr.  Adams  is  credited  with  saying 
that  "the  WPB  will  not  permit,  because  of  the  reduction  in 
raw  stock  quotas,  anyone  to  have  an  advantage  to  the  dis- 
advantage of  anyone  else.  The  distribution  of  prints  must 
be  on  a  fair  and  equal  basis  for  all.  Any  indications  to  the 
contrary  will  bring  immediate  action  for  relief  by  the  WPB." 

Just  what  steps  would  be  taken  to  assure  the  subsequent- 
run  exhibitors  of  equitable  treatment  was  not  explained  by 
Mr.  Adams.  Perhaps  the  statistical  record  now  in  prepara- 
tion by  National  Allied,  which  covers  situations  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  will  help  Mr.  Adams  to  formulate  a 
definite  program  that  will  assure  the  independent  theatres 
of  a  square  deal. 

The  first  protest  to  the  WPB  resulted  in  an  assurance  by 
Mr.  Adams  that  the  equities  of  exhibition  would  be  pro- 
tected. It  is  hoped  that  the  presentation  of  facts  and  figures 
will  result  in  an  announcement  by  Mr.  Adams  of  a  plan  by 
which  these  equities  can  be  protected. 


30 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  24,  1945 


"Pan-Americana"  with  Phillip  Terry 
and  Audrey  Long 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  85  min.) 

An  entertaining  combination  of  romantic  comedy  and 
music,  suitable  for  either  half  of  a  double  bill.  The  story, 
though  thin,  is  fairly  amusing,  serving  well  as  a  means  of 
introducing  the  different  musical  interludes,  which  arc  the 
picture's  chief  attraction.  The  music,  which  is  of  the  Latin- 
American  type,  is  tuneful,  and  the  production  numbers, 
which  feature  talented  South  American  entertainers,  have  a 
gay,  festive  quality.  Outstanding  among  the  specialties  is  a 
sensational  "snake"  dance  by  Harold  and  Lola.  Because  the 
production  lacks  star  names,  it  will  require  considerable 
exploitation  to  attract  patrons,  but  once  in,  they  should  be 
entertained  :■ — 

Phillip  Terry,  an  ace  cameraman  with  a  reputation  as  a 
"girl-chaser,"  Audrey  Long,  a  feature  writer,  Eve  Arden, 
managing  editor,  and  Robert  Benchley,  foreign  editor,  all 
members  of  the  editorial  staff  of  a  New  York  pictorial 
magazine,  set  out  on  a  tour  of  Latin-American  countries  to 
pick  the  prettiest  girls  of  each  nation  for  an  elaborate  musi- 
cal revue  sponsored  by  the  publication.  En  route,  Terry  falls 
in  love  with  Audrey,  unaware  that  she  was  making  the  trip 
chiefly  to  meet  her  fiance,  Marc  Cramer,  an  American  busi- 
ness man  in  Rio.  Audrey,  warned  by  Eve  of  Terry's  repu- 
tation, leads  him  on.  When  Terry  learns  of  her  fiance  in 
Rio,  he  becomes  all  the  more  determined  to  win  her 
and  accompanies  her  to  that  city,  where  he  meets  Cramer 
and  finds  him  a  personable  young  man.  Terry  tries  many 
tricks  to  break  up  the  romance  between  Audrey  and  Marc, 
but  they  see  through  his  efforts.  Cramer,  however,  sensing 
that  Audrey  was  being  loyal  to  him  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
she  loved  Terry,  graciously  bows  out  of  the  picture. 

Lawrence  Kimble  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  John  H. 
Auer  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ernest 
Trucx,  Isabclita,  Rosario  and  Antonio,  Miguelito  Valdes, 
Louise  Burnett,  Chinita  Marin,  Chuy  Castillion,  Padilla 
Sisters,  Chuy  Reyes  and  his  Orchestra,  Nestor  Amaral  and 
his  Samba  Band  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"See  My  Lawyer"  with  Olsen  and  Johnson 

(Universal.  Mar.  9;  time,  67  min.) 
Suitable  for  cither  half  of  a  double  bill,  this  latest  of  the 
Olsen  and  Johnson  slapstick  comedies  has  many  amusing 
moments.  This  time  the  two  comedians  have  wisely  refrained 
from  dominating  the  proceedings,  with  the  result  that  the 
picture  is  a  decided  improvement  over  their  last  two  efforts. 
The  story,  of  course,  is  a  hodge-podge  of  nonsense,  but  one 
cannot  help  laughing  at  their  insane  doings.  A  good  part  of 
the  footage  is  given  over  to  a  series  of  entertaining  specialty 
acts,  which  include,  among  others,  Yvette,  the  "torch" 
singer;  Carmen  Amaya,  the  flamingo  dancer;  the  Four  Teens 
and  the  King  Cole  Trio,  harmony  teams;  and  the  Rogers 
Adagio  Trio,  comedy  ballroom  dancers.  In  addition,  there 
are  a  few  lively  production  numbers  and  singing  by  Grace 
McDonald : — 

Learning  that  Olsen  and  Johnson  were  seeking  a  way 
out  of  their  night-club  contract  with  Franklyn  Pangborn,  so 
that  they  could  accept  a  Hollywood  contract,  Alan  Curtis, 
Noah  Beery,  Jr.,  and  Richard  Benedict,  members  of  a  strug- 
gling law  firm,  try  to  induce  them  to  use  their  legal  services 
to  break  the  agreement.  The  comedians,  however,  hit  upon  a 
better  plan.  That  evening,  at  the  night-club,  they  start  in- 
sulting the  patrons,  causing  a  number  of  them  to  start 
damage  suits  against  Pangborn,  each  using  the  struggling 
law  firm  to  represent  them.  Pangborn,  frightened  by  the 
law  suits,  sells  the  club  to  Olsen  and  Johnson  for  $10,000. 
The  comedians  arrange  with  the  lawyers  to  call  off  the  suits 
only  to  find  themselves  faced  with  a  new  suit  filed  by  Edward 
Brophy,  a  process  server,  who  claimed  $500,000  damages 
for  assault  and  battery.  The  case  starts  in  a  courtroom  and 
ends  up  in  the  night-club,  where  the  judge,  after  being 
victimized  by  Olsen  and  Johnson,  finds  them  not  guilty  on 
the  basis  that  any  one  who  attends  their  nightclub  is  crazy. 

Edmund  L.  Hartmann  and  Stanley  Davis  wrote  the  screen 
play,  based  on  the  Broadway  stage  play  of  the  same  title. 
Mr.  Hartmann  produced  it  and  Eddie  Cline  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Lee  Patrick,  Gus  Schilling,  William  B.  David- 
son, Stanley  Clements,  Mary  Gordon,  The  Christianis,  Six 
Willys,  the  Hudson  Wonders  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Picture  of  Dorian  Gray"  with 
George  Sanders,  Hurd  Hatfield 
and  Donna  Reed 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set,  time,  110  min.) 

Based  upon  the  novel  by  Oscar  Wilde,  this  drama  about 
a  degenerate  man  who  retains  his  youth  while  his  portrait, 
reflecting  his  degeneracy,  grows  old  and  ugly,  is  entertain- 
ment strictly  for  class  audiences,  but  the  story  unfolds  in  so 
incoherent  a  manner  that  it  is  doubtful  if  even  class  patrons, 
unless  they  read  the  novel,  will  know  what  it  is  all  about. 
The  rank  and  file  will  probably  find  it  too  difficult  to  under- 
stand, for  the  story  is  disconnected  and  it  is  never  made 
clear,  cither  through  dialogue  or  action,  just  what  sort  of 
sinful  life  the  man  was  leading.  In  one  situation,  for  instance, 
"Dorian  Gray,"  after  committing  a  murder,  blackmails  a 
friend  and  compels  him  to  dispose  of  the  body.  But  just  what 
sinister  power  he  had  over  his  friend  is  left  unexplained. 
Hurd  Hatfield,  as  "Dorian  Gray,"  is  a  bit  too  statuesque. 
George  Sanders,  as  a  cynical  nobleman,  does  well  with  a 
choice  part,  but  the  meaningful  dialogue  he  speaks  will  prob- 
ably go  over  the  heads  of  most  people.  The  action  is  slowed 
down  considerably  by  the  excessive  talk.  The  story  is  set  at 
the  turn  of  the  century: — 

While  having  his  portrait  painted  by  Lowell  Uilmore, 
Hatfield,  a  wealthy  young  Londoner,  expresses  a  wish  to 
always  remain  as  young  as  he  looked  in  the  portrait.  A  few 
days  later,  he  meets  and  falls  in  love  with  Angela  Lansbury, 
singer  in  a  cheap  music  hall.  Having  made  up  his  mind  to 
marry  the  girl,  Hatfield  asks  Gilmore  and  Sanders,  mutual 
friends,  to  meet  her.  Sanders  cynically  casts  aspirations  on 
the  girl's  character,  and  suggests  to  Hatfield  that  he  put  her 
to  a  test.  The  young  man  tricks  Angela  into  willingly  agree- 
ing to  spend  the  night  with  him.  Disillusioned,  Hatfield 
breaks  his  engagement  to  Angela,  causing  her  to  commit 
suicide.  Sanders,  a  believer  in  living  only  for  pleasure,  urges 
Hatfield  to  dismiss  the  incident  from  his  mind  and  influences 
him  to  begin  living  a  life  of  pleasure.  Following  Sanders' 
advice,  Hatfield  soon  notices  a  change  in  the  features  of  his 
portrait.  With  the  passing  years,  Hatfield  retains  his  youth- 
ful appearance,  but  the  portrait  grows  older  and  uglier  with 
each  of  his  sinful  acts.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  his  evil  ways 
were  a  subject  of  common  gossip,  Donna  Reed,  Gilmorc's 
beautiful  niece,  falls  in  love  with  Hatfield.  When  Gilmore 
questions  him  about  the  rumors  of  his  misdeeds,  Hatfield 
murders  him  lest  he  interfere  with  his  romance.  His  efforts 
to  keep  his  sinful  life  from  Donna  causes  Hatfield  to  com- 
mit two  more  murders.  Eventually,  Peter  Lawford,  a  suitor 
for  Donna's  hand,  uncovers  evidence  proving  that  Hatfield 
had  murdered  her  uncle.  Panicky,  Hatfield  puts  a  knife 
through  the  ugly  monstrosity  that  was  once  his  portrait. 
The  painting  resumes  its  original  beauty  as  Hatfield  dies, 
his  features  changing  to  that  of  a  horribly  disfigured  old  man. 

Albert  Lewin  wrote  the  screen  play  and  directed  it.  Pandro 
S.  Bcrman  produced  it.  The  cast  includes  Richard  Fraser, 
Miles  Mander  and  others. 

Not  for  children. 

"High  Powered"  with  Robert  Lowery 
and  Phyllis  Brooks 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  60  mm.) 

Just  a  fair  program  melodrama,  which  doesn't  mean  much 
at  the  box-office,  but  serves  well  enough  to  round  out  a 
double  bill  for  undiscriminating  audiences.  The  story  is  a 
trite  version  of  a  theme  that  has  been  done  to  death,  unfold- 
ing in  just  the  manner  one  expects.  The  action  is  fairly 
steady,  and  one  or  two  situations  provide  thrills,  but  it  is 
just  so  much  old  stuff.  It  has  considerable  comedy,  but  much 
of  it  is  too  forced  to  be  effective: — 

Robert  Lowery,  a  .high-rigger,  develops  a  fear  of  high 
places  after  being  in  an  accident  in  which  a  fellow-worker 
died  in  a  fall  from  a  high  scaffold.  He  becomes  an  itinerant 
grape-picker  and,  while  on  his  way  to  a  job,  accepts  a  lift 
in  a  trailer  lunch-wagon  owned  by  Phyllis  Brooks  and  Mary 
Treen,  who  were  headed  for  a  gasoline  cracking  plant  under 
construction.  Through  them,  he  meets  Roger  Pryor,  an  old 
friend  and  rigger-boss  on  the  job,  who  persuades  him  to 
accept  employment  as  a  "chipper"  on  the  ground.  Pryor,  in 
an  effort  to  rid  Lowery  of  his  phobia,  tries  to  make  him  go 
aloft,  but  Lowery  loses  his  nerve,  causing  Phyllis  to  think 
him  a  coward.  She  changes  her  mind  about  him,  however, 
when  he  risks  his  life  to  save  the  life  of  another  worker  from 
an  explosion.  Both  Lowery  and  Pryor  fall  in  love  with 


February  24, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


31 


Phyllis  and,  eventually,  have  a  misunderstanding  over  her. 
To  add  to  the  ill-feelings,  suspicion  falls  on  Lowery  when 
it  is  claimed  that  his  poor  workmanship  caused  a  gas  leak 
that  resulted  in  the  explosion.  Pryor  discovers  that  a  co- 
worker who  hated  Lowery  was  responsible  for  the  leak,  but, 
before  he  could  inform  Lowery,  the  cables  on  a  swinging 
boom,  lifting  a  40-ton  steel  cap  to  the  top  of  a  high  tower, 
snaps.  Pryor  goes  out  on  the  boom  to  secure  the  cap,  but 
the  loose  cable  knocks  him  unconscious,  pinning  him  to  the 
boom.  Lowery,  despite  his  phobia,  goes  aloft  and,  in  a  daring 
rescue,  descends  to  the  ground  with  his  unconscious  friend. 
His  fear  of  high  places  conquered,  Lowery  wins  Phyllis  and 
renews  friendship  with  Pryor.  . 

Milton  Raison  and  Maxwell  Shane  wrote  the  screenplay, 
and  William  Berke  directed  it.  It  is  a  Pine-Thomas  produc- 
tion. The  cast  includes  Joe  Sawyer,  Ralph  Sanford,  Ed 
Gargan,  Vince  Barnett  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Strange  Illusion"  with  James  Lydon, 
Sally  Eilers  and  Warren  William 

(PRC,  March  31;  time,  86  min.) 

A  better-than-average  psychological  mystery  melodrama, 
of  program  grade.  Because  of  the  fact  that  the  lives  of  de- 
cent people  are  endangered  by  a  gracious  but  psychopathic 
criminal,  one's  interest  is  held  throughout.  The  work  of 
James  Lydon,  as  a  murdered  criminologist's  son,  is  outstand- 
ing; his  determination  to  unmask  the  criminal  at  the  risk  of 
his  own  life,  the  intelligent  way  in  which  he  goes  about  un- 
earthing evidence,  and  his  convincing  acting,  heighten  the 
suspense.  The  others  in  the  cast  perform  competently:- — 

Dreaming  that  the  death  of  his  father  was  murder,  not 
accidental,  Lydon  also  visions  that  Sally  Eilers,  his  mother, 
and  Jayne  Hazard,  his  younger  sister,  were  in  danger  of 
being  duped  by  a  strange  man.  Distressed,  Lydon  cuts  short 
his  vacation  and  returns  home.  He  finds  that,  during  his 
absence,  his  mother  had  become  infatuated  with  Warren 
William,  a  charming  stranger.  The  dream  preys  on  Lydon's 
mind  to  such^n  extent  that  he  immediately  suspects  William 
of  an  ulterior  motive.  Checking  William's  background 
through  a  local  banker,  Lydon  finds  him  to  be  a  man  of 
means  with  a  good  reputation.  Lydon,  still  not  satisfied, 
delves  into  his  father's  private  files  and  comes  across  the 
case  history  of  a  man  fitting  William's  description,  but  ac- 
cording to  the  record  the  man,  a  psychopathic  criminal,  was 
dead.  Meanwhile  William,  who  was  the  man  described  in 
the  file,  and  who  had  murdered  Lydon's  father  to  get  him 
off  his  trail,  becomes  disturbed  by  the  young  man's  persistent 
checking  lest  it  interfere  with  his  plan  to  marry  his  mother 
and  gain  complete  revenge.  Aided  by  Charles  Arnt,  a  psy- 
chiatrist and  his  colleague-in-crime,  William,  to  get  Lydon 
out  of  the  way,  invites  the  boy  to  take  a  rest  cure  at  Arnt's 
sanitorium.  Lydon,  suspicious  of  Arnt,  readily  accepts  the 
invitation  so  that  he  could  study  the  man's  movements. 
Arranging  with  Dr.  Regis  Toomey,  an  old  family  friend,  to 
keep  in  touch  with  him  daily,  Lydon  goes  to  the  sanitorium, 
where  he  soon  becomes  convinced  that  the  two  men  were 
working  together.  He  eventually  uncovers  evidence  prov- 
ing that  William  had  murdered  his  father  and,  with  the  aid 
of  Toomey  and  the  police,  captures  the  criminal  in  time  to 
save  his  sister  from  his  advances  and  his  mother  from  a 
tragic  marriage. 

Adele  Commandini  wrote  the  screen  play,  Leon  Fromkess 
produced  it,  and  Edgar  G.  Ulmer  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Salty  O'Rourke"  with  Alan  Ladd, 
Gail  Russell  and  Stanley  Clements 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  97  min.) 

This  racetrack  melodrama  should  go  over  fairly  well  with 
the  Alan  Ladd  fans,  for  he  is  cast  in  one  of  his  typical 
"tough  guy"  roles.  Somewhat  different  in  story  content  from 
most  pictures  of  this  type,  the  action  is  at  times  thrilling, 
at  other  times  laugh-provoking,  and  for  the  most  part  inter- 
esting. Were  it  not  for  the  effective  way  in  which  Alan  Ladd 
portrays  the  hero,  he  would  be  an  extremely  unsympathetic 
character,  for  his  actions  are  unpleasant  and  demoralizing 
almost  to  the  end.  Top  acting  honors,  however,  go  to  young 
Stanley  Clements,  who  steals  the  picture  with  his  expert 
portrayal  of  a  disreputable  jockey.  Gail  Russell,  who  fur- 
nishes the  love  interest,  is  the  only  sympathetic  character: — 

Given  thirty  days  in  which  to  pay  Bruce  Cabot,  a  racke- 
teer, a  twenty  thousand  dollar  debt,  Alan  Ladd,  a  racetrack 


gambler,  buys  an  unmanageable  but  speedy  horse,  planning 
to  enter  him  in  a  $50,000  handicap  race.  Together  with 
William  Demarest,  his  faithful  trainer,  Ladd  contacts  Stanley 
Clements,  a  rough,  brassy,  unscrupulous  twenty-two-year- 
old  jockey,  who  had  been  barred  from  racing.  Clements,  an 
expert  rider,  handles  the  horse  with  ease.  Offering  Clements 
one-third  of  the  winning  purse,  Ladd  induces  him  to  pose  as 
his  own  seventeen-year-old  brother  in  order  to  obtain  a 
license  to  ride  at  the  track.  Being  under-age,  Clements  finds 
himself  compelled  to  attend  a  school  for  jockeys.  Gail  Rus- 
sell, the  teacher,  expells  him  on  the  first  day  because  of  his 
rudeness.  Ladd,  using  all  his  charm,  persuades  her  to  give 
the  boy  another  chance.  Learning  that  the  unruly  Clements 
had  fallen  in  love  with  Gail,  Ladd,  to  keep  him  on  his  best 
behaviour  until  after  the  race,  works  on  Gail's  sympathies 
and  induces  her  to  show  the  lad  special  attention.  Clements, 
however,  mistakenly  believes  that  she  was  reciprocating  his 
romantic  feelings.  Meanwhile,  Ladd  was  unaware  that  Gail 
had  become  infatuated  with  him.  On  the  eve  of  the  big  race, 
Clements  proposes  to  Gail  only  to  learn  that  she  was  in  love 
with  Ladd.  Angered  because  Ladd  had  duped  him,  Clements 
contacts  Cabot  and  arranges  to  "throw"  the  race.  Demarest, 
learning  of  the  deal,  informs  Gail.  She  talks  to  Clements 
before  the  race  and  induces  him  to  change  his  mind.  Cabot, 
angered  when  Clements  rides  Ladd's  horse  to  victory,  in- 
structs a  henchman  to  kill  the  boy.  Ladd  sets  out  to  avenge 
his  jockey's  murder  and,  through  a  clever  ruse,  manages  to 
have  Cabot  and  his  henchman  kill  each  other.  Indicating  a 
willingness  to  change  his  ways,  Ladd  returns  to  Gail. 

Milton  Holmes  wrote  the  screen  play,  E.  D.  Leshin  pro- 
duced it,  and  Raoul  Walsh  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Spring  Byington,  Marjorie  Woodworth,  Rex  Williams  and 
others. 

Unsuitable  for  children. 


"God  is  My  Co-Pilot"  with  Dennis  Morgan 
and  Raymond  Massey 

(Warner  Bros.,  release  date  not  set;  time,  90  min.) 

Autobiographical  of  Colonel  Robert  Lee  Scott's  exploits 
in  the  U.  S.  Air  Force  and  as  a  member  of  General  Chen- 
nault's  Flying  Tigers,  this  war  melodrama,  though  quite 
thrilling  in  spots,  offers  little  that  is  new  for  this  type  of 
picture.  Consequently,  its  success  will  probably  depend  on 
whether  or  not  your  patrons  have  had  their  fill  of  war 
pictures.  The  best  part  of  the  production,  to  which  extensive 
footage  has  been  given,  is  the  aerial  photography;  the  air 
battles  are  highly  exciting.  The  story  has  considerable  human 
interest,  and  it  pays  a  deserving  tribute  to  the  Flying  Tigers, 
but  some  of  the  situations  are  so  stagey,  and  the  story's 
treatment  is  so  commonplace  that  one's  interest  wanes,  ex- 
cept, of  course,  during  the  aerial  dog  fights.  Dennis  Morgan, 
as  Scott,  and  Raymond  Massey,  as  Chennault,  give  a  good 
account  of  themselves,  as  does  Alan  Hale,  as  a  missionary. 

Beginning  with  Scott's  boyhood  days  on  a  Georgia  farm, 
the  story  tells  of  his  burning  desire  to  became  an  airplane 
pilot.  He  enlists  in  the  Army  and,  through  a  competitive 
examination,  secures  an  appointment  to  West  Point,  eventu- 
ally being  sent  to  Randolph  Field.  Graduating  from  Ran- 
dolph, Scott  marries  his  hometown  sweetheart  (Andrea 
King).  After  a  number  of  years  in  which  he  learns  to  fly  all 
types  of  planes  in  all  kinds  of  weather,  Scott,  now  thirty- 
four,  finds  himself  stationed  in  California  as  an  instructor 
when  the  Japs  attack  Pearl  Harbor.  His  ambitions  to  become 
a  combat  pilot  are  dashed  when  he  is  informed  that  he  was 
too  old.  Undaunted,  he  begins  a  letter-writing  campaign  to 
his  superiors  that  ends  with  his  assignment  to  a  B- 17  on  a 
secret  mission  to  the  Far  East.  In  China,  he  meets  Gen. 
Chennault  and  secures  his  permission  to  join  the  Flying 
Tigers.  He  learns  their  methods  of  combat  and  soon  be- 
comes known  as  a  "one-man  air  force"  as  a  result  of  his 
downing  thirteen  Jap  planes.  Leading  his  squadron  on  a 
daring  raid  on  Hong  Kong,  Scott  is  shot  down.  After  a  few 
days,  Gen.  Chennault  gives  him  up  for  dead  just  as  he  is 
brought  back  to  headquarters  by  a  group  of  Chinese  men 
and  women  who  had  effected  his  rescue.  Fearful  of  being 
grounded  because  of  combat  fatigue,  Scott  is  delighted  when 
Chennault  presents  him  with  a  new  plane  and  orders  him 
to  lead  his  squadron  on  another  mission. 

Peter  Milne  wrote  the  screen  play,  Robert  Buckncr  pro- 
duced it,  and  Robert  Florey  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Dane  Clark,  John  Ridgely,  Donald  Woods.  Murray  Alper, 
Minor  Watson,  Richard  Loo,  Philip  Ahn  and  others. 


32 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  24, 1945 


"The  Body  Snatcher"  with  Boris  KarlofT 
and  Henry  Daniell 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  78  min.) 

Skillfully  produced  and  directed,  this  horror  melodrama 
should  more  than  satisfy  those  who  like  their  screen  enter- 
tainment wierd  and  spine-chilling;  it  is  far  superior  to  most 
pictures  of  its  type.  The  macabre  tale,  based  on  a  short  story 
by  Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  takes  place  in  Scotland,  a  cen- 
tury ago,  when  the  medical  prolcssion  was  compelled  to 
deal  with  grave-robbers  in  order  to  obtain  bodies  for  dissec- 
tion and  study.  Boris  Karloff,  as  the  blackmailing  grave- 
robber,  gives  one  of  the  best  performances  of  his  career,  while 
Henry  Daniell  is  not  far  behind  him  as  head  of  the  medical 
school;  their  ghoulish,  maniacal  doings  keep  one  on  the 
edge  of  his  seat.  Unlike  most  horror  pictures,  this  one  does 
not  resort  to  the  fantastic  for  its  chills  and  shudders;  it 
makes  sense: — 

Appointed  by  Daniell  as  his  assistant,  Russell  Wade,  a 
medical  student,  is  aghast  when  he  learns  that  Boris  Karloff, 
a  grissly  cab  driver,  stole  bodies  from  fresh  graves  and  sold 
them  to  Daniell.  Wade's  urge  to  leave  the  school  is  restrained 
by  his  desire  to  help  Daniell  find  a  cure  for  Sharyn  Moffctt, 
a  crippled  child,  in  whom  he  had  become  interested.  He 
soon  finds  himself  involved  deeply  in  the  grave-robbings.  In 
need  of  a  corpse  to  help  Daniell  study  Sharyn's  affliction, 
Wade  appeals  to  Karloff,  whom  he  despised,  to  get  one 
quickly.  Karloff  obliges  him  by  murdering  a  young  street 
singer  and  bringing  her  body  to  the  school.  Hopelessly  in- 
volved, Wade  helps  Daniell  dissect  the  body.  Bela  Lugosi, 
dim-witted  caretaker  at  the  school,  learns  of  the  murder  and 
tries  to  blackmail  Karloff,  but  the  cab  driver  kills  him  and 
brings  his  body  to  Wade.  Resentful  of  Daniell's  superior 
position  in  society,  Karloff  took  delight  in  belittling  him  and 
in  threatening  him  with  exposure  as  an  accessory  to  the 
different  murders.  Daniell,  plagued  by  the  ruthless  cab 
driver's  taunting,  finally  murders  him  and  dissects  his  body. 
Now  compelled  to  do  his  own  grave-robbing,  Daniell,  while 
returning  to  the  school  on  a  stormy  night  with  a  corpse, 
mistakes  the  howling  of  the  wind  for  Karloff's  taunts.  De- 
ranged, and  believing  that  the  dead  body  next  to  him  was 
that  of  Karloff,  he  drives  his  horse  and  carriage  over  a  cliff. 

Philip  MacDonald  and  Carlos  Keith  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Val  Lewton  produced  it,  and  Robert  Wise  directed  it. 
Jack  J.  Gross  was  executive  producer.  The  cast  includes 
Edith  Atwatcr,  Rita  Corday,  Donna  Lee  and  others. 

Too  horrifying  for  children. 


"A  Song  for  Miss  Julie"  with 
Shirley  Ross  and  Barton  Hepburn 

(Republic,  Feb.  19;  time,  70  min.) 

Poor  program  entertainment;  it  is  tedious  to  the  extreme. 
What  there  is  to  the  story  is  thin,  and  the  various  attempts 
at  comedy  fall  flat.  Moreover,  the  story  is  overburdened  with 
dialogue,  making  the  action  slow.  A  few  musical  numbers, 
entirely  irrevelant  to  the  plot,  seem  to  have  been  "dragged 
in  by  the  ears"  for  no  reason  other  than  to  add  length.  One 
of  these  numbers  features  Alicia  Markova  and  Anton  Dolin, 
famed  ballet  dancers,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  their  fame  will 
mean  anything  at  the  box-office.  Not  much  can  be  said  for 
either  the  direction  or  the  performances. 

The  story  revolves  around  the  efforts  of  two  enterprising 
playwrights  (Roger  Clark  and  Barton  Hepburn)  to  write 
a  play  about  "Britt  Conway,"  a  long-deceased  Southern 
"playboy,"  about  whom  there  were  many  scandalous  legends. 
Accompanied  by  Shirley  Ross,  Hepburn's  wife,  a  former 
"strip-teaser,"  the  playwrights  visit  the  mansion  of  Elisabeth 
Risdon,  a  proud,  elderly  Southern  aristocrat  and  descendant 
of  "Britt,"  to  whom  they  had  paid  a  large  sum  of  money 
for  her  ancestor's  life  story.  Panic-stricken  lest  the  world 
learn  of  her  ancestor's  indiscretions,  thus  bringing  shame  on 
the  family  name,  Miss  Risdon  instructs  Jane  Farrar,  her 
daughter,  to  hide  "Britt's"  diary.  Miss  Risdon's  efforts  to 


conceal  "Britt's"  fabulous  adventures  irks  Shirley  and  her 
husband,  but  Clark,  who  had  fallen  in  love  with  Jane,  finds 
the  situation  idyllic.  Learning  that  Cheryl  Walker,  who 
operated  a  local  bistro,  was  a  direct  descendant  of  "Britt," 
her  great  grandmother  having  been  his  second  wife,  Shirley 
visits  the  young  lady  and  induces  her  to  come  to  Miss  Ris- 
don's home  to  help  stage  the  annual  "Britt  Conway  Music 
Festival."  Miss  Risdon  snubs  and  insults  Cheryl,  provoking 
her  into  giving  the  playwrights  the  colorful  details  of 
"Britt's"  life.  Jane,  to  make  amends  for  her  mother'6  bad 
behaviour,  gives  Cheryl  "Britt's"  diary  to  authenticate  her 
statements,  but  pledges  Cheryl  to  secrecy.  With  this  material 
to  work  with,  the  playwrights  produce  a  show  that  is  an 
immediate  success  on  Broadway.  It  all  ends  with  every  one 
learning  that  Jane  gave  the  diary  to  Cheryl,  and  with  Jane 
in  Clark's  arms. 

Rowland  Leigh  wrote  the  screen  play,  William  Rowland 
and  Carley  Harriman  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Rowland  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Peter  Garey,  the  Robertos, 
Vivian  Fay  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Unseen"  with  Gail  Russell, 
Joel  McCrea  and  Herbert  Marshall 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  79  min.) 

Just  a  fair  murder-mystery  melodrama.  The  producer  has 
resorted  to  the  usual  tricks  such  as  an  eerie  atmosphere,  low 
key  photography,  and  mysterious  movements  by  the  different 
characters  to  build  up  one  interest  and  to  add  suspense  to 
the  proceedings,  but  none  of  these  tricks  can  hide  the  fact 
that  the  story  is  incoherent.  Murders  are  committed  but 
the  spectator  has  no  idea  of  the  possible  motives  for  the 
crimes,  nor  are  the  different  characters  given  motives  for 
their  strange  behavior.  Even  though  matters  are  cleared  up 
at  the  finish,  the  spectator  is  left  with  a  disappointed  feeling, 
for  he  had  not  been  given  an  opportunity  to  guess  at  the 
solution  himself: — 

Employed  as  governess  to  Richard  Lyon  and  Nona  Grif- 
fith, children  of  Joel  McCrea,  a  widower,  Gail  Russell 
learns  that,  two  days  before  her  arrival,  an  old  woman  had 
been  murdered  mysteriously  near  the  long-vacant  house 
next  door.  Gail  wins  Nona's  friendship,  but  Richard,  a 
strange  child,  resented  her.  Through  Herbert  Marshall,  the 
family  physician,  Gail  learns  that  McCrea's  wife  had  died 
in  a  mysterious  accident  and  that  he  had  been  suspected  of 
her  murder.  The  killing  of  the  old  woman  had  placed  him 
under  suspicion  again.  McCrea's  wierd  movements  puzzle 
Gail  and,  to  add  to  her  confusion,  she  learns  that  Richard 
was  signalling  to  a  mysterious  man  in  the  vacant  house. 
Matters  become  frightening  for  Gail  when  Phyllis  Brooks, 
the  former  governess  whom  McCrea  had  discharged,  is 
found  murdered  shortly  after  she  had  gained  entrance  to 
the  house  by  a  ruse.  The  following  evening,  Isobel  Elsom, 
the  widowed  owner  of  the  vacant  house,  visits  Gail  and 
informs  her  that  the  mysterious  killer  was  in  her  house. 
After  a  series  of  frightening  happenings  in  which  Miss 
Elsom  is  stabbed  to  death  in  the  empty  house,  McCrea  trajps 
Marshall  as  the  murderer.  He  proves  that,  years  previously, 
Marshall  and  Miss  Elsom  had  been  lovers,  and  that  she  had 
killed  her  husband  to  get  him  out  of  the  way.  She  had 
boarded  up  the  house,  leaving  his  body  inside.  Having  re- 
cently decided  to  sell  the  house,  she  had  asked  Marshall  to 
get  rid  of  the  body.  Marshall  had  enlisted  the  aid  of  Rich- 
ard so  that  he  could  use  a  secret  tunnel  leading  from  Mc- 
Crea's home  to  the  empty  house.  He  had  killed  the  old 
woman  because  he  feared  that  she  had  seen  him  enter  the 
house;  he  had  murdered  Phyllis  because  she  knew  of  the 
crime  and  had  tried  to  blackmail  him;  and  he  had  stabbed 
Miss  Elsom  because  she  had  spurned  his  love. 

Hagar  Wilde  and  Raymond  Chandler  wrote  the  screen 
play,  John  Houseman  produced  it,  and  Lewis  Allen  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Elisabeth  Risdon,  Tom  Tully,  Mikhail 
Rasumny  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  MARCH  3,  1945  No.  9 


A  WEAK  ANSWER 


Replying  to  the  Government's  application  for  temporary 
relief  as  it  affects  clearance,  pending  the  outcome  of  the 
trial  and  the  entry  of  a  final  decree  in  the  New  York  anti- 
trust suit,  the  five  consenting  distributors  have  served  notice 
on  the  Department  of  Justice  of  their  intention  to  defend  the 
industry's  present  system  of  clearance  when  argument  on  the 
proposed  changes  will  be  heard  before  Judge  Henry  God' 
dard  on  March  5.  In  a  letter  to  Robert  Wright,  U.  S. 
Assistant  Attorney  General,  the  attorneys  for  the  distributors 
had  this  to  say,  in  part: 

"Our  fundamental  issue  is  with  respect  to  the  granting  of 
injunction  relief  in  dealing  with  clearance.  We  believe  that 
on  the  whole  arbitration  is  the  most  satisfactory  method  of 
solving  clearance  disputes  which  in  their  very  nature  are 
complex  and  depend  upon  a  number  of  factors  involving 
business  judgment.  Very  often  the  rights  of  exhibitors  who 
are  not  parties  to  the  decree  are  vitally  affected.  It  was  an 
appreciation  of  these  circumstances  which  formed  the  basis 
for  those  provisions  in  the  consent  decree  which  made  clear- 
ance disputes  subject  to  arbitration  in  the  manner  pro- 
vided. .  .  . 

"Substansively  we  disagree  with  the  position  taken  in  the 
memorandum  regarding  arbitration  of  clearance  as  provided 
for  by  Section  VIII.  We  believe  it  has  been  successful  from 
the  point  of  view  of  all  parties  concerned,  including  the 
public,  and  that  under  Section  VIII  the  appeal  board  has 
been  able  to,  and  has,  dealt  effectively  with  the  various 
clearance  problems  presented  to  it  and  we  believe  that  this 
Section  provides  adequate  relief  with  respect  to  clearance 
disputes.  As  we  have  said,  the  problems  are  complex  and 
vary  according  to  local  situations.  By  its  very  nature,  clear- 
ance cannot  be  measured  with  precision  but  must  rest  on  the 
business  judgment  of  exhibitor  and  distributor  The  arbi- 
trators by  the  decree  have  been  permitted  to  review  the 
business  judgment  of  distributors  and  exhibitors  and  to  de- 
termine whether  or  not  the  clearance  granted  in  particular 
cases  was  too  long  in  point  of  time  or  too  extensive  in  area, 
after  weighing  the  several  factors  set  forth  in  Section  VIII. 
We  will  contend  that  it  is  apparent  from  the  decisions  that 
the  members  of  the  appeal  board  and  the  arbitrators  have 
been  assiduous  in  performing  their  duties  and  have  provided 
adequate  relief  wherever  their  judgment  differed  from  the 
business  judgment  of  the  distributors  and  exhibitors  which 
they  reviewed. 

"We  believe  that  the  criticisms  in  the  memorandum  with 
respect  to  Section  VIII  are  unjustified  and  that  some  of  the 
relief  requested  would  work  havoc  in  the  industry." 

For  as  long  back  as  I  can  remember,  every  time  the  dis- 
tributors were  faced  with  reforms  they  immediately  raised  the 
cry  that  reforms  would  raise  havoc  with  industry  opera- 
tions. That  same  cry  was  raised  after  the  Government's 
sweeping  victory  in  the  Crescent  case.  Then,  the  producer 


propagandists,  in  an  effort  to  arouse  exhibitor  opposition  to 
the  Government's  efforts  in  their  behalf,  claimed  that  theatre 
divorcement  would  affect,  not  only  the  large  affiliated  and 
unaffiliated  circuits,  but  also  the  independent  exhibitors  who 
had  more  than  one  theatre  in  cities  with  a  population  of  over 
5000.  They  claimed  that  the  Department  of  Justice's  aim 
was  to  compel  such  exhibitors  to  dispose  of  all  theatres  ex- 
cept one,  in  order  to  create  competition. 

This  claim  was  effectively  dispelled  by  National  Allied, 
which,  realizing  that  some  exhibitors  might  be  influenced 
unduly  by  the  propagandists,  pointed  out  that  "there  is  no 
power  anywhere  to  dissolve,  or  to  compel  an  exhibitor  to 
dispose  of  theatres,  except  for  violation  of  the  Sherman  Act. 
It  is  no  violation  of  that  act  for  an  exhibitor  to  have  more 
than  one  theatre,  or  even  all  the  theatres,  in  a  town  of  any 
size.  ...  If  you  have  not  violated  the  law,  nothing  can  harm 
you." 

Now,  in  counteracting  the  Government's  proposals  for 
the  elimination  of  clearance  betwen  theatres  charging  the 
same  admission  prices,  the  consenting  distributors  are  again 
raising  the  cry  that  such  a  reform  would  create  havoc  within 
the  industry.  What  they  mean,  of  course,  without  saying  it 
in  so  many  words,  is  that  the  reform  sought  would  have  a 
devastating  effect  on  the  elaborate  and  carefully  planned 
clearance  system  that  they  have  built  up  over  the  years  for 
the  protection  of  their  affiliated  theatres,  at  the  expense  of 
the  independent  theatres. 

As  to  the  distributors'  contention  that  the  "members  of 
the  appeal  board  and  the  arbitrators  have  been  assiduous  in 
the  performance  of  their  duties,"  no  one,  not  even  the  Gov- 
ernment, has  claimed  otherwise.  But  the  fact  remains  that, 
under  the  present  provisions  of  the  Decree,  the  arbitrators 
have  been  and  still  are  hamstrung  by  the  maze  of  restrictions 
limiting  their  power  to  arbitrate  specific  runs.  It  is  these 
restrictions  that  the  distributors  seek  to  retain  and  which  the 
Government  seeks  to  eliminate. 

If,  as  the  distributors  claim,  the  problems  of  clearance  are 
in  their  very  nature  complex,  and  depend  upon  a  number  of 
factors  involving  business  judgment,  then,  certainly  the  ar- 
bitrators, who  are  called  upon  to  solve  these  problems,  should 
be  given  a  reasonable  amount  of  latitude,  so  long  as  they 
remain  within  the  bounds  of  a  few  fundamental  principles. 
And  that  is  exactly  what  the  Government  is  asking  for. 

As  it  has  already  been  said  in  these  columns,  it  is  usually 
most  difficult  to  obtain  from  a  court  temporary  relief  pending 
the  outcome  of  a  suit,  particularly  in  this  case  where  the 
relief  sought  is  so  extraordinary.  The  Government,  how- 
ever, has  built  up  such  a  strong  case  for  the  elimination  of 
clearance  that,  though  the  relief  may  not  be  granted  in  an 
interim  decree,  it  may  very  well  be  granted  in  a  final  decree 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  suit. 


OUR  BIGGEST  JOB  THIS  YEAR!  —  RED  CROSS  DRIVE  —  MARCH  15-21 


34 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  3,  1945 


"Hotel  Berlin"  with  Raymond  Massey, 
Faye  Emerson,  Andrea  King 
and  Helmut  Dantine 

(Warner  Bros.,  March  17;  time,  98  min.) 

This  anti-Nazi  melodrama  is  absorbing  without  being  ex' 
ceptional,  yet  it  should  do  pretty  good  business  because  of 
the  timely  title  and  of  the  fact  that  the  story  is  based  on  the 
widely-read  novel  by  Vicki  Baum.  All  the  action  takes  place 
in  a  large  Berlin  hotel,  one  that  has  felt  the  devastating 
Allied  air  assaults,  and  the  main  story  revolves  around  the 
efforts  of  a  discharged  German  soldier,  a  known  anti-Nazi, 
to  escape  from  the  building,  where  he  had  been  trapped  by 
the  Gestapo.  The  action  is  quite  exciting  at  times,  holding 
one  in  considerable  suspense.  Several  by-plots  have  been 
worked  into  the  main  plot  in  a  plausible  way.  One  of  these 
revolves  around  Raymond  Massey,  as  a  Nazi  General  of 
the  old  school,  who,  caught  in  a  plot  against  Hitler's  life,  is 
compelled  by  the  Gestapo  to  take  his  own  life  after  they 
balk  his  every  attempt  to  escape.  Another  by-plot  revolves 
around  the  regeneration  of  Faye  Emerson,  a  woman  of  loose 
morals,  who  was  permitted  to  ply  her  trade  in  the  hotel  in 
exchange  for  information  she  furnished  to  the  Gestapo. 

In  the  development  of  the  main  story,  Helmut  Dantine, 
the  discharged  soldier,  whose  political  leaning  had  been 
found  out,  is  traced  by  the  Gestapo  to  the  hotel,  where  a 
few  of  the  employees,  members  of  the  underground,  had 
kept  him  hidden.  In  his  efforts  to  escape  from  the  building, 
Dantine,  posing  as  a  waiter,  meets  Andrea  King,  an  actress, 
with  whom  Massey  was  deeply  in  love.  Andrea,  learning  of 
Masscy's  impending  doom  and  discovering  Dantine's  iden- 
tity, becomes  friendly  with  the  anti-Nazi  in  the  hope  that  he 
will  help  her  out  of  the  country.  Through  a  tip  furnished  by 
Faye  Emerson,  George  Coulouris,  a  Gestapo  official,  learns  of 
Dantine's  presence  in  Andrea's  suite.  When  he  investigates, 
Dantine  beats  him  to  death  and,  with  Andrea's  aid,  escapes 
from  the  hotel  in  the  uniform  of  an  officer.  Dantine,  believ- 
ing in  Andrea,  seeks  a  way  to  get  her  out  of  the  country, 
but  his  co-workers  warn  him  against  her.  When  they  prove 
to  him  that  she  pretended  to  be  anti-Nazi  in  order  to  trap  the 
underground  leaders,  Dantine  arranges  for  Andrea  to  be 
brought  to  him.  He  kills  her. 

Steve  Geray,  as  the  hotel  manager,  provides  a  few  bright 
comedy  moments,  but  for  the  most  part  the  action  is  somber. 
Others  taking  part  in  the  action  include  Peter  Lorre,  as  a 
drunken  scientist;  Alan  Hale,  as  a  Gestapo  officer,  who  com- 
plains bitterly  when  the  party  compels  him  to  loan  it  his 
ill-gotten  gains;  Peter  Whitney,  as  an  arrogant  young  officer 
seeking  gayety  during  his  twenty-four  hours  leave;  and 
Henry  Daniell,  as  a  party  leader  who  accepts  the  pending 
German  defeat  and  lays  plans  in  preparation  for  a  future 
war — each  plays  his  part  well,  giving  one  an  effective  idea 
of  what  must  be  the  Berlin  of  today. 

Jo  Pagano  and  Alvah  Bessie  wrote  the  screen  play,  Louis 
Edelman  produced  it,  and  Peter  Godfrey  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Dickie  Tyler,  Frank  Reicher,  Helene  Thimig, 
Kurt  Kreuger  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Spell  of  Amy  Nugent" 
with  Derek  Farr  and  Vera  Lindsay 

(PRC,  Feb.  10;  time,  60  min.) 

Produced  on  a  modest  budget,  this  British-made  drama  is 
a  minor  program  entertainment,  the  sort  that  will  probably 
have  little  appeal  for  American  audiences.  The  story,  which 
deals  with  spiritualism,  is  somewhat  confusing.  Moreover,  the 
acting  is  decidedly  amateurish  and,  in  addition,  some  of  the 
dialogue  is  too  difficult  to  understand  because  of  the  thick 
English  accents.  Through  the  different  characters,  the  pic- 
ture expounds  some  views  on  spiritualism,  but  they  are  the 
sort  that  will  be  better  understood  by  intellectuals  rather 
than  by  the  rank  and  file: — 

Derek  Farr,  only  son  of  Winifred  Davis,  an  upper  class 
Englishwoman,  falls  in  love  with  Diana  King,  daughter  of 


a  village  grocer.  Miss  Davis,  who  cherished  the  hope  that  her 
son  would  one  day  marry  Vera  Lindsay,  a  friend  of  the 
family  since  childhood,  quarreU  with  Farr  over  his  proposed 
marriage  ttt  the  village  girl.  Farr,  peeved,  determines  to  marry 
the  girl  at  once,  but  he  learn6  to  his  horror  that  the  girl  had 
suddenly  died  from  heart  failure.  Her  unexpected  death 
affects  him  to  such  a  degree  that  he  turns  to  spiritualism  in 
the  hope  that  he  would  be  brought  in  contact  with  her. 
Thereafter,  the  dominating  personality  of  Frederick  Leister, 
a  notorious  medium,  fastens  itself  upon  him.  Felix  Aylmer, 
Farr's  tutor,  becomes  disturbed  lest  Leister's  domination 
have  an  adverse  effect  on  the  young  man's  mind.  He  appeals 
to  Hay  Petrie,  a  disinterested  theologian,  who  knew  of 
Leister's  evil  genius,  to  dissuade  Farr  from  attending  more 
of  the  seances  conducted  by  the  medium.  Petrie's  efforts  to 
influence  the  young  man  fail.  At  one  of  the  seances,  Leister 
has  the  form  of  Farr's  dead  fiancee  materialize.  Farr  becomes 
so  shocked  by  the  sight  that  it  affects  his  mind.  He  becomes 
surly  and  dangerous.  But  Vera,  inspired  by  her  love  for 
him,  prays  for  guidance  and  succeeds  in  restoring  him  to 
normalcy  and  to  the  realization  of  his  love  for  her. 

Miles  Malleson  wrote  the  screen  play,  R.  Murray-Leslie 
produced  it,  and  John  Harlow  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Delightfully  Dangerous"  with  Jane  Powell, 
Ralph  Bellamy  and  Constance  Moore 

(United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time,  93  min.) 

This  offers  some  melodious  music  played  by  Morton 
Gould  and  his  Orchestra,  and  several  elaborate  production 
numbers,  but  they  are  not  strong  enough  to  lift  the  picture 
above  the  level  of  moderately  entertaining  program  fare. 
The  commonplace  story,  which  is  developed  in  a  routine 
manner,  and  the  faulty  direction,  do  not  help  matters.  Jane 
Powell  is  an  appealing  adolescent,  with  an  exceptionally  fine 
voice,  and  she  can  act,  too,  but  material  such  as  this  does 
not  take  full  advantage  of  her  talents.  The  picture  has  some 
amusing  bits  here  and  there,  the  best  being  Jane's  efforts  to 
appear  grown-up.  Its  ninety-three  minutes  running  time  is 
unwarranted : — 

Fifteen-year-old  Jane  Powell,  student  in  a  music  and  art 
school,  is  delighted  when  she  receives  word  that  her  sister, 
Constance  Moore,  whom  she  believed  to  be  a  musical  comedy 
star,  would  attend  the  school  pageant  in  which  she  (Jane) 
had  a  leading  role.  After  the  pageant,  Ralph  Bellamy,  a 
visiting  Broadway  producer,  congratulates  Jane  on  her 
singing  and  invites  her  to  visit  him  in  New  York  whenever 
she  had  the  opportunity.  Jane  decides  to  visit  the  big  city  a 
few  days  later  and,  while  trying  to  locate  Constance,  dis- 
covers that  she  was  really  a  burlesque  queen.  Mortified,  she 
rushes  to  Bellamy's  apartment.  The  producer  consoles  her, 
and  arranges  for  Constance  to  take  her  home.  On  the  follow- 
ing day,  Constance,  busy  at  a  matinee  performance,  asks 
Bellamy  to  put  Jane  on  the  train  returning  to  school.  Jane, 
however,  hatches  a  plot  to  save  Constance  from  continuing 
her  burlesque  career.  Knowing  that  Bellamy  was  seeking  a 
star  for  his  forthcoming  show,  she  dresses  as  a  grown-up  in 
the  hope  that  he  will  give  her  the  part,  thus  enabling  her  to 
support  Constance.  Bellamy,  amused,  takes  her  to  a  benefit- 
musical,  where  Morton  Gould,  overhearing  her  humming, 
invites  her  to  sing  with  his  orchestra.  She  is  given  a  big 
ovation,  and  Gould  tries  to  sign  her  for  his  radio  program, 
but,  when  his  sponsor  learns  that  her  sister  was  a  burlesque 
queen,  he  calls  off  the  deal.  While  preparing  to  return  to 
school,  Jane  overheas  Constance  singing  a  Strauss  waltz  in 
"jive"  tempo.  This  gives  her  another  idea.  She  tricks  Con- 
stance into  making  a  recording  of  the  song,  and  then  takes 
the  record  to  Bellamy.  Impressed,  Bellamy  gives  Constance 
the  leading  part  in  his  show,  featuring  both  Jane  and  herself 
in  an  elaborate  "swing"  version  of  the  Strauss  waltz. 

Walter  DeLeon  and  Arthur  Phillips  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Charles  R.  Rogers  produced  it,  and  Arthur  Lubin  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Arthur  Treacher,  Louise  Beavers, 
Ruth  Tobey  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


March  3, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


35 


"She's  a  Sweetheart"  with  Jane  Darwell, 
Jane  Frazee  and  Larry  Parks 

(Columbia,  December  7;  time,  69  min.) 

A  rather  talkative  but  pleasant  enough  program  drama, 
produced  on  a  skimpy  budget.  There's  not  much  to  the 
story,  which  revolves  around  a  motherly  woman  who  oper- 
ates a  canteen  for  servicemen  and,  through  her  kind  under- 
standing, helps  them  to  adjust  their  personal  problems,  par- 
ticularly their  romances;  but,  since  it  is  acted  engagingly  by 
the  players,  it  keeps  one  moderately  entertained.  A  few 
songs,  pleasingly  sung  by  Jane  Frazee,  have  been  inter- 
polated without  retarding  the  action;  and  the  romantic 
angles  are  charming: — 

Jane  Darwell,  motherly  head  of  a  canteen  for  servicemen, 
takes  a  personal  interest  in  Larry  Parks,  an  orphan,  because 
of  his  congenial  manner.  Miss  Darwell  becomes  concerned 
when  Parks  falls  in  love  with  Jane  Frazee,  an  entertainer  at 
the  canteen;  she  felt  that  Jane's  only  interest  in  entertaining 
the  servicemen  was  the  personal  publicity  she  would  get  out 
of  it.  Expecting  to  be  shipped  overseas  any  day,  Parks  in- 
forms his  buddy,  Jimmy  Lord,  that  he  planned  to  marry 
Jane  before  leaving.  The  two  friends  come  to  blows  when 
Lord  cautions  Parks  against  Jane  and  proves  that  all  the 
servicemen  in  the  canteen  had  an  autographed  picture  of 
her.  Unaware  that  Jane's  publicity  agent  had  handed  out  the 
photographs  without  her  knowledge,  Parks,  disillusioned, 
ships  overseas  without  saying  good-bye  to  her.  Some  months 
later,  Miss  Darwell  receives  a  telegram  from  the  War  De- 
partment informing  her  that  Parks  was  "missing  in  action." 
Jane  learning  of  the  news,  is  heartbroken.  She  devotes  most 
of  her  time  to  the  canteen,  self-effacingly  performing  the 
less  tasteful  chores — scrubbing  floors  and  dish  washing.  Miss 
Darwell  and  Lord  soon  realize  that  they  had  misjudged  her, 
and  decide  that  she  was  really  in  love  with  Parks.  At  a  sur- 
prise party  honoring  Miss  Darwell  for  her  efforts  in  keeping 
up  the  servicemen's  morale,  Parks  makes  an  unexpected  ap- 
pearance; for  some  unexplained  reason,  a  telegram  notify- 
ing Miss  Darwell  that  he  had  been  found  safe  had  never 
been  delivered.  He  refuses  to  see  Jane,  but  when  Miss  Dar- 
well and  Lord  admit  to  him  that  they  had  misjudged  her,  he 
rushes  to  embrace  her. 

Muriel  Roy  Bolton  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ted  Richmond 
produced  it,  and  Del  Lord  directed  it.  The-  cast  includes 
Nina  Foch,  Ross  Hunter,  Dave  Willock  and  others. 


"There  Goes  Kelly" 
with  Jackie  Moran  and  Wanda  McKay 

(Monogram,  Feb.  16;  time,  61  mm.) 

Combining  murder-mystery  and  comedy,  this  is  just  a 
program  melodrama  of  minor  importance,  suitable  for  the- 
atres that  cater  to  audiences  who  are  not  too  exacting  in 
their  demands.  The  story  is  a  loosely  written  affair  and, 
since  most  everything  that  happens  is  handled  in  a  comedy 
vein,  one  cannot  take  the  murder-mystery  angle  seriously. 
The  comedy  is  amusing  on  occasion,  and  slightly  tiresome 
at  other  times.  A  few  songs,  sung  pleasantly  by  Wanda 
McKay,  have  been  worked  into  the  plot: — 

Misrepresenting  himself  as  an  official  of  the  broadcasting 
station  where  he  worked  as  a  page  boy,  Jackie  Moran  ar- 
ranges an  audition  for  Wanda  McKay,  the  station's  newly- 
hired  receptionist.  Sidney  Miller,  another  page  boy  and 
Moran's  pal,  tries  to  stop  him,  but  Moran  insists  upon  going 
through  with  the  audition.  Moran  discovers  that  Wanda  has 
a  good  singing  voice,  but  he  gets  into  trouble  with  Anthony 
Warde  the  station's  manager,  for  the  unauthorised  audition. 
A  few  days  later,  Jan  Wiley,  that  station's  singing  star,  is 
murdered  mysteriously  during  a  rehearsal.  Detective  Ralph 
Sanford  takes  charge  of  the  case  and  he  soon  establishes  that 
most  every  one  who  was  present  in  the  room  had  a  motive 
for  committing  the  murder,  particularly  John  Gilbreath,  a 
cowboy  singer,  who  fled  from  the  room.  Moran  and  Miller 


find  the  murder  gun  and  learn  that  it  belonged  to  the  cow- 
boy. But  he,  too,  is  murdered  before  Sanford  can  question 
him.  Moran  and  Miller  visit  the  dead  cowboy's  apartment 
and  discover  evidence  that  Jan  had  once  been  involved  with 
him  in  a  shooting  scrape.  Sanford,  using  the  information  he 
had  gathered  with  Moran's  aid,  confronts  all  the  suspects 
in  the  studio  and  tricks  Edward  Emerson,  the  studio's  an- 
nouncer, into  confessing  the  crimes.  Sanford  proves  that 
Emerson  had  been  in  love  with  Jan  and  that  he  had  been 
victimized  by  her  and  the  cowboy.  Meanwhile  Warde  had 
signed  Wanda  as  the  station's  new  singing  star,  and  her 
radio  debut  turns  out  to  be  a  huge  success. 

Edmond  Kelso  wrote  the  screen  play,  William  Strobach 
produced  it,  and  Phil  Karlstein  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Youth  on  Trial" 
with  Cora  Sue  Collins  and  David  Reed 

(Columbia,  January  11;  time,  60  min.) 

Like  most  of  the  juvenile  delinquency  pictures  that  have 
thus  far  been  produced,  this  one,  too,  resorts  to  preachment 
to  put  over  its  message  about  the  need  of  parental  guidance. 
It  is  no  better  or  worse  than  its  predecessors  and  should 
serve  its  purpose  as  a  supporting  feature  wherever  this  type 
of  entertainment  is  acceptable.  As  usual,  the  action  revolves 
around  the  sordid  doings  of  a  reckless  youth  and  his  influ- 
ence upon  a  good  but  weak-willed  'teen-aged  girl.  Daring 
escapes  from  the  police,  gambling,  selling  liquor  to  minors, 
gun  fights,  and  even  the  murder  of  one's  own  father  are  de- 
picted in  an  effort  to  show  how  bad  the  juvenile  crime  prob- 
lem is,  but  it  is  all  so  grossly  exaggerated  that  it  loses  its 
dramatic  force: — 

Alarmed  by  the  rise  in  juvenile  delinquency,  Mary  Cur- 
rier, a  Juvenile  Court  judge,  arranges  for  a  raid  on  a 
roadhouse,  known  to  be  a  "hangout"  for  reckless  youths. 
That  night,  Miss  Currier's  'teen-aged  daughter,  Cora  Sue 
Collins,  goes  on  a  secret  date  with  David  Reed,  a  villainous 
high  school  student,  much  to  the  disappointment  of  Eric 
Sinclair,  a  model  young  man,  who  loved  her.  The  young 
couple  settle  down  for  some  serious  drinking  at  the  road- 
house  just  as  the  raiding  party  arrives.  They  manage  to 
escape  unrecognized,  but  a  number  of  their  friends  are 
caught.  On  the  following  day,  when  the  youngsters  appear 
before  Miss  Currier,  one  of  them  reveals  that  Reed  and  Cora 
had  escaped  during  the  raid.  Shocked,  Miss  Currier  never- 
theless issues  warrants  for  both  Reed  and  her  daughter. 
Reed  attempts  to  bully  the  others  into  falsely  testifying  that 
he  and  Cora  were  not  at  the  roadhouse,  but  he  manages 
only  to  get  Cora  and  himself  ostracized  by  the  entire  school. 
Unable  to  stand  this  subtle  punishment,  Reed  decides  to 
leave  town,  and  Cora  agrees  to  accompany  him.  Needing 
money,  Reed  tries  to  steal  some  from  his  father,  a  wealthy 
gambler.  His  father  catches  him  in  the  act  and,  in  the  en- 
suing struggle,  Reed  accidentally  shoots  and  kills  him.  Later, 
in  a  tourist  cabin,  Cora  first  learns  of  Reed's  murderous  deed. 
She  manages  to  notify  the  police  of  their  whereabouts 
without  Reed's  knowledge.  When  the  police  close  in  on  the 
cabin,  Reed  shoots  at  them.  Cora  runs  from  the  cabin  only 
to  be  shot  down  by  Reed.  The  police  wound  the  young  man, 
and  both  he  and  Cora  are  taken  to  a  hospital.  Reed  dies, 
but  Cora  recuperates  and  is  reunited  with  Eric.  The  City 
Council,  now  aware  of  the  need  to  curb  juvenile  delinquency, 
appropriate  a  huge  sum  of  money  in  order  to  help  Miss 
Currier  combat  the  evil. 

Michel  Jacoby  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ted  Richmond  pro- 
duced it,  and  Oscar  Boetticher,  Jr.,  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Georgia  Bayes,  Robert  Williams,  Joseph  Crehan, 
John  Calvert  and  others. 

Too  sordid  for  children. 


Through  a  typographical  error,  the  running  time  of  "The 
Body  Snatcher,"  reviewed  last  wee\,  was  given  as  8  minutes. 
The  correct  time  is  78  minutes. 


36 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  3,  1945 


"It's  a  Pleasure" 
with  Sonja  Henie  and  Michael  O'Shea 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time.  90  min.) 

Fourth  of  the  International  pictures  released  through 
RKO,  "It's  a  Pleasure"  stacks  up  as  fairly  good  entertain- 
ment, despite  a  story  and  treatment  that  is  routine.  The  most 
entertaining  feature  of  the  picture  is,  of  course,  Sonja 
Henie's  dazzling  antics  on  ice;  the  grace  and  ease  with  which 
she  so  skillfully  executes  her  skating  routines  are  fascinating 
to  watch.  Not  the  least  of  the  picture's  other  assets  arc  the 
elaborate,  tastefully  designed  settings  and  the  very  good 
Technicolor  photography.  As  said,  the  story  is  routine, 
nevertheless,  it  has  enough  romance,  comedy,  music  and 
drama  to  put  it  over  with  most  audiences.  The  performances 
are  engaging: — 

When  Michael  O'Shea,  an  excitable  but  likeable  hockey 
player  is  barred  from  professional  hockey  for  striking  a 
referee,  Sonja  Henie,  member  of  a  skating  troupe  entertain- 
ing between  periods,  secures  a  job  for  him  with  a  small  ice 
show  operated  by  Bill  Johnson.  Marie  McDonald,  Johnson's 
attractive  but  idle  wife,  deliberately  flirts  with  O'Shea  and 
makes  some  headway  with  him,  but  the  hockey  player  falls  in 
love  with  Sonja  and  marries  her.  Under  Sonja's  careful 
guidance,  O'Shea  gives  up  drinking,  his  major  trouble,  and 
soon  becomes  the  show's  star  performer.  Arthur  Loft,  a  big- 
time  promoter  scouting  for  new  talent,  plans  to  sign  O'Shea 
to  a  contract  and  arranges  to  watch  him  skate  at  one  of  the 
performances.  But  Marie,  in  order  to  keep  O'Shea  with  her 
husband's  show,  deliberately  gets  him  intoxicated,  causing 
him  to  miss  the  performance.  Sonja  substitutes  for  him. 
Impressed  with  her  brilliant  skating,  Loft  offers  her  a  con- 
tract. She  declines  when  he  refuses  to  include  O'Shea.  When 
O'Shea  learns  of  this,  he  decides  to  leave  Sonja  lest  he  in- 
terfere with  her  career.  Marie,  confessing  her  infidelity  to 
her  husband,  tries  to  accompany  O'Shea,  but  he  refuses  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  her.  Concluding  that  O'Shea  and 
Marie  had  run  off  together,  Sonja  dismisses  him  from  her 
mind  and  accepts  Loft's  offer.  She  soon  becomes  a  great 
star.  Meanwhile  O'Shea  rehabilitates  himself  by  becoming 
interested  in  under-privileged  boys  and,  through  the  efforts 
of  Johnson,  who  convinces  Sonja  of  the  true  reasons  for 
O'Shea's  leaving  her,  is  ultimately  reunited  with  his  famous 
wife. 

Lynn  Starling  and  Elliott  Paul  wrote  the  screen  play, 
David  Lewis  produced  it,  and  William  A.  Seiter  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Gus  Schilling,  Iris  Adrian,  Cheryl  Walker, 
Don  Loper  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Docks  of  New  York" 
with  the  East  Side  Kids 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  62  mm.) 

Typical  in  story  development  and  treatment  to  the  previ- 
ous "East  Side  Kids"  pictures,  "Docks  of  New  York," 
though  it  leaves  much  to  be  desired,  should  get  by  as  pro- 
gram entertainment  for  the  followers  of  the  series.  Others 
may  find  it  wearisome.  The  fault  lies  in  the  story;  it  is  far- 
fetched and  infantile.  Another  fault  is  that  none  of  the  play- 
ers seems  convincing.  Leo  Gorcey,  as  usual,  makes  the  best 
impression;  his  "tough  guy"  antics  and  his  misuse  of  the 
English  language  provokes  a  number  of  hearty  laughs: — 

Finding  a  diamond  necklace  in  an  alley,  Huntz  Hall,  one 
of  the  Kids,  takes  it  to  Leo  Gorcey,  leader  of  the  gang.  The 
boys  investigate  and  find  Cy  Kendall,  a  murderous-looking 
foreigner,  searching  for  the  gems.  Kendall  chases  them,  but 
they  manage  to  elude  him.  Later,  Gorcey  learns  that  the 
jewels  belonged  to  Betty  Blythe  and  her  niece,  Gloria  Pope, 
European  refugees,  who,  fearing  for  their  lives,  were  hiding 
from  Kendall.  Without  revealing  that  her  niece  was  the 


royal  princess  of  a  mythical  kingdom,  Miss  Blythe  gives  the 
necklace  to  Gorcey  for  safekeeping.  Meanwhile  Kendall  and 
George  Meeker,  Gloria's  royal  cousin,  lay  plans  to  obtain 
the  necklace  and  to  seize  the  kingdom's  throne.  In  need  of 
funds,  Gloria  pawns  a  paste  imitation  of  the  necklace.  Ken- 
dall, believing  it  to  be  the  real  necklace,  murders  the  pawn- 
broker and  steals  it.  The  Kids  discover  the  murder  only  to 
find  themselves  charged  with  the  crime.  Kendall,  however, 
shrewdly  manages  to  obtain  their  release  and,  through  a 
trick,  obtains  the  real  necklace  from  Gorcey  by  switching  it 
with  the  paste  imitation.  When  the  police  learn  that  Car- 
lyle  Blackwell,  Jr.,  a  friend  of  the  Kids,  had  bought  an 
engagement  ring  for  Gloria  at  the  pawnshop,  they  arrest  him 
for  the  murder.  Meanwhile  Gorcey  discovers  that  Kendall 
had  switched  necklaces  with  him.  He  and  the  Kids  set  out 
on  Kendall's  trail  and,  after  a  series  of  incidents,  in  which 
they  rescue  Gloria  from  being  murdered  by  Meeker,  they 
trap  the  criminals  and  clear  Blackwell  of  the  murder  charge. 
Gloria,  revealing  her  royal  status,  marries  Blackwell. 

Harvey  Gates  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sam  Katzman  and 
Jack  Dictz  produced  it,  and  Wallace  Fox  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Pierre  Watkin  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Crime  Doctor's  Courage" 
with  Warner  Baxter  and  Hillary  Brooke 

(Columbia,  Feb.  27;  time,  70  min.) 

This  program  murder-mystery  melodrama  should  prove 
satisfactory  to  the  followers  of  the  series,  for,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  story  offers  little  that  is  new,  the  complexities 
of  the  plot  are  worked  out  well  enough  to  hold  one's  inter- 
est until  the  end,  where  the  identity  of  the  murderer  is 
revealed.  In  a  few  situations,  the  spectator  is  held  in  tense 
suspense.  The  plot  is  developed  along  the  same  lines  as  the 
previous  "Crime  Doctor"  pictures — that  is,  by  having  War- 
ner Baxter  conduct  the  investigation  of  the  murder  without 
the  sanction  of  the  police: — 

Fearful  that  her  husband  (Stephen  Crane),  whose  two 
previous  wives  met  violent  death,  was  going  insane,  Hillary 
Brooke  invites  Warner  Baxter,  a  famed  psychoanalyst,  to  a 
dinner  party  to  study  the  man.  At  the  dinner,  Baxter  meets 
Jerome  Cowan,  a  mystery-story  writer;  Lloyd  Corngan,  Hil- 
lary's eccentric  father;  Robert  Scott,  a  family  friend;  and 
Anthony  Caruso  and  Lupita  Tovar,  a  Spanish  dance  team. 
During  dinner,  one  of  the  servants  reveals  himself  as  the 
brother  of  Crane's  first  wife  and  accuses  him  of  murdering 
her  .Crane  is  later  found  dead  in  his  study,  an  apparent 
suicide.  Baxter,  however,  deduces  that  he  had  been  murdered. 
Suspicion  falls  on  the  servant,  because  of  his  threats  to 
Crane,  and  on  Hillary,  because  she  alone  was  to  inherit 
Crane's  huge  fortune.  Scott,  who  had  long  been  secretly  in 
love  with  Hillary,  asks  her  to  marry  him,  but  she  declines 
his  attentions.  Later,  when  Scott  learns  that  she  was  in  love 
with  Caruso,  the  dancer,  he  reveals  to  Baxter  that  the  danc- 
ing team  had  never  been  seen  during  daylight  and  intimates 
that  they  were  vampires.  Baxter  investigates  and  unearths 
evidence  that  lends  credence  to  Scott's  claim.  Additional 
clues,  however,  reveal  to  him  that  the  vampirism  angle  was 
nothing  more  than  a  publicity  stunt  thought  up  by  Cowan. 
Subsequent  events  put  Baxter  on  the  killer's  trail,  which 
leads  him  to  the  dance  team's  home.  There,  he  finds  Cowan 
wounded  and  Scott  about  to  drive  wooden  stakes  into,  the 
hearts  of  the  sleeping  dancers.  He  captures  Scott  after  a 
struggle  and  proves  that  he  had  murdered  Crane  because  he 
wanted  Hillary  for  himself,  and  that  he  had  tried  to  kill  the 
others  because  they  stood  in  his  way. 

Eric  Taylor  wrote  the  screen  play,  Rudolph  C.  Flothow 
produced  it,  and  George  Sherman  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Emory  Parnell,  Charles  Arnt  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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Mex'co-?^na'  Spain ^.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New" Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

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ibc  a  copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  MARCH  10,  1945  No.  10 


A  REPORT  ON  THE 
NEW  YORK  ANTI-TRUST  SUIT 

October  8  has  been  set  as  the  trial  date  for  the 
Government's  antitrust  suit  against  the  eight  major 
film  companies.  The  date  was  set  at  the  hearing  on 
March  5  before  Judge  Henry  W.  Goddard  in  the 
Federal  District  Court  in  New  York  City. 

While  the  date  set  for  the  trial  is  later  than  was 
hoped  for  in  independent  circles,  the  general  feeling  is 
one  of  satisfaction  because  the  date  is  now  definite. 

A  pre-trial  conference  has  been  set  for  March  26 
in  Judge  Goddard's  chambers  to  determine  the  ap- 
proximate  length  of  time  the  trial  will  require,  and  to 
decide  which  issues  may  be  agreed  upon  prior  to  the 
trial.  Robert  L.  Wright,  special  assistant  to  the  attor- 
ney general,  who  represented  the  Government  at  the 
hearing,  estimated  that  the  trial  might  take  from  one 
to  two  years. 

Judge  Goddard,  after  hearing  argument  on  the 
Government's  application  for  a  temporary  injunction 
relating  to  unreasonable  clearance,  which  the  attor- 
neys for  the  distributors  opposed  bitterly,  withheld 
his  decision  pending  the  filing  of  briefs  by  both  sides. 

Morris  L.  Ernst,  representing  the  Society  of  Inde- 
pendent Motion  Picture  Producers,  argued  in  favor 
of  the  Government's  application  for  a  temporary  in- 
junction against  unreasonable  clearance,  stating  that 
his  clients  would  be  affected  vitally  by  the  court's  de- 
cision. Judge  Goddard  allowed  him  ten  days  in  which 
to  prepare  and  file  a  brief. 

An  application  was  made  by  the  Conference  of 
Independent  Exhibitors,  represented  by  Abram  F. 
Myers  and  Jesse  L.  Stern,  for  permission  to  file  a  brief 
a  amicus  curia  (friend  of  the  court) .  John  W.  Davis, 
attorney  for  Loews,  former  Judge  Joseph  Proskauer, 
attorney  for  Warner  Brothers,  and  John  Caskey,  at- 
torney for  Twentieth  Century-Fox,  objected  strongly 
to  this  application.  Notwithstanding,  Judge  Goddard 
granted  the  application  and  accepted  the  brief. 

Abram  F.  Myers,  in  a  special  bulletin  issued  March 
6,  informed  the  members  of  the  Independent  Confer- 
ence that,  in  addition  to  setting  a  definite  trial  date, 
two  other  main  objectives  were  attained  at  the  hear- 
ing. First,  the  two  briefs — the  Government's  and  the 
Independent  Conference's— gave  Judge  Goddard  a 
picture  of  the  case  he  had  not  had  before,  thus  tending 
to  bring  him  to  a  realization  of  the  seriousness  of  the 
case,  and  secondly,  the  definite  trial  date  brings  Co- 
lumbia, Universal  and  United  Artists  back  into  the 
case  as  defendants. 

The  independent  exhibitor  associations  comprising 
the  Conference  of  Independent  Exhibitors,  which 
have  specifically  authorized  the  submission  to  the 


Court  of  the  brief  and  the  inclusion  of  their  names  as 
friends  of  the  Court  are  as  follows: 

Independent  Exhibitors,  Inc.,  of  New  England, 
covering  Massachusetts,  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
Rhode  Island  and  Vermont;  Allied  Theatres  of  Con- 
necticut, Inc. ;  Allied  Theatre  Owners  of  New  Jersey, 
Inc. ;  Allied  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern 
Pennsylvania,  Inc.;  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners 
of  Maryland,  Inc.;  Allied  Motion  Picture  Theatre 
Owners  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  Inc. ;  Independent 
Theatre  Owners  of  Ohio;  Allied  Theatres  of  Michi- 
gan, Inc.;  Associated  Theatre  Owners  of  Indiana, 
Inc.;  Allied  Theatres  of  Illinois,  Inc.;  Independent 
Theatre  Owners  Protective  Association  of  Wisconsin 
and  Upper  Michigan;  Allied  Theatre  Owners  of 
Texas,  Inc.;  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  South- 
ern California  and  Arizona;  Independent  Theatre 
Owners  of  Northern  California  and  Nevada;  Inde- 
pendent Theatre  Owners  of  Washington,  Northern 
Idaho  and  Alaska;  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of 
Oregon;  Allied-Independent  Theatre  Owners  of 
Iowa-Nebraska;  North  Central  Allied  Independent 
Theatres,  Inc.;  and  Unaffiliated  Independent  Exhibi- 
tors of  New  York  City. 


EXHIBITORS  CLAIM  THEIR  RIGHTS 
IN  RAW  FILM  STOCK 

Following  up  its  notification  to  the  War  Produc- 
tion Board  of  its  intention  to  compile  a  comprehensive 
statistical  report  outlining  the  difficulties  that  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  will  face  as  a  result  of  the  order 
curtailing  the  number  of  prints,  Allied  States  Asso- 
ciation, through  Abram  F.  Myers,  its  general  counsel, 
submitted  to  Stanley  Adams,  head  of  the  WPB's  Con- 
sumer Durable  Goods  Division,  original  letters  from 
independent  exhibitor  organizations  and  from  inde- 
pendent exhibitors,  located  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  in  which  they  outline  the  hardships  that  a 
further  reduction  in  the  already  limited  supply  of 
prints  will  place  upon  them  in  their  particular  terri- 
tories. 

In  his  letter  transmitting  the  information  from 
different  sections  of  the  country,  Mr.  Myers  informed 
Mr.  Adams  that  other  independent  exhibitor  organi- 
zations on  the  West  Coast  are  preparing  reports  con- 
cerning conditions  in  their  respective  territories.  "We 
have  suggested  the  writing  of  these  letters,'"  states 
Mr.  Myers,  "in  the  belief  that  you,  in  handling  a 
matter  which  so  vitally  affects  the  theatres,  will  want 
to  have  first-hand  information  from  the  exhibitors 
themselves.  The  print  shortage  and  the  actions  of  the 
distributors  in  taking  advantage  of  it  are  not  confined 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


38 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


"Molly  and  Me"  with  Gracie  Fields, 
Monty  Woolley  and  Roddy  McDowall 

(20th  Century  Fox,  April;  time,  76  min.) 

A  very  entertaining  comedy  drama,  the  sort  that 
should  go  over  with  all  types  of  audiences.  The  story, 
which  deals  with  the  humanization  of  an  embittered 
old  man  by  an  unemployed  vaudeville  performer,  who 
becomes  his  housekeeper,  is  an  appealing  combination 
of  human  interest  and  comedy;  it  keeps  one  chuckling 
consistently  and  holds  one's  interest  throughout.  The 
direction  and  the  performances  are  skillful.  Gracie 
Fields,  as  the  cheerful  housekeeper,  wins  one's  sym- 
pathy by  her  kindness  and  understanding.  The  man- 
ner in  which  she  outwits  and  discharges  the  house- 
hold's crooked  servants,  and  the  means  she  employs  to 
prevent  her  employer's  unfaithful  wife  from  duping 
him,  should  prove  highly  amusing.  Monty  Woolley, 
as  the  irascible  old  man,  has  a  part  that  fits  him  like  a 
glove;  his  caustic  quips  are  extremely  laugh-provok- 
ing. Roddy  McDowall,  as  Woolley 's  lonely  young 
son,  is  deeply  appealing : — 

In  need  of  funds,  Gracie,  an  unemployed  actress, 
tricks  Reginald  Gardiner,  Woolley 's  butler  and  a 
former  actor  himself,  into  hiring  her  as  Woolley 's 
housekeeper.  Gracie  learns  that  Woolley,  a  bad  tem- 
pered old  fellow,  had  lived  in  seclusion  ever  since  his 
wife  had  run  off  with  another  man  fifteen  years  pre- 
viously, disrupting  his  political  career.  Gracie's  pres- 
ence puts  new  life  into  the  household,  and  Woolley, 
his  spirits  raised,  decides  to  resume  his  political  career. 
Shortly  after  Woolley  leaves  on  a  business  trip, 
Gracie,  discovering  that  the  servants  were  dishonest, 
discharges  them.  Meanwhile  Roddy  McDowall, 
Woolley 's  young  son  returns  from  boarding  school, 
and  he  and  Gracie  become  fast  friends.  She  learns 
that  the  boy  was  uncomfortable  in  his  father's  pres- 
ence, and  that  he  believed  his  mother  was  dead.  Com- 
plications arise  when  Gracie,  short  of  household  help, 
receives  word  from  Woolley  to  prepare  a  large  dinner 
for  some  important  guests.  She  enlists  the  aid  of  a 
theatrical  troupe,  her  friends,  to  act  as  servants.  The 
dinner  is  a  huge  success,  but  later,  Woolley  discharges 
Gracie  and  her  friends  when  he  finds  them  and  Roddy 
harmlessly  mimicking  his  guests  during  a  kitchen 
celebration.  Gracie,  enraged  by  Woolley 's  insulting 
remarks,  denounces  him  for  his  treatment  of  Roddy. 
Her  words  have  a  decided  effect  on  the  old  man,  caus- 
ing him  to  become  reconciled  with  the  boy.  Shortly 
after  Woolley  asks  Gracie  and  her  friends  to  stay  on, 
his  estranged  wife  returns  to  blackmail  him.  Gracie, 
aided  by  the  theatrical  troupe,  stages  a  fake  murder 
involving  the  woman,  causing  her  to  flee  the  country. 
It  all  ends  with  a  romance  between  Gracie  and  Wool- 
ley  in  the  offing. 

Leonard  Praskins  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a 
novel  by  Frances  Marion.  Robert  Bassler  produced 
it,  and  Lewis  Seller  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Natalie  Schafer,  Edith  Barrett,  Queenie  Leonard  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Fashion  Model"  with  Marjorie  Weaver 
and  Robert  Lowery 

(Monogram,  March  2;  time,  61  min.) 
An  undistinguished  program  melodrama.  Combin- 
ing murder  mystery  and  comedy,  it  is  not  outstanding 
in  either;  the  comedy  is  silly  and  forced,  and  the 
melodramatic  angle  follows  a  time-worn  pattern. 
About  the  best  thing  that  can  be  said  for  it  is  that 


the  action  moves  along  at  a  fast  pace,  and  that  the 
performances  are  adequate  considering  the  weak  ma- 
terial the  players  had  to  work  with.  Undiscriminating 
audiences  may  find  it  amusing  in  spots: — 

Marjorie  Weaver  and  Robert  Lowery,  model  and 
stock  boy,  respectively,  of  a  fashionable  dress  shop, 
become  involved  in  a  murder  when  the  body  of  Lorna 
Gray,  another  model,  is  found  in  the  shop's  stock 
room.  Detective  Tim  Ryan  arrests  Lowery  on  suspi- 
cion of  murder,  but  Marjorie  talks  him  into  releasing 
the  young  man.  John  Valentine,  wealthy  admirer  of 
the  dead  model,  offers  a  reward  to  Edward  Keane  and 
Dorothy  Christy,  operators  of  the  shop,  in  return  for 
a  valuable  brooch,  which  he  claimed  he  had  given  to 
Lima.  Shortly  after,  Keane  is  found  murdered  under 
circumstances  that  again  point  the  finger  of  suspicion 
on  Lowery.  The  young  man  is  arrested,  but  Marjorie, 
learning  of  the  search  for  the  valuable  brooch,  engi- 
neers his  escape  so  that  they  could  carry  on  an  investi- 
gation of  their  own,  thus  clearing  themselves.  Through 
the  murder  of  a  second  model,  who  had  the  brooch  in 
her  possession,  Marjorie  and  Lowery  find  a  clue  that 
leads  them  to  the  home  of  Harry  Depp  and  his  wife, 
Nell  Craig,  wealthy  customers  of  the  shop.  Depp,  a 
mild-mannered  man,  confesses  the  murders  to  Mar- 
jorie and  informs  her  that  he  had  been  blackmailed  by 
Lorna,  with  whom  he  had  been  carrying  on  a  secret 
love  affair,  and  that  the  others  stood  in  his  way  when 
he  tried  to  regain  the  brooch,  which  belonged  to  his 
wife.  Having  confessed,  Depp  prepares  to  murder 
Marjorie,  but  she  is  saved  by  the  timely  arrival  of 
Lowery  and  the  police. 

Tim  Ryan  and  Victor  Hammond  wrote  the  screen 
play,  William  Strohbach  produced  it,  and  William 
Beadine  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Rough,  Tough  and  Ready" 
with  Chester  Morris  and  Victor  McLaglen 

(Columbia,  March  22;  time,  66J/2  min.) 

A  moderately  entertaining  program  melodrama, 
suitable  mostly  for  small-town  and  neighborhood 
theatres  as  the  lower-half  of  a  double  bill.  Handi- 
cappedvby  a  trite  story  and  by  too  much  comedy,  the 
picture  may  prove  a  disappointment  to  those  who  may 
expect,  from  the  title,  a  really  exciting  melodrama. 
So  much  stress  has  been  placed  on  the  comedy,  which 
at  times  is  quite  dull,  that  it  has  weakened  the  story 
dramatically.  The  plot  is  made  up  of  familiar  in- 
gredients, and  it  unfolds  in  just  the  manner  one  ex- 
pects. Victor  McLaglen  and  Chester  Morris,  as  bud- 
dies in  work  but  rivals  in  romantic  mix-ups,  are  a 
none  too  successful  imitation  of  the  "Flagg-Quirt" 
combination.  The  action  affords  thrills  on  several  oc- 
casions, and  there  is  a  rousing  fist  fight  between  the 
two  rivals : — 

With  the  attack  on  Pearl  Harbor,  Morris,  co- 
partner in  a  salvage  company  with  Jean  Rogers,  who 
had  inherited  her  share  of  the  business,  offers  his  sal- 
vage equipment  and  crew  to  the  Government.  The 
Army  accepts  the  offer,  and  Morris  and  his  men  are 
sent  to  a  training  camp  to  study  new  diving  methods. 
Unaware  that  Jean  was  madly  in  love  with  him, 
Morris  took  a  delight  in  stealing  girl-friends  away 
from  Victor  McLaglen,  his  friend  and  co-worker. 
While  Morris  is  away,  McLaglen  falls  in  love  with 
Veda  Ann  Borg,  a  "gold-digger,"  planning  to  marry 
her.  Morris,  returning  from  camp,  learns  of  Mc- 
Laglen's  impending  marriage  and  kiddingly  informs 


March  10,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


39 


him  that  he  intends  to  steal  his  future  bride.  Later, 
through  a  series  of  coincidents,  Morris  goes  out  on  a 
date  with  Veda,  completely  unaware  that  she  was  the 
girl  McLaglen  intended  to  marry,  Veda  fall  in  love 
with  him  and  jilts  McLaglen.  Morris,  learning  what 
had  happened,  tries  to  explain  to  his  friend  that  he 
did  not  love  Veda  and  that  he  had  no  idea  that  she 
was  his  girl.  McLaglen,  however,  accuses  him  of  de- 
liberately  breaking  up  the  romance  and  starts  a  fight. 
Both  men  are  ordered  overseas  before  the  breach  can 
be  healed.  While  trying  to  clear  a  sunken  ship  from 
the  port  of  a  South  Pacific  island,  Japanese  planes 
attack  the  salvage  ship  and  the  concussion  of  their 
bombs  pin  McLaglen  to  the  wreckage.  Morris,  risking 
his  own  life,  dons  a  diving  suit  and  rescues  his  friend. 
Their  friendship  resumed,  both  men  return  to  the 
United  States  where  Morris  comes  to  the  realization 
of  his  love  for  Jean. 

Edward  T.  Lowe  wrote  the  screen  play,  Alexis 
Thurn'Taxis  produced  it,  and  Del  Lord  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Amelita  Ward,  Addison  Richards 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Earl  Carroll  Vanities" 
with  Dennis  O'Keefe  and  Constance  Moore 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  91  min.) 

Just  a  fair  romantic  comedy  with  music.  The  story 
is  somewhat  amusing  in  spots,  but  since  it  hasn't  much 
substance,  and  since  most  of  the  comedy  is  ineffective, 
it  tends  to  tire  one.  Moreover,  the  plot  developments 
are  confusing.  Unlike  the  title  indicates,  the  story  has 
little  to  do  with  either  the  career  of  Earl  Carroll  or 
his  glamorous  musical  revues.  Consequently,  the  pic' 
ture  will  prove  disappointing  to  those  expecting  to 
see  a  lavish  type  musical.  The  music,  which  is  of  the 
popular  variety,  and  the  fact  that  it  is  played  by 
Woody  Herman  and  his  orchestra,  should  be  of  con- 
siderable help  in  selling  the  picture  to  the  younger 
crowd.  Constance  Moore,  as  the  heroine,  is  the  main- 
stay of  the  picture;  her  singing  is  pleasant  and  she 
acts  well.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  whatever  entertainment 
value  the  picture  has  is  due  more  to  the  efforts  of  the 
players  than  to  the  material.  Otto  Kruger,  as  Carroll, 
plays  a  minor  role : — 

Visiting  the  United  States  to  help  float  a  loan  for 
her  country,  Constance  Moore,  American-educated 
princess  of  a  mythical  Balkan  kingdom,  attends  a  night 
club  operated  by  Eve  Arden,  her  close  friend.  When 
Stephanie  Bachelor,  the  clubs  singer  fails  to  appear 
because  of  an  accident,  Eve  suggests  that  Constance 
take  her  place,  incognito,  of  course.  Meanwhile 
Dennis  O'Keefe,  a  young  playwright,  had  arranged 
for  Earl  Carroll  (Otto  Kruger)  to  watch  Stephanie 
perform.  Constance's  singing  pleases  Carroll,  and  he 
offers  to  back  O'Keefe's  show  providing  Constance 
is  starred.  Completely  unaware  of  Constance's  iden- 
tity, O'Keefe  induces  her  to  accept  the  lead.  Con- 
stance, amused,  accepts  his  offer,  intending  to  stay  in 
the  show  only  until  Stephanie  recovers.  O'Keefe 
bears  down  on  her  during  rehearsals,  causing  many 
quarrels  between  them.  Stephanie,  realizing  Con- 
stance and  O'Keefe  were  falling  in  love  despite  their 
arguments,  becomes  jealous.  She  investigates  Con- 
stance and,  learning  of  her  royal  status,  informs 
O'Keefe  that  she  was  merely  playing  him  for  a  fool. 
Stephanie  next  visits  Constance's  mother,  the  Queen, 
and  informs  her  of  her  daughter's  Broadway  activi- 


ties. The  Queen  orders  Constance  to  leave  the  show 
lest  her  activities  cause  the  international  bankers  to 
refuse  the  loan.  Constance  agrees,  but,  as  a  final  ges- 
ture, she  secretly  decides  to  appear  on  opening  night. 
Learning  of  her  decision,  friends  of  O'Keefe  arrange 
for  the  Queen  and  the  international  bankers  to  at- 
tend the  performance.  The  show  is  an  overwhelming 
hit,  the  bankers  float  the  loan,  and  the  Queen,  pleased, 
approves  Constance's  engagement  to  O'Keefe. 

Frank  Gill,  Jr.,  wrote  the  screen  play,  Albert  J. 
Cohen  produced  it,  and  Joseph  Santley  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Alan  Mowbray,  Pinky  Lee,  Parkya- 
karkus,  Leon  Belasco,  Beverly  Loyd  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Sudan"  with  Maria  Montez,  Jon  Hall 
and  Turhan  Bey 

(Universal,  March  2;  time,  76  min.) 
This  latest  in  Universale  series  of  romantic  adven- 
ture melodramas,  photographed  in  Technicolor  and 
featuring  the  same  principal  players,  has  all  the  action, 
excitement,  romance  and  lavish  settings  of  the  previ- 
ous pictures,  but  as  entertainment  .it  will  appeal 
chiefly  to  the  younger  element  and  to  the  ardent  adult 
action  fans.  As  in  the  other  pictures,  the  story  has  a 
fairy-like  quality,  this  time  revolving  around  the 
exotic  Queen  of  a  mythical  Egyptian  kingdom.  The 
plot,  which  centers  around  the  Queen's  efforts  to 
avenge  her  father's  murder,  has  the  usual  ramifica- 
tions, such  as  her  falling  in  love  with  a  commoner, 
who  in  turn  helps  her  to  regain  her  throne,  which  had 
been  seized  by  a  scheming  nobleman.  It  has  all  the 
ingredients  the  action  fans  like — fast  riding,  hair- 
breadth escapes,  and  exciting  encounters  between 
the  villain's  warriors  and  the  hero's  daring  band  of 
men: — 

The  mysterious  assassination  of  the  King  of  Khem- 
mis  brings  Maria  Montez,  his  spirited  daughter,  to  the 
throne.  George  Zucco,  the  scheming  royal  chamber- 
lain, who  had  committed  the  murder,  convinces 
Maria  that  Turhan  Bey,  leader  of  a  band  of  escaped 
slaves,  was  responsible  for  the  crime.  Maria,  bent  on 
revenge,  disguises  herself  and  sets  out  to  find  Bey  and 
to  lure  him  into  a  trap.  Meanwhile  Zuccp  arranges 
with  a  slave  trader  to  kidnap  Maria  and  "dispose"  of 
her,  so  that  he  could  grasp  the  throne.  Captured  and 
sold  into  slavery,  Maria  makes  a  spectacular  escape 
and  finds  her  way  to  a  desert  oasis,  where  Jon  Hall 
and  Andy  Devine,  two  vagabonds,  rescue  her.  All 
three  go  to  a  nearby  village  only  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  slave  trader's  henchmen.  Just  as  they  are  about 
to  be  executed,  Bey  and  his  men  arrive  in  the  village, 
rescuing  them  in  a  rousing  battle.  Although  attracted 
to  Bey,  Maria,  still  determined  to  avenge  her  father's 
death,  lures  him  back  to  Khemmis.  She  seizes  and 
jails  him  only  to  find  herself  in  the  same  predicament 
when  Zucco  imprisons  her  and  proclaims  himself 
King.  Hall  and  Devine,  realizing  that  Maria  and  Bey 
loved  each  other,  engineer  Bey's  escape.  Enraged, 
Zucco  gathers  his  army  and  compels  Maria  to  lead 
him  to  Bey's  secret  mountain  stronghold.  There,  in  a 
climatic  battle,  Zucco  is  killed,  his  army  destroyed, 
and  Maria  and  Bey  are  reunited. 

Edmund  L.  Hartmann  wrote  the  screen  play,  Paul 
Malvern  produced  it,  and  John  Rawlins  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Robert  Warwick,  Phil  Van  Zandt 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


40 


March  10,  1945 


to  any  one  city  or  territory,  but  arc  nation-wide.  The 
enclosed  communications,  from  Coast  to  Coast  and 
from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  are  representative  of  the 
experience  and  opinion  of  the  independent  exhibitors 
of  the  United  States." 

Mr.  Myers  pointed  out  that  the  reports  transmitted 
disclose  that,  prior  to  the  WPB's  order  curtailing  the 
number  of  prints,  "the  distributors  already  had  re- 
duced  the  number  of  prints  per  picture  to  such  an  ex' 
tent  that  the  independent  subsequent  runs  have  been 
put  far  behind  in  playing  time.  ...  In  many  cases 
prints  were  made  available  to  theatres  in  accordance 
with  the  admission  prices  charged — the  high  price 
theatres  first,  the  low  price  theatres  later."  In  the  Wis- 
consin territory,  for  example,  Mr.  Myers  said,  "houses 
that  should  play  on  30c  availability  now  have  to  play 
on  what  should  be  the  15c  and  20c  availabilities 
and  the  end  is  not  in  sight." 

"But  even  more  serious,"  continues  Mr.  Myers, 
"is  the  advantage  which  the  distributors  are  taking  of 
the  condition,  and  will  continue  to  take  as  the  print 
situation  grows  more  acute.  They  use  the  shortage  not 
only  to  increase  the  clearance  which  their  affiliated 
theatres  enjoy  over  the  independent  subsequent-runs 
.  .  .  but  actually  to  extract  higher  film  rentals  from 
the  independents.  The  situation  is  further  compli- 
cated by  the  restrictions  on  the  decline  in  delivery 
service  .  .  .  and  increased  problems  in  booking  prints 
into  the  theatres.  . . .  Also,  the  subsequent-run  theatres 
will  be  compelled  to  accept  worn,  patched,  and  'rainy' 
prints  which  are  unsatisfactory  to  projectionists  and 
the  public  alike  and  involve  a  definite  fire  hazard." 

Stating  that  the  exhibitors  have  suggested  other 
and  less  burdensome  ways  of  saving  film  than  by  a 
reduction  of  prints,  Mr.  Myers  submitted  for  Mr. 
Adams'  consideration  the  following  suggestions: 
"Elimination  of  useless  film  credits — only  the  title, 
cast  and  names  of  the  producer  and  director  are  of 
possible  interest;  elimination  of  unnecessary  duplica- 
tion of  newsreel  shots;  reduction  of  the  number  of 
short-subjects  which  exhibitors  must  often  buy  and 
cannot  use;  reduction  in  the  number  of  over-length 
features;  greater  care  at  the  studios." 

Charging  that  the  producer-distributors  have  an 
antagonistic  interest  or  have  shown  complete  indif- 
ference to  many  of  the  exhibitors'  hardships  and  diffi- 
culties, Mr.  Myers  concluded  his  letter  to  Mr.  Adams 
with  a  request  that  he  invite  representatives  of  inde- 
pendent exhibitors,  chosen  from  the  Theatres  Ad- 
visory Committee,  to  participate  in  future  meetings, 
especially  the  one  tentatively  set  for  March  15,  for 
the  consideration  of  film  allocations. 

Allied  is  to  be  commended  for  compiling  a  report 
that  is  representative,  not  only  of  the  opinions  of  in- 
dependent exhibitors,  but  also  of  conditions  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country. 

Thus  far,  Mr.  Adams  has  given  assurances  that  the 
"WPB  will  not  permit,  because  of  the  reductions  in 
raw  stock  quotas,  anyone  to  have  an  advantage  to  the 
disadvantage  of  anyone  else.  The  distribution  of 
prints  must  be  on  a  fair  and  equal  basis  for  all.  Any 
indications  to  the  contrary  will  bring  immediate  ac- 
tion for  relief  by  the  WPB." 

The  information  gathered  and  submitted  to  Mr. 
Adams  by  Allied  should  certainly  indicate  to  him  that 
the  present  distribution  of  available  prints  is  not  being 
made  on  an  equitable  basis,  and  that  the  need  of 
regulatory  control  over  the  distributors'  use  of  raw 


stock  is  a  matter  of  vital  interest  to  the  independent 
exhibitors,  whose  equity  in  the  raw  stock  is  unde- 
niable. 

Harrison's  Reports  feels  sure  that  at  the  next 
meeting  between  the  WPB  and  the  Industry's  ad- 
visory Committee  on  Raw  Stock,  which  has  now  been 
set  definitely  for  March  16,  exhibition  will  be  given 
the  representation  it  so  rightly  deserves. 

*       *  * 

While  on  the  subject  of  raw  stock,  let  us  look  at  a 
recent  development : 

Motion  Picture  Daily  reports  that  the  British  Gov- 
ernment's Board  of  Trade,  concerned  over  the  respon- 
sibility that  British  films  may  be  frozen  out  of  the 
American  market,  because  of  the  raw  stock  shortage, 
has  asked  the  British  Embassy  in  Washington  to  take 
the  matter  up  with  the  WPB. 

According  to  the  Daily,  the  possibility  exists  that 
the  British  film  industry,  unless  helped  by  the  WPB, 
may  attempt  to  secure  raw  stock  for  pictures  to  be 
distributed  in  this  country  from  stock  the  American 
distributors  are  now  using  in  Britain  for  the  distribu- 
tion of  American  pictures.  The  British  market  being 
the  most  lucrative  of  all  foreign  markets,  it  follows 
that  the  American  distributors  would  find  themselves 
in  a  most  difficult  position  in  the  event  Britain  adopted 
retaliatory  measures  with  respect  to  raw  stock.  Mean- 
while the  Daily  credits  Stanley  Adams  of  the  WPB 
with  stating  that  his  agency  "has  no  intention  of  dis- 
criminating against  foreign  producers." 

The  position  of  the  British  producer-distributors  is 
worthy  of  consideration.  One  cannot  blame  them  for 
seeking  as  fair  treatment  in  this  country  as  is  accorded 
the  American  producer-distributors  in  Britain.  Our 
foreign  commerce  depends  largely  on  give-and-take 
relations,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  British  request 
for  an  allotment  of  raw  stock  to  take  care  of  their 
producer-distributors'  needs  in  this  country  is  one 
that  cannot  be  turned  aside  lightly. 

The  fact  remains,  however,  that  no  matter  how  the 
problem  should  be  solved,  it  will  result  in  a  further 
tightening  of  the  print  situation  in  this  country.  And 
any  matter  that  affects  the  print  situation  is  of  vital 
concern  to  the  exhibitors. 

In  seeking  to  placate  the  British  producer-distribu- 
tors, the  WPB  will  undoubtedly  confer  with  the  In- 
dustry's Advisory  Committee  in  order  to  work  out  an 
equitable  arrangement.  But  unless  that  Committee 
includes  representation  for  the  exhibitors,  the  outcome 
of  the  conference  may  be  an  arrangement  that  will 
protect  the  interests  of  the  producer-distributors  of 
both  countries  at  the  expense  of  the  American  ex' 
hibitor. 


NO  LAGGARDS,  PLEASE! 

On  Wednesday  of  this  week,  the  committee  in 
charge  of  the  industry's  Red  Cross  Drive  reported 
that  13,937  theatres,  out  of  a  possible  16,478,  had 
pledged  themselves  to  participate  in  the  Drive,  which 
starts  Thursday,  March  1 5  and  ends  on  March  2 1 . 

The  committee  pointed  out  that  this  number  ex- 
ceeds by  more  than  500  the  number  of  theatres  that 
participated  in  last  year's  drive. 

It  is  indeed  a  remarkable  achievement.  But  what 
excuse  have  the  2,541  theatres  that  have  not  yet  sent 
in  their  pledge?  There  can  be  no  excuse!  Send  that 
pledge  in  immediately! 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  187*. 


Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH   AVENUE  Published     Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  RnnmlRI?  Harrison's  Reports.  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  i\uum  1014  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  .  ,-  ..  _       .       „  _.   .      _   .   

rvpat  Rritain                     15  75  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New 'Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia  17.50  1{g  Editoria]  Poiicv.  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 


A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  MARCH  17,  1945  No.  11 


PERCENTAGE  CHECKING  IN 
SMALL-TOWN  THEATRES 

A  mid-western  exhibitor,  who  wishes  his  name 
withheld,  has  sent  this  office  a  lengthy  communication 
in  which  he  claims  that  the  checking  of  percentage 
pictures  "is  becoming  a  menace  to  small-town  ex' 
hibitors,"  not  because  of  the  checking  in  itself,  but 
because  the  film  companies  and  their  checking  agen- 
cies are  employing,  as  he  says,  improper,  inexperi- 
enced and  untrained  personnel  to  do  the  checking. 

This  exhibitor  states  that,  quite  often,  the  checkers 
employed  live  in  either  the  town  in  which  the  theatre 
is  located  or  a  town  nearby  and,  since  they  have  many 
friends  locally,  the  theatre's  box-office  receipts  become 
known  to  the  entire  community.  This  in  turn  serves 
to  encourage  non-show  people  to  open  an  opposition 
house. 

One  of  of  the  chief  complaints  voiced  by  this  ex- 
hibitor concerns  the  hiring  of  local  bank  employees 
and  attorneys  to  do  the  checking.  "There  are  several 
lawyers  in  our  city,"  he  states,  "all  of  whom  are,  I 
believe,  my  friends.  Now  if  one  of  these  lawyers  came 
to  my  theatre  to  check  it,  all  the  others  would  know 
that  he  was  there  and  they  would  wonder  whether  I 
had  been  put  under  some  kind  of  judgment  or  legal 
restraint  relating  to  some  phase  of  the  law,  or  whether 
I  was  in  debt  to  some  one  and  that  the  money  was 
being  collected  by  the  lawyer.  Being  my  friends,  some 
of  these  lawyers  might  question  me,  and  it  will  be 
difficult  for  them  to  understand  why  a  film  company 
finds  it  necessary  to  employ  a  lawyer  to  collect  rental 
from  me.  This  would  be  a  direct  reflection  on  my  char- 
acter. The  same  holds  true  when  bank  employees  are 
hired  as  checkers.  There  are  two  banks  in  our  city, 
and  I  do  business  with  both  banks  and  have  the  confi- 
dence of  both.  If  an  employee  of  either  of  them 
showed  up  in  my  theatre  as  a  checker,  the  other  bank 
would  at  once  become  suspicious  and  could  not  be 
made  to  understand  it.  Under  such  conditions,  I 
would  stand  the  risk  of  losing  the  friendship  and  good 
will  of  a  bank." 

The  inexperienced  checker,  continues  this  exhibi- 
tor, is  probably  the  worst  of  the  lot,  because  he 
knows  very  little  about  the  correct  methods  of  check- 
ing, and  less  about  the  preparation  of  his  reports.  As 
a  result,  he  constantly  annoys  the  exhibitor  with  re- 
quests for  guidance  and  assistance.  Frequently,  an 
honest  exhibitor,  to  protect  himself,  finds  it  necessary 
to  make  out  the  complete  report  himself,  in  order  to 
be  sure  that  it  is  correct. 

Stressing  that  he  does  not  want  to  be  arbitrary 
about  checking,  because  he  realizes  that,  where  there 
is  a  partnership  engagement  on  a  picture,  both  parties 
should  be  represented,  this  exhibitor  concludes  that 
"so  long  as  the  film  companies  are  going  to  have  per- 
centage pictures,  and  use  checkers,  they  should  em- 


ploy high-type  persons  with  a  complete  knowledge 
of  show  business.  Persons  of  this  type  would  be  a 
credit  to  both  the  theatres  and  the  film  companies, 
and  would  be  welcomed  by  honest  exhibitors.  With 
the  conditions  prevailing  today,  however,  this  is  im' 
possible.  Consequently,  where  the  film  companies  do 
not  have  a  capable  checker,  they  should  take  a  chance 
on  getting  what  is  coming  to  them  or  sell  the  pictures 
flat." 

The  complaints  voiced  by  this  exhibitor  present 
nothing  new,  but  they  do  serve  to  point  up  a  long- 
standing condition  that  deserves  the  thoughtful  con- 
sideration of  the  film  companies  and  their  checking 
agencies. 

While  Harrison's  Reports  recognizes  the  prob- 
lem, it  cannot  agree  with  some  of  the  opinions  of  this 
mid-western  exhibitor.  For  example,  he  asks  on  the 
one  hand  that  only  high-type  persons  be  employed  to 
do  the  checking,  and  on  the  other  hand  he  rules  out 
bank  employees  and  lawyers,  who  are  as  a  rule  fairly 
intelligent  people,  either  licensed  or  bonded,  and  well 
trained  both  in  the  art  of  being  tactful  and  in  the 
ethics  against  divulging  confidential  information.  If 
they  are  unsuitable  for  checking,  then  just  who  is 
acceptable?  Let  us  assume  for  argument's  sake  that 
bank  employees  and  lawyers  would  be  acceptable 
provided  they  came  from  a  distant  town.  In  most 
cases,  the  time  required  to  travel  back  and  forth  would 
undoubtedly  interfere  with  their  regular  business  af- 
fairs, and  they  would  either  be  unable  to  accept  the 
assignment  or  find  it  unprofitable.  Assuming,  how- 
ever, that  some  of  them  could  arrange  their  affairs  to 
accept  the  assignment,  the  cost  of  hiring  them  would 
probably  be  prohibitive.  It  should  be  remembered 
that,  although  the  cost  of  hiring  checkers  is  paid  by 
the  film  companies,  the  cost  is  reflected  in  the  per- 
centage terms  charged  the  exhibitor. 

As  for  the  statement  that  checkers,  in  addition  to 
being  high-type  persons,  should  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  show  business,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 
such  a  person  devoting  his  time  to  checking  in  view 
of  the  relatively  low  wages  paid  to  checkers;  if  he  had 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  business,  he  would  cer- 
tainly want  a  more  interesting  and  more  profitable 
job. 

The  exhibitor  admits  that,  in  these  times,  it  is  prac- 
tically impossible  to  hire  capable  men  to  do  the  check- 
ing and,  as  a  solution,  he  suggests  that  the  "com- 
panies should  take  a  chance  on  getting  what  is  com- 
ing to  them  or  sell  the  pictures  flat."  This  is  indeed 
a  simple  solution  from  the  standpoint  of  the  exhibitor, 
but  it  offers  nothing  that  would  make  it  attractive  to 
the  distributors.  They  want  percentage  pictures,  and 
these  require  checking.  Should  they  be  willing  to 
revert  to  flat  rental  pictures,  they  would  undoubtedly 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


42 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  17,  1945 


"John  Dillinger"  with  Lawrence  Tierney, 
Edmund  Lowe  and  Anne  Jeffreys 

(Monogram,  Feb.  23;  time,  71  min.) 

The  value  of  this  picture  to  exhibitors  depends  on 
whether  their  customers  like  gangster  pictures  or  not, 
for  this  is  a  gangster  melodrama  with  gangsterism 
served  by  the  carload.  Supposedly  biographical  of 
John  Dillingcr's  sordid  life  of  crime,  the  story  is  a 
rehash  of  the  old  gangster  theme  in  which  Dillinger, 
effectively  portrayed  by  Lawrence  Tierney,  a  new- 
comer, is  presented  as  a  ruthless  criminal,  without 
any  sense  of  justice,  who  does  not  hesitate  to  shoot 
people  if  they  happen  to  be  in  his  way.  The  plot  is 
somewhat  episodic,  and  the  action  slows  down  oc- 
casionally, but  it  has  enough  ruthless  gang  killings, 
bank  robberies,  and  daring  escapes  to  satisfy  the  fol- 
lowers of  this  type  of  entertainment.  Because  of  Dil- 
lingcr's notorious  reputation,  the  picture  lends  itself 
well  to  exploitation.  It  is,  however,  an  unpleasant 
entertainment : — 

Dillinger,  a  petty  thief,  is  caught  robbing  a  store- 
keeper. He  is  sentenced  to  six  months  in  prison,  where 
he  cultivates  the  friendship  of  Specs  (Edmund  Lowe) , 
Murph  (Eduardo  Ciannelli),  and  Kirk  (Marc  Law- 
rence), all  dangerous  criminals.  Upon  his  release, 
Dillinger  stages  several  small  robberies  and  becomes 
friendly  with  Helen  (Anne  Jeffreys),  who  becomes 
his  "moll."  He  smuggles  guns  to  his  pals  in  prison, 
helping  them  to  shoot  their  way  out.  Specs  takes 
charge  of  the  gang  and  leads  them  on  a  series  of  sen- 
sational bank  robberies,  -  but  Dillinger  eventually 
challenges  his  leadership  and  becomes  head  of  the 
gang.  While  hiding  out  in  Tuscon,  Arizona,  Dillinger 
visits  a  dentists  office,  where  the  police,  "tipped  off" 
by  Specs,  capture  him.  Fashioning  a  fake  gun  from 
a  block  of  wood,  Dillinger  escapes  jail  and  rejoins  the 
gang.  He  suspects  the  deposed  Specs  of  causing  his 
arrest,  and  kills  him.  Badly  in  need  of  funds,  the 
gang  next  attempts  a  mail  car  robbery,  but  the  clerks 
shoot  it  out  with  them,  killing  Kirk  and  wounding 
Dillinger.  Discovering  that  Helen  intended  to  run 
off  with  Tony  (Ralph  Lewis),  a  new  gang  member, 
Dillinger  kills  him  and  forces  Helen  to  flee  with  him 
to  Chicago.  There,  after  a  number  of  months,  Helen 
becomes  tired  of  hiding  out  in  a  dingy  room;  she 
induces  him  to  attend  a  picture  show,  and  "tips  off" 
the  FBI.  The  Government  men  kill  him  when  he 
emerges  from  the  theatre  and  starts  a  gun  battle. 

Phil  Yordon  wrote  the  screen  play,  the  King 
Brothers  produced  it,  and  Max  Nosseck  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Ludwig  Stossel,  Else  Jannsen  and 
others. 

Definitely  too  brutal  for  children. 

"Brewster's  Millions"  with  Dennis  O'Keefe, 
Helen  Walker  and  June  Havoc 

(United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time  79  min.) 
A  highly  amusing  farce-comedy.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  it  has  been  produced  twice  before  in  this 
country  (by  Paramount  in  1915  and  1921),  and  once 
in  England  (distributed  through  United  Artists  in 
1935),  the  picture  should  still  give  satisfaction  to 
those  who  had  seen  the  previous  versions,  and  it  will 
undoubtedly  prove  very  entertaining  to  those  seeing 
it  for  the  first  time.  The  story  has  been  brought  up 
to  date,  but  it  remains  basically  the  same,  with  hilari- 
ous situations  originating  from  the  hero's  endeavors 


to  fulfill  a  stipulation  in  his  eccentric  uncle's  will — - 
that  he  spend  one  million  dollars  within  sixty  days, 
in  order  to  inherit  an  additional  seven  million.  Den- 
nis O'Keefe  does  his  best  work  yet  as  the  harassed 
heir,  provoking  many  laughs  by  the  predicaments  he 
gets  himself  into,  because,  according  to  the  terms  of 
the  will,  he  cannot  disclose  his  reason  for  spending 
money  lavishly,  causing  his  sweetheart  and  friends 
to  think  him  insane.  The  pace  is  fast  and  the  produc- 
tion values  are  good: — 

On  the  eve  of  his  long-postponed  wedding  to  Helen 
Walker,  O'Keefe,  an  honorably  discharged  veteran, 
learns  of  his  inheritance  and  of  the  stipulations  in 
the  will,  which  included  also  a  provision  that  he  do 
not  marry  during  the  time  he  tries  to  spend  the  mil- 
lion dollars.  Renting  the  royal  suite  at  an  expensive 
hotel  and  an  entire  floor  of  a  huge  office  building, 
O'Keefe  forms  an  investment  company  and  employs 
Helen,  as  his  secretary,  Joe  Sawyer  and  Herbert  Rud- 
ley,  his  war  buddies,  as  assistants,  and  Eddie  "Roch- 
ester" Anderson,  Helen's  houseman,  as  general  helper, 
paying  each  of  them  a  fabulous  salary.  Much  to  the 
bewilderment  and  consternation  of  his  friends, 
O'Keefe  embarks  on  a  lavish  spending  spree.  He  in- 
vests heavily  in  crack-pot  inventions;  backs  a  failing 
musical  comedy  show  produced  by  Mischa  Auer  and 
starring  June  Havoc;  enlists  the  aid  of  Gail  Patrick, 
a  spend  thrift  society  girl;  buys  worthless  stocks  and 
bonds;  and  deposits  money  in  a  bank  that  is  virtually 
bankrupt.  He  rids  himself  of  $300,000  within  a  week 
only  to  find  himself  with  more  money  than  he  started 
with  when  some  of  the  investments  turn  out  profit- 
able. Meanwhile  he  has  romantic  difficulties  with 
Helen  because  of  his  inability  to  explain  his  associ- 
ation with  June  and  with  Gail.  Hampered  by  his 
friends  who  try  desperately  to  curb  his  spending,  and 
by  unwanted  profits,  O'Keefe,  after  two  months  of 
frantic  efforts,  just  about  manages  to  dispose  of  the 
one  million  dollars  in  time  to  gain  the  balance  of  the 
estate. 

Siegfried  Herzig,  Charles  Rogers  and  Wilkie  Ma- 
honey  wrote  the  screen  play  based  on  the  play  by 
Winchell  Smith  and  Byron  Ongley,  Edward  Small 
produced  it,  and  Allan  Dwan  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Nana  Bryant,  Neil  Hamilton,  John  Litel, 
Thurston  Hall  and  others. 


"Escape  in  the  Fog"  with  William  Wright, 
Otto  Kruger  and  Nina  Foch 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  63  min.) 

A  typical  low-budget  Columbia  program  picture, 
unpretentious  and  only  mildly  interesting.  It  is  one  of 
those  implausible  espionage  melodramas  that  may  get 
by  with  those  who  can  overlook  the  far-fetched  story 
and  the  illogical  plot  develepments.  The  story  is  pat- 
terned along  familiar  lines,  with  typical  melodramatic 
situations  brought  about  by  the  plots  and  counter- 
plots of  the  spies  and  the  Government  agents.  The 
closing  scenes,  where  the  hero  and  the  heroine  are 
saved  from  death  and  the  spies  captured,  provide  the 
most  excitement,  but  hardly  the  sort  to  impress  dis- 
criminating patrons : — 

Nina  Foch,  a  Navy  nurse  suffering  from  nervous 
shock,  has  a  nightmare  in  which  she  dreams  that  two 
men  are  trying  to  kill  a  third  as  she  walks  across  a 
bridge.  Her  screams  awaken  William  Wright,  an  oc- 
cupant of  the  rooming  house,  whom  Nina  recognizes 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


43 


as  the  man  attacked  in  her  dream.  Lunching  with- 
Wright  on  the  following  day,  Nina  learns  that 
he  is  a  secret  Government  agent.  They  fall  in  love, 
and  Wright  invites  her  to  visit  San  Francisco  with 
him.  There,  Otto  Kruger,  Wright's  chief,  gives  him 
an  important  document  to  be  delivered  in  Hong  Kong. 
Meanwhile  Konstantin  Shayne,  a  German  spy  posing 
as  a  watchmaker,  had  hidden  a  recording  device  in 
Kruger's  home,  enabling  him  to  learn  of  Wright's 
secret  mission.  He  and  his  agents  trick  Wright  into  a 
taxi  and  drive  towards  a  bridge.  Just  then,  Nina  is 
knocked  unconscious  by  a  passing  car  and  the  same 
dream  she  had  before  comes  to  her.  Recovering,  she 
hurries  to  the  bridge,  arriving  in  time  to  scare  off  the 
spies  just  as  they  attack  Wright.  Meanwhile  Wright, 
to  save  the  document,  had  thrown  it  over  the  bridge 
and  into  the  bay.  He  enlists  the  aid  of  the  Navy  to 
search  for  it.  The  spies,  through  an  advertisement, 
trick  Nina  into  coming  to  their  hideout  in  the  belief 
that  they  had  found  the  document.  Shayne  sends 
Wright  a  note  threatening  to  kill  Nina  unless  he  pro- 
duced  the  document.  Wright,  in  a  desperate  effort 
to  save  her,  falls  into  their  clutches.  The  document  is 
taken  from  him,  and  both  are  left  to  die  in  a  gas-filled 
room.  But  Wright,  through  an  ingenious  trick,  noti- 
fies the  police  of  his  predicament,  and  they  arrive  in 
time  to  effect  their  rescue  and  to  capture  the  spies. 

Aubrey  Wisberg  wrote  the  screen  play,  Wallace 
MacDonald  produced  it,  and  Oscar  Boetticher,  Jr. 
directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Fog  Island"  with  George  Zucco 
and  Lionel  Atwill 

(PRC,  Feb.  15;  time,  70  min.) 

Fairly  good  program  entertainment.  It  is  an  eerie 
murder  mystery  melodrama  revolving  around  an  em- 
bittered financier  who  formulates  a  plan  to  avenge 
himself  against  group  of  greedy  associates,  one  of 
whom  had  murdered  his  wife.  The  lone  mansion  in 
which  the  action  takes  place,  and  the  -eerie  under- 
ground settings,  provide  an  effective  background  for 
the  bizarre  happenings.  It  holds  one  in  suspense  be- 
cause several  persons  are  under  suspicion,  and  it  is 
baffling  enough  to  satisfy  the  followers  of  the  type  of 
pictures.  The  closing  scenes  are  filled  with  excitement. 
There,  the  mercenary  associates  are  trapped  in  an 
underground  vault,  drowning  when  an  ingenious 
device  rigged  up  by  the  financier  fills  it  with  water. 
The  sustained  suspense  is  due  mainly  to  Terry  Morse's 
capable  direction.  There  is  some  romantic  interest 
but  it  is  unimportant: — 

Retiring  to  a  fog-shrouded  island  after  serving  a 
prison  term  for  embezzlement,  George  Zucco,  plans 
revenge  on  the  group  of  greedy  associates  who  had 
been  responsible  for  his  incarceration  and  for  the 
murder  of  his  wife.  He  sends  invitations  to  Lionel 
Atwill,  a  crooked  lawyer,  Jerome  Cowan,  a  shady 
promoter,  Veda  Ann  Borg,  his  former  secretary,  and 
Jacqueline  DeWitt,  a  fake  clairvoyant,  inviting  them 
to  the  island.  Each  accepts  in  the  belief  that  Zucco 
has  cached  a  stolen  fortune  on  the  island  and  meant 
to  "cut  them  in."  When  they  arrive,  Zucco  bluntly 
tells  them  that  he  intended  to  uncover  his  wife's 
murderer,  and  gives  each  one  a  "clue"  to  the  sup- 
posedly hidden  fortune.  Distrusting  one  another,  the 
associates  prowl  about  the  house  following  up  their 


clues  to  the  money.  Zucco,  trailing  each  one,  dis- 
covers that  Atwill  had  murdered  his  wife.  Accused, 
Atwill  murders  the  financier,  but  Zucco's  carefully 
laid  plan  for  revenge  continues  despite  his  death.  In 
the  search  for  the  fortune,  two  more  murders  are 
committed  before  the  remaining  members  find  indi- 
cations that  the  "money"  was  buried  in  an  under- 
ground vault.  All  agree  to  share  equally  and  begin 
to  dig  for  the  strong-box.  Their  digging  sets  off  a  de- 
vice that  locks  the  door  and  causes  the  vault  to  fill 
with  water.  Before  all  are  destroyed  by  their  own 
greed,  they  discover  that  Zucco's  hidden  fortune  was 
a  myth. 

Pierre  Gendron  wrote  the  screen  play  and  Leon 
Fromkess  produced  it.  The  cast  includes  Ian  Keith, 
Sharon  Douglas,  John  Whitney  and  others. 

The  murders  make  it  too  gruesome  for  children. 


"Hollywood  and  Vine"  with  James  Ellison 
and  Wanda  McKay 

(PRC,  April  25;  time,  58  min.) 

An  entertaining  program  comedy-romance.  Al- 
though the  story  is  loosely  written  and  it  has  its  share 
of  foolishness,  it  holds  one's  attention  because  of  the 
amusing  characterizations  and  the  well  conceived 
farcical  situations.  Moreover,  the  Hollywood  back- 
ground should  prove  interesting  to  most  patrons. 
There  are  several  spots  that  provoke  hearty  laughter; 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  hardly  a  dull  moment.  It 
goes  in  for  some  good-natured  kidding  of  the  motion 
picture  business  and  of  some  Hollywood  characters. 
The  performances  are  engaging : — 

On  her  way  to  Hollywood  to  seek  a  movie  career, 
Wanda  McKay  stops  at  a  hamburger  stand,  where 
she  atracts  the  attention  of  James  Ellison,  a  successful 
studio  writer.  When  Wanda  leaves,  Ellison,  noticing 
a  small  dog  in  the  place,  believes  that  she  had  left  it 
behind.  He  takes  the  dog  and  follows  her  to  Holly- 
wood, where,  using  a  fictitious  name,  he  rents  a  cottage 
next  to  her  bungalow.  Wanda  denies  ownership  of  the 
dog  but  offers  to  take  care  of  it.  A  romance  develops 
between  the  two  and,  Ellison,  to  be  near  Wanda,  se- 
cures a  job  as  a  soda  clerk  in  a  drugstore,  where 
Wanda  worked  as  a  cashier.  Meanwhile  Ellison's 
studio  carries  on  a  frantic  search  for  him  until  June 
Clyde,  a  glamorous  actress,  who  hoped  to  marry  Elli- 
son, locates  him  in  the  drugstore.  Wanda,  learning  of 
his  masquerade,  determines  to  forget  about  him  and 
concentrate  upon  her  career.  One  day,  when  Wanda 
visits  a  studio,  her  dog  wanders  onto  a  set  and  is 
chosen  by  Leon  Belasco,  an  eccentric  director,  to  play 
a  part  in  his  forthcoming  picture.  The  dog  becomes 
popular  nationally  and,  at  the  height  of  its  success,  a 
law  suit  is  brought  against  Wanda  and  the  studio  by 
a  woman  claiming  ownership  of  the  dog.  Just  as 
Wanda  is  about  to  lose  the  dog  at  the  trial,  Ellison, 
who  had  been  carrying  on  an  investigation  secretly, 
arrives  in  court  with  conclusive  evidence  proving  the 
woman's  claim  false.  Wanda,  Ellison,  and  the  dog 
leave  the  courtroom  reunited  happily. 

Edith  Watkins  and  Charles  Williams  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Leon  Fromkess  produced  it,  and  Alexis 
Thurn-Taxis  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ralph 
Morgan,  Franklyn  Pangborn,  Emmett  Lynn  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


44 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  17,  1945 


set  the  rentals  high  enough  to  give  them  the  profit 
they  believe  the  pictures  should  earn,  and  these  would 
be  much  too  high  for  the  average  small-town  exhibitor 
to  meet. 

Though  we  disagree  with  some  of  the  views  expound- 
ed by  this  exhibitor,  the  fact  remains  that  the  problem 
of  checking  theatre  receipts  in  small  towns  has  yet  to 
be  solved  adequately.  The  stationing  in  either  a  thea- 
tre box-office  or  lobby  of  unfamiliar  and  unregulated 
persons,  some  of  whom  are  uncouth  and  unreliable, 
has  long  been  a  thorn  in  the  exhibitor's  side.  More- 
over, their  very  presence  and  lack  of  diplomacy  often 
serve  to  cast  doubts  on  the  integrity  of  the  exhibitor. 
Yet  we  cannot  get  away  from  the  fact  that  checking, 
because  of  the  low  wages  and  because  most  of  it  is 
part-time  work,  is  not  the  type  of  employment  to 
attract  the  most  capable  and  efficient  men. 

Recently  five  distributing  companies,  namely,  Par- 
amount, RKO,  Universal,  United  Artists,  and  Co' 
lumbia  organized  a  new  national  checking  organiza- 
tion, the  purpose  of  which  is  to  provide  them  with  a 
checking  service  operated  on  a  non-profit  basis.  This 
new  organization,  known  as  Confidential  Reports, 
Inc.,  begins  operating  on  April  2  under  the  active 
supervision  of  Jack  H.  Levin,  Vice  President  and 
General  Manager,  who,  for  the  past  seventeen  years, 
had  been  associated  with  the  Copyright  Protection 
Bureau,  from  which  he  resigned  about  two  weeks  ago. 
John  J.  O'Connor,  Vice  President  of  Universal,  is 
President  of  the  new  organization,  which  plans  to 
have  thirty-one  branches  located  in  the  key  city  dis- 
tribution centers,  and  whose  services  will  be  available 
to  all  producers  and  distributors. 

At  a  trade  press  luncheon  announcing  the  forma- 
tion of  the  organization,  Mr.  Levin  said  that  it  was 
"the  aim  of  Confidential  Reports,  Inc.,  to  render, 
confidentially,  checking  reports,  so  as  to  provide  the 
distributor  and  exhibitor  alike  with  a  sound  and  ob- 
jective basis  for  the  conduct  of  their  business  with 
each  other.  We  anticipate  the  good  will  of  the  entire 
industry  in  achieving  this  purpose." 

As  said  before,  the  problem  of  checking  small-town 
theatres  in  a  manner  that  will  not  do  an  injustice  to 
the  exhibitor  has  yet  to  be  solved  adequately.  Perhaps 
Confidential  Reports,  in  an  endeavor  to  fulfill  its  aims, 
will  make  an  effort  to  provide  the  industry  with  a 
corps  of  checkers  who  will  be  thoroughly  trained  in 
the  art  of  making  themselves  inconspicuous  and  who 
will  in  no  way  make  their  stay  at  a  theatre  an  ob- 
noxious one.  At  any  rate,  the  problem  presents  a 
challenge  to  this  new  checking  organization. 

MORE  DISTRIBUTION  COMPANIES 
NEEDED  FOR  THE  GOOD 
OF  THE  BUSINESS 

In  an  interview  he  gave  to  Motion  Picture  Daily 
of  March  1,  David  Loew  said  that,  after  the  war, 
other  distribution  companies  will  be  formed  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  demand  of  independent  producers  for  out- 
side distribution. 

Mr.  Loew  believes  that,  if  new  major  distribution 
concerns  were  formed,  there  would  be  a  rush  to  make 
deals  in  order  to  share  in  the  distribution  of  then- 
pictures  as  well  as  in  the  production  of  them. 

This  paper  does  not  know  what  has  prompted  Mr. 
Loew,  who  is  now  releasing  his  pictures  through 
United  Artists,  to  make  such  a  statement,  but  for 
some  time  now  there  has  been  talk  of  the  need  of  new 


distribution  companies  to  encourage  new  production 
•and  star  talent. 

Under  the  present  setup,  there  is  very  little  en' 
couragement  of  independent  production.  Five  of  the 
companies  own  theatres  and,  with  the  exception  of 
RKO,  their  doors  are  virtually  closed  to  the  inde- 
pendent producer  seeking  a  release  for  his  pictures. 
Of  the  companies  that  do  not  own  theatres,  only 
United  Artists  releases  independently  produced  pic- 
tures, but  the  difficulties  of  releasing  pictures  through 
United  Artists  are,  at  present,  almost  insurmountable. 
To  begin  with,  when  an  independent  producer  ap- 
proaches United  Artists  with  a  good  story,  the  first 
question  that  he  is  asked  is:  "What  star  is  going  to 
be  in  it?"  And  with  the  present  scarcity  of  free-lance 
stars,  he  hasn't  a  chance  to  get  a  releasing  agreement. 

Monogram  is  the  only  other  company  that  will 
accept  independent  producer  deals,  but  its  distribu- 
tion terms  are  so  high  that  it  is  difficult  for  a  pro- 
ducer to  come  out  with  a  profit,  for  Monogram  de- 
mands for  distribution  fifty  percent  of  the  gross  re- 
ceipts, regardless  of  the  amount  of  money  that  an  in- 
dependent producer  may  intend  to  spend  on  his  pic- 
ture. 

Distribution  has  always  been  more  or  less  closed  to 
independent  brains.  In  many  cases  where  an  inde- 
pendent, without  a  star,  or  a  best  seller,  or  a  successful 
Broadway  play,  approached  any  one  of  the  distribu- 
tion companies,  the  answer  of  its  executives  was  and 
still  is:  "Why  should  we  give  you  a  releasing  agree- 
ment and  receive  only  a  small  portion  of  the  gross 
receipts  when  we  can  spend  all  the  money  ourselves 
and  receive  all  the  profits?" 

Several  years  ago  a  friend  of  mine  approached  one 
of  the  top  executives  of  the  old  Universal  for  a  re- 
leasing deal.  I  had  arranged  a  luncheon  for  him  and 
so  I  was  present.  When  this  executive  made  the 
aforementioned  statement  to  my  friend,  I  begged 
leave  to  answer  him  myself;  I  said:  "For  the  same 
reason  that  interbreeding  should  be  avoided.  When 
you  fail  to  bring  into  your  company  new  blood,  the 
pictures  it  produces  are  similar  to  one  another — there 
is  no  variety.  Eventually  people  get  tired  of  such 
pictures  and  stop  going  to  see  them.  That  is  what  is 
going  to  happen  to  Universal,  and  unless  you  infuse 
new  blood  and  make  deals  with  people  who  will  bring 
new  ideas  into  your  company,  it  will  go  out  of  busi- 
ness." Not  long  after,  the  old  crowd  sold  the  company 
to  a  new  group.  And  the  new  owners  made  a  success 
of  it  because  they  went  into  the  company  with  new 
ideas. 

If  one  should  watch  the  product  of  each  company 
closely,  he  would  find  that  there  is  a  similarity  in  the 
pictures  produced  by  it,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that 
the  stories  are  ultimately  passed  upon  by  a  handful 
of  the  same  people,  with  the  result  that  the  viewpoint 
of  these  people  colors  all  its  pictures. 

Mr.  Loew  is  right:  new  distribution  companies 
will  be  formed  after  the  war;  there  is  need  for  them 
— a  need  for  distribution  companies  that  will  en- 
courage people  with  brains  and  capital,  able  to  pro- 
duce good  pictures.  Such  companies  cannot  help 
proving  financially  successful.  And  the  independent 
exhibitors  will  profit  by  whatever  support  they  give 
to  such  companies,  for  at  present  the  industry  is  a 
virtual  monopoly,  and  the  only  way  to  break  it  is  to 
encourage  and  support  new  production  and  dis- 
tribution. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  187S. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States  $15.00  Dnnm  Kio  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  i\uum  1014  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  A  MotJon  picture  Reviewing  Service 

oreat  Britain  . .... ... ....  io.io  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

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Sbc  a  Copy  Columns,  .if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  MARCH  24,  1945  No.  12 


Public  Relations  and  the  War  Activities  Committee 


Administrator  Chester  Bowles,  of  the  OPA,  has  reconv 
mended  to  Congress  that  a  ceiling  be  put  on  the  admission 
prices  of  theatres. 

James  F.  Byrnes,  Director  of  the  Office  of  War  Mobiliza- 
tion,  in  his  curfew  announcement,  "lumped"  theatres  in 
with  saloons,  dance  halls,  gambling  joints  and  other  riffraff 
of  the  entertainment  world,  although  it  was  obvious  that 
very  few  theatres  remained  open  after  midnight. 

While  the  War  Production  Board  has  given  the  theatres 
a  fair  priority  on  repair  parts  and  equipment  replacements, 
War  Manpower  Chief  McNutt  has  placed  theatre  employees 
on  the  non-deferrable  list  and,  in  addition,  has  issued  a 
follow-up  on  the  curfew  in  which  he,  too,  lists  the  theatres 
with  the  "joints." 

Whenever  a  fuel  shortage  has  threatened,  Federal,  State 
and  Municipal  officials  have  been  quick  to  advocate  the  clos- 
ing of  theatres,  although  keeping  the  theatres  open  un- 
doubtedly would  save  fuel,  since  many  theatre-goers  turn 
down  their  furnaces  before  leaving  for  the  theatre. 

To  the  foregoing  may  be  added  the  doubling  of  the  Fed- 
eral tax  on  admissions,  the  denial  of  Freon  to  the  theatres, 
the  serious  reduction  in  the  allocation  of  raw  film  stock, 
causing  a  print  shortage,  and  the  imposition  of  an  almost 
total  blackout  on  a  business  that  has  always  been  character- 
ized by  an  abundance  of  light — light  being  its  trade  mark. 

Let  us  review  very  briefly — for  the  facts  are  well  known— 
the  many  contributions  that  the  motion  picture  industry  has 
made  to  the  war  effort.  The  industry  has — 

(  1 )  Taken  the  lead  in  every  war  loan  drive.  So  successful 
have  the  theatres  been  that  Secretary  Morgenthau  has  re- 
ferred to  them  as  "the  cash  registers  of  the  Treasury." 

(2)  Placed  the  screens  unreservedly  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Government  for  purposes  of  education  and  indoctrina- 
tion, without  cost  to  the  Government. 

(3)  Supported  all  Red  Cross,  USO  and  Infantile  Paraly- 
sis drives,  collecting  vast  sums  for  those  agencies  and  thus 
insuring  their  continuance  and  success. 

(4)  Produced  and  distributed  short  subjects  for  the  Gov- 
ernment, at  cost. 

(5)  Rendered  to  the  Government  every  aid  in  the  war 
effort  whenever  requested  or  needed. 

It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  the  public  relations  of  the 
motion  picture  industry  have  broken  down  just  when  they 
were  needed  most.  When  the  industry,  in  aid  of  the  war 
effort,  is  functioning  as  a  whole,  the  industry,  in  its  public 
relations,  should  be  represented  as  a  whole.  The  War  Activi- 
ties Committee  would  seem  to  be,  in  theory  at  least,  the  ideal 
agency  for  the  handling  of  public  relations  during  war-time. 
The  results,  as  already  outlined,  show  that  it  has  failed  in 
this  regard.  Let  us  inquire  as  to  the  reasons  for  this  failure. 

At  its  annual  directors  meeting,  held  recently  in  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  Allied  States  Association  of  Motion  Picture  Ex- 
hibitors adopted  a  resolution  praising  the  War  Activities 
Committee  for  its  accomplishments  in  support  of  the  war 
effort,  and  pledging  Allied's  continued  loyal  support  in  all 


matters  affecting  that  effort,  but  suggesting  that  certain  re- 
forms be  made  in  its  procedure  and  that  it  be  terminated  at 
the  end  of  the  war.  Immediately  there  was  an  outcry  by  cer- 
tain persons  in  the  industry  accusing  Allied  of  being  un- 
patriotic, and  by  that  resolution  hampering  the  war  effort. 
Since  the  resolution  heaped  praise  on  the  WAC  and  pledged 
continued  support,  and  since  its  name  implies  that  the  WAC 
was  formed  merely  for  war  purposes,  it  is  absurd  to  say  that 
Allied  either  hampered  the  war  effort,  or  intended  to  hamper 
it. 

In  heaping  abuse  upon  Allied,  these  critics  either  over- 
looked, or  intentionally  hid,  the  reason  that  undoubtedly 
prompted  Allied's  action.  Throughout  the  Sixth  War  Loan 
drive,  spokesmen  for  the  distributors,  at  practically  every 
meeting,  advocated  continuing  the  WAC  as  an  all-industry 
good-will  agency.  While  using  such  phrases  as  "all-industry," 
"united  front"  and  "unity,"  these  speakers  were,  neverthe- 
less, advocating  the  perpetuation  of  the  WAC  as  it  had  been 
operating.  This  reached  a  climax  when  Ted  Gamble,  Na- 
tional Director,  War  Finance  Division,  U.  S.  Treasury,  at 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  Variety  Clubs  of  America,  held 
in  Washington,  D.  O,  last  November,  forgot  that  this  was 
not  a  political,  but  a  charitable  organization,  and  dipped 
into  industry  politics  by  advising  exhibitors  that  theatre 
divorcement  will  not  solve  their  problems,  and  by  express- 
ing the  hope  that  the  War  Activities  Committee  would  be 
continued  even  after  the  war. 

It  now  transpires  that  not  only  Allied,  but  other  exhibi- 
tors who  do  not  belong  to  Allied,  became  alarmed  by  these 
tactics,  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  WAC's  Executive  Com- 
mittee, Theatres  Division,  on  November  30,  1944,  caused 
a  resolution  to  be  adopted  to  the  effect  that  representatives 
of  the  WAC  should  cease  advocating  the  perpetuation  of 
that  organization  after  the  war.  Thus  the  Allied  board 
merely  voiced  a  sentiment  that  had  already  been  approved 
by  the  Theatres  Division  of  the  WAC! 

In  the  condemnation  of  Allied's  resolution,  one  passage 
of  the  resolution  was  ignored,  and  that  passage  should  now 
be  considered  calmly  and  dispassionately  by  all  members  of 
the  industry.  It  states,  in  part:  "the  Committee  goes  far 
beyond  its  original  purpose  when  ...  it  names  individuals 
familiar  with  conditions  in  only  a  single  film  territory  to  rep- 
resent and  speak  for  the  entire  industry  in  reference  to  man- 
power and  material  shortages,  fuel  conservation,  or  other 
matters  not  within  the  original  intendment  of  the  Com- 
mittee." 

The  WAC's  letterhead  shows  it  to  be,  in  form,  an  all- 
industry  organization.  The  Co-Ordinating  Committee  of 
the  WAC  includes  in  its  membership  the  cream  of  the  in- 
dustry. Obviously,  that  Committee  could  exert  tremendous 
influence  and  create  invaluable  good  will  by  functioning  as 
a  body.  Yet  the  extent  to  which  the  Committee  has  actually 
been  consulted  in  the  operation  of  the  WAC  is  questionable. 

Why  hasn't  the  Co-Ordinating  Committee  conferred  with 
the  President,  the  WPB,  the  WMC,  the  OPA,  the  OWM 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


March  24,  1945 


"The  Royal  Scandal"  with 
Tallulah  Bankhead,  Charles  Coburn, 
Anne  Baxter  and  William  Eythe 

(20th  Century-Fox,  April;  time.  94  min.) 
An  excellent  Ernst  Lubitsch  comedy-farce;  the  settings 
are  magnificent,  the  direction  brilliant,  and  the  perform' 
ances  of  the  entire  cast  fine.  Highly  sophisticated,  the  story 
is  a  gay  version  of  Catherine  the  Great's  amorous  inclina- 
tions,  concentrating  on  her  affair  with  an  impetuous  but 
not  too  bright  young  officer,  whose  fiancee  was  one  of  her 
ladies-in-waiting.  Cleverly  worked  into  the  story  is  a  by-plot 
concerning  the  machinations  of  a  palace  military  clique,  who 
scheme  to  seise  the  throne.  The  resultant  situations,  together 
with  the  extremely  clever  dialogue,  keep  one  laughing 
hilariously  all  the  way  through.  Tallulah  Bankhead,  as  the 
Czarina,  is  dynamic  and  convincing  in  a  role  of  many  moods, 
and  the  others  in  the  cast  play  their  parts  to  perfection. 
The  theme  is  risque,  but  it  has  been  handled  so  expertly  that 
it  docs  not  offend.  The  picture  should  turn  out  to  be  an  out- 
standing box-office  attraction: —  , 

Beset  by  unrest  among  her  military  leaders,  the  Czarina 
rules  Russia  with  the  aid  of  her  wily  Chancellor  (Charles 
Coburn),  on  whom  she  depended  heavily.  The  palace  is 
turned  into  a  furore  when  Lieut.  William  Eythe,  a  dashing 
young  cavalryman,  rides  in  from  the  Western  front  to  warn 
the  Czarina  of  a  military  plot  to  dethrone  her.  The  hand- 
some young  officer  wins  the  Czarina's  gratitude  and  like- 
wise her  heart.  She  commands  him  to  remain  at  the  court 
indefinitely,  raising  his  rank  to  Commander  of  the  Palace 
Guards.  Bewildered,  but  flattered  by  the  Czarina's  atten- 
tions and  amorous  advances,  Eythe  pictures  himself  has  a 
great  leader  and  embarks  on  a  program  for  the  betterment 
of  Russian  peasants.  He  issues  numerous  edicts,  all  of  which 
find  their  way  into  the  wastebaskct  at  the  direction  of  the 
Czarina.  Complications  arise  when  the  Czarina  learns  that 
Eythe  was  engaged  to  Anne  Baxter,  one  of  her  ladies-in- 
waiting.  She  shrewdly  arranges  for  Anne  to  leave  the  palace 
for  a  long  rest,  but  Anne,  aware  of  her  motive  defies  her. 
Indignant,  the  Czarina  plans  to  punish  both  Anne  and 
Eythe.  The  young  officer,  humiliated  by  her  treatment  of 
him,  rebels;  he  joins  the  Palace  Guards  in  a  plot  to  dethrone 
her.  The  sly  old  Chancellor,  however,  foils  the  plot.  Eythe 
is  found  guilty  of  treason  and  sentenced  to  die.  But  through 
the  Chancellor's  shrewd  manipulations,  he  is  pardoned  by 
the  Czarina  when  she  turns  her  fickle  attentions  upon  Vin- 
cent Price,  the  newly-arrived  handsome  French  ambassador. 

Edwin  Justus  Mayer  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Otto 
Preminger  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Mischa  Auer,  Sig 
Ruman,  Vladmir  Sokoloff,  Mikhail  Rasumny  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"The  House  of  Fear"  with  Basil  Rathbone 
and  Nigel  Bruce 

( Universal,  March  16;  time,  68  min.) 

This  latest  of  the  "Sherlock  Holmes"  murder  mystery 
melodramas  is  below  par  for  the  series.  It  should,  however, 
serve  its  purpose  as  a  supporting  feature.  There  is  nothing 
unusual  about  the  production,  most  of  it  being  repititious  of 
the  previous  pictures.  The  story  and  treatment  follow  the 
usual  formula — that  is,  mysterious  murders  are  committed, 
"Holmes"  is  called  in  on  the  case,  and  through  his  amazing 
though  implausible  powers  of  deduction,  and  with  the  aid 
of  his  trusty  friend,  "Dr.  Watson,"  clears  up  the  mystery. 
The  action  slows  down  considerably  in  spots,  and  the  sus- 
pense usually  found  in  pictures  of  this  type  is  lacking: — 

Called  upon  to  solve  the  mysterious  deaths  of  two  wealthy 
men,  members  of  an  exclusive  club  known  as  "The  Good 
Comrades,"  Holmes  (Basil  Rathbone),  accompanied  by  his 
friend,  Dr.  Watson  (Nigel  Bruce),  goes  to  the  Scottish 
mansion  where  the  club  members  lived.  There  he  learns  that 
each  of  the  members,  of  whom  five  were  alive,  carried  a  large 
insurance  policy  upon  himself,  payable  to  the  last  surviving 


member  of  the  club.  Holmes  learns  also  that,  in  each  death, 
the  victim  was  so  mutilated  that  his  body  was  barely  recog- 
nizable. Different  clues  lead  Holmes  to  suspect  one  or  an- 
other of  the  members  of  murdering  his  comrades  and,  dur- 
ing his  investigation,  additional  murders  arc  committed  until 
the  club  is  reduced  to  two  surviving  members.  Meanwhile 
several  attempts  are  made  on  his  and  Dr.  Watson's  life. 
Holmes  finally  discovers  a  solution  to  the  crimes  through 
the  murder  of  a  village  tobacconist,  who  had  been  shot  after 
declaring  that  he  had  seen  one  of  the  murdered  men  walking 
on  the  beach.  Following  up  this  clue,  Holmes  discovers  an 
underground  tunnel  leading  from  the  mansion  to  the  sea, 
where  he  finds  the  supposedly  murdered  club  members  very 
much  alive.  He  proves  that  they  had  robbed  graves  and  had 
disguised  the  corpses  to  appear  like  each  of  them  in  an 
ingenious  scheme  to  collect  the  insurance  money. 

Roy  Chanslor  wrote  the  screen  play  based  on  the  "Ad- 
ventures of  the  Five  Orange  Pips"  by  Sir  Arthur  Conan 
Doyle.  Roy  Williams  Neill  produced  and  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Aubrey  Mather,  Dennis  Hoey,  Paul  Cavanagh 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Clock"  with  Judy  Garland 
and  Robert  Walker 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set,  lime,  90  mm.) 

Fairly  good  mass  entertainment.  It  is  a  timely  romantic 
drama,  appealingly  told  and  well  acted,  revolving  around 
the  experiences  of  a  lonely  young  soldier  and  a  girl,  who 
meet,  fall  in  love,  and  marry,  all  within  his  forty-eight  hour 
furlough,  prior  to  being  shipped  overseas.  The  story  is 
simple  and  somewhat  contrived,  but  it  appeals  to  the  emo- 
tions of  sympathy  deeply,  and  it  will  be  appreciated  by  the 
masses  because  it  concerns  romantic  problems  similar  to 
those  confronting  many  young  people  today.  The  most 
touching  scenes  take  place  toward  the  finish  where,  with  but 
a  few  hours  left  of  the  young  man's  furlough,  the  couple 
decide  to  get  married  only  to  lose  each  other  in  a  subway 
rush  and  to  encounter  numerous  legal  difficulties.  It  has 
some  good  comedy  situations,  particularly  the  one  in  which 
Kccnan  Wynn  appears  as  an  oratorical  drunkard.  People 
who  have  never  visited  New  York  should  find  the  back- 
grounds interesting,  for  they  provide  a  pretty  good  view  of 
the  city's  famous  landmarks.  The  production  values  are  in 
keeping  with  the  usual  MGM  standard  of  excellence: — 

Corporal  Robert  Walker,  visiting  New  York  on  a  forty- 
eight  hour  furlough,  meets  Judy  Garland,  a  young  office 
worker,  when  she  accidentally  trips  over  his  suitcase.  Awed 
by  the  immensity  of  the  city,  and  feeling  lonely,  Walker 
asks  Judy  for  permission  to  ride  with  her  on  a  Fifth  Avenue 
bus.  Judy  consents  and,  after  spending  the  afternoon  with 
him,  agrees  to  go  out  with  him  that  evening.  The  end  of  the 
evening  finds  them  both  deeply  in  love.  When  they  miss  the 
last  bus  home,  James  Gleason,  a  milk  truck  driver,  offers 
them  a  lift.  They  spend  the  night  with  him,  helping  to 
deliver  milk,  then  accept  his  invitation  to  breakfast  at  his 
home.  There,  Gleason's  wife  (Lucile  Gleason)  urges  them 
to  get  married  at  once  instead  of  waiting  until  after  the  war. 
The  young  couple  accept  her  suggestion  and  rush  to  City 
Hall  for  a  marriage  license.  They  become  separated  in  the 
subway,  and  for  the  first  time  realize  that  neither  knew  the 
other's  last  name.  After  frantic  attempts  to  find  each  other, 
they  meet  once  again  in  Pennsylvania  Station.  They  are 
finally  married  at  City  Hall  after  overcoming  countless 
legalities,  but  as  they  leave  the  building  they  feel  strange 
and  uncomfortable.  Passing  a  church,  both  enter  and 
solemnly  repeat  to  each  other  their  marriage  vows.  On  the 
following  morning,  they  part,  confident  that  they  will  soon 
be  reunited. 

Robert  Nathan  and  Joseph  Schrank  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Arthur  Freed  produced  it,  and  Vincente  Minnelli  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Marshall  Thompson,  Ruth  Brady,  and 
others. 


March  24,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


47 


"Colonel  Blimp"  with  Anton  Walbrook, 
Roger  Livesey  and  Deborah  Kerr 

(United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time,  148  min.) 

No  one  can  deny  the  excellence  of  both  the  production 
and  the  acting  given  to  this  British-made,  Technicolor 
comedy-drama,  but  its  appeal  will  be  mainly  to  high  class 
audiences,  who  will  better  understand  the  story's  objective, 
which  seems  to  be  that  war  with  Germany  cannot  be  fought 
on  a  sportsmanship  basis.  Centering  mainly  around  one 
character,  the  story  covers  the  career  of  a  British  Army 
officer  from  the  time  of  the  Boer  War  to  the  present  con- 
flict, showing  how  with  the  passing  years  he  progressed  in 
rank  but  remained  old-fashioned  in  his  ideas  of  warfare, 
maintaining  that  Britain,  despite  Germany's  atrocities  and 
her  refusal  to  recognize  accepted  rules  of  warfare,  should 
employ  the  honorable  methods  of  his  Boer  War  Campaign 
days.  The  manner  in  which  he  is  made  to  realize  that  his 
ideas  are  antiquated,  provides  some  highly  humorous  as 
well  as  deeply  stirring  moments.  Roger  Livesey,  as  the  Brit- 
ish officer,  is  properly  dashing  a  young  man,  and  typically 
pompous  as  an  older  man,  but  at  all  times  thoroughly  human 
and  lovable.  Anton  Walbrook,  as  the  young  German  officer 
who  in  later  years  becomes  a  strong  anti-Nazi  refugee,  highly 
critical  of  the  British,  gives  an  outstanding  performance. 
There  is  a  pleasant  romantic  interest  interwined  in  the  plot. 
Since  the  players  are  not  well  known  to  American  audi- 
ences, the  picture  will  require  extensive  exploitation. 

As  a  young  officer  at  the  turn  of  the  century,  Livesey  is 
shown  becoming  involved  in  a  political  brawl  in  Berlin  with 
an  anti-British  propagandist,  whose  friends,  seeking  satis- 
faction, force  him  to  fight  a  duel  with  a  German  officer 
(Walbrook).  In  the  hospital  to  which  both  are  taken, 
Livesey  and  Walbrook  become  fast  friends.  Deborah  Kerr, 
an  English  governess  in  Berlin,  to  whom  the  duel  had  been 
attributed  to  avoid  international  complications,  falls  in 
love  with  Walbrook  and  marries  him.  Too  late,  Livesey 
realizes  that  he,  too,  loved  her,  but  he  gallantly  returns  to 
England.  With  the  passing  years,  he  becomes  a  Colonel 
during  World  War  I,  at  which  time  he  again  meets  Wal- 
brook, now  a  prisoner  of  war.  But  Livesey  treats  him  as  a 
friend.  World  War  II  finds  Livesey,  now  an  elderly  man, 
on  active  duty,  and  Walbrook,  who,  too,  was  along  in  years, 
a  refugee  from  Nazidom.  Livesey  becomes  depressed  when 
the  War  Office  retires  him  because  of  his  outmoded  ideas, 
but  Walbrook  persuades  him  to  help  organize  the  Home 
Guard.  He  plunges  into  the  work  with  vigor;  but  his  ideas 
remain  old  fashioned.  He  is  finally  brought  to  a  realization 
of  his  antiquated  methods  when,  during  a  sham  battle 
staged  by  the  Home  Guard,  the  "attackers"  ignore  the  rules 
of  warfare  and  take  him  "prisoner"  while  he  enjoys  a 
Turkish  bath. 

The  screen  play  was  written,  produced  and  directed  by 
Michael  Powell  and  Emeric  Pressburger. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Man  Who  Walked  Alone" 
with  David  O'Brien  and  Kay  Aldridge 

(PRC,  March  15;  time,  73  min.) 

Just  a  moderately  amusing  romantic  comedy  of  program 
grade;  its  appeal  will  be  mainly  to  undiscriminating  audi- 
ences in  small-town  and  neighborhood  theatres.  Revolving 
around  the  romantic  bickering  between  a  returning  war  hero 
and  a  madcap  heiress,  who  seeks  to  rid  herself  of  her  stuffed- 
shirt  fiance,  the  story  is  so  thin  and  so  obvious  that  one 
knows  in  advance  just  what  is  going  to  happen.  Another 
fault  is  that  it  is  too  "talky,"  slowing  the  action  down  con- 
siderably. It  has  a  number  of  amusing  episodes,  but  a  good 
deal  of  the  comedy  is  quite  feeble.  The  performances  are 
just  passable: — 

Hitchhiking  to  a  small  town,  Pavid  O'Brien,  an  honor- 
ably discharged  veteran,  is  given  a  lift  by  Kay  Aldridge,  a 
wealthy  society  girl,  who  had  deserted  her  fiance  (Smith 
Ballew),  taking  his  car  without  his  permission.  Kay  and 
O'Brien  get  to  bickering  over  a  flat  tire  when  the  police, 
recognizing  the  stolen  car,  question  them.  Kay  makes  it 


appear  as  if  O'Brien  were  her  accomplice.  Both  are  taken  to 
jail,  but  are  released  when  Kay  establishes  her  identity. 
Finding  herself  falling  in  love  with  O'Brien,  Kay  employs 
him  as  a  chauffeur  on  the  family's  country  estate.  Meanwhile 
the  newspapers  print  a  scandalous  story  about  her  arrest  and 
about  her  forsaking  Ballew  for  O'Brien.  Her  irate  mother 
(Isabel  Randolph)  and  her  equally  angry  fiance  rush  out  to 
the  estate,  accompanied  by  other  members  of  the  family. 
They  make  every  effort  to  break  up  the  romance,  but  Kay 
stands  her  ground.  Learning  that  O'Brien  had  been  a  sol- 
dier, and  believing  him  to  be  a  deserter,  Kay's  mother  and 
Ballew  telephone  the  authorities  and  demand  his  arrest.  By 
this  time  O'Brien,  disgusted  with  the  family's  attitude,  de- 
cides to  leave  of  his  own  accord.  But  before  he  can  depart, 
scores  of  townspeople,  headed  by  a  band,  march  up  to  the 
estate;  they  had  learned  of  his  heroic  deeds  on  the  battle- 
fronts,  and  the  ovation  was  in  his  honor.  Much  to  the  fam- 
ily's chagrin,  Kay  takes  her  place  at  O'Brien's  side,  and 
announces  her  intention  to  marry  him. 

Christy  Cabanne  wrote  the  story,  directed  it,  and  acted  as 
associate  producer.  Leon  Fromkess  produced  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Walter  Catlett,  "Big  Boy"  Williams,  Nancy  June 
Robinson,  Ruth  Lee,  Tom  Dugan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Without  Love"  with  Katharine  Hepburn 
and  Spencer  Tracy 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  111  min.) 
In  adapting  this  from  the  Theatre  Guild's  stage  play  of 
the  same  title,  the  producers  have  altered  the  plot  con- 
siderably; to  such  an  extent,  in  fact,  that  the  story  is  un- 
recognizable. It  is,  however,  an  amusing  comedy-drama, 
which  should  prove  to  be  a  pretty  good  box-office  attraction 
because  of  the  leading  players'  popularity.  The  story,  which 
revolves  around  a  young  couple  who  marry  for  convenience 
and  agree  never  to  fall  in  love,  is  incongruous,  but  good 
performances  and  some  bright  comedy  situations  make  it 
the  type  of  entertainment  that  leaves  an  audience  in  a 
pleasant  mood.  Most  of  the  comedy  is  brought  about  by  the 
young  couple's  endeavors  to  suppress  their  desire  for  one 
another.  There  is  more  talk  than  action,  but  the  sparkling 
dialogue  is  a  compensating  factor.  A  secondary  romance 
between  Keenan  Wynn  and  Lucille  Ball,  with  Patricia 
Morison  as  the  other  woman,  provides  some  humorous 
moments: — 

Seeking  a  house  in  Washington,  D.  C,  to  conduct  secret 
experiments  for  his  invention  of  an  aviator's  oxygen  helmet, 
Spencer  Tracy,  a  scientist,  meets  up  with  Keenan  Wynn, 
an  intoxicated  playboy,  who  invites  him  to  spend  the  night 
in  a  house  owned  by  his  cousin  (Katharine  Hepburn),  a 
young  widow.  On  the  following  morning,  Katharine  learns 
that  Tracy's  late  father  and  her  father  had  been  old  friends, 
and  she  agrees  to  let  him  conduct  the  experiments  in  her 
house.  Later,  both  become  better  acquainted  and  learn  that 
each  was  disillusioned  insofar  as  love  was  concerned.  Tracy 
had  been  jilted  by  a  Parisian  girl;  Katharine  lost  her  happi- 
ness through  the  death  of  her  husband.  When  Katharine 
suggests  that  they  marry  purely  on  a  platonic  basis,  so  that 
she  could  assist  him  with  his  experiments,  Tracy  consents. 
They  keep  their  platonic  pact  until  Carl  Esmond,  a  mutual 
friend,  makes  love  to  Katharine,  awakening  her  love  for 
Tracy.  When  he  learns  of  Esmond's  advances,  Tracy  sup- 
presses his  jealousy.  The  big  test  of  their  "loveless"  mar- 
riage comes  about  when  Katharine,  learning  that  the  Parisian 
girl  who  had  jilted  Tracy  was  trying  to  contact  him,  quarrels 
with  him.  In  an  endeavor  to  arouse  Tracy,  she  goes  out  with 
Esmond.  Her  actions  have  the  desired  effect  on  Tracy  and, 
after  a  series  of  incidents  that  cause  him  to  suspect  that 
she  had  been  unfaithful,  both  discard  their  platonic  pact 
and  embrace. 

Donald  Ogden  Stewart  wrote  the  screen  play  based  on 
the  play  by  Philip  Barry,  Lawrence  A.  Weingartcn  produced 
it,  and  Harold  S.  Bucquct  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Felix  Bressart  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


48 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  24,  1945 


and  other  war  agencies  in  reference  to  vital  industry  prob- 
lems? 

Why  has  no  effort  been  made,  through  the  exhibitor 
organizations  represented  on  the  Co-Ordinating  Committee, 
to  enlist  the  support  and  influence  of  the  rank  and  file  of 
exhibitors  throughout  the  country — the  "little  fellows"  who, 
nevertheless,  are  able  to  call  their  Washington  representa- 
tives  by  their  first  names? 

Why  has  no  consideration  been  given  to  Allied's  temper- 
ate criticisms  and  pertinent  suggestions  instead  of  allowing 
the  matter  to  rest  upon  the  intemperate  outbursts  and 
charges  of  a  few  individuals? 

The  writer  of  this  article  realizes  that  he,  too,  is  exposing 
himself  to  a  torrent  of  abuse;  but  to  impute  a  wrong  motive 
to  this  writer  will  do  him  the  greatest  injustice  imaginable. 
In  bringing  these  facts  to  your  attention  my  sole  purpose  is 
to  expose  the  weakness  of  the  industry's  public  relations 
and  to  point  out  how  they  can  be  improved. 

In  order  to  bring  this  about,  the  WAC  must  be  strength- 
ened and  made  to  function  as  a  truly  representative  body. 
It  must  not  become,  or  even  appear  to  become,  the  private 
property  of  a  handful  of  individuals.  Utilizing  to  the  fullest 
the  manpower  represented  on  the  Co-Ordinating  Committee 
and  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Theatres  Division,  as 
well  as  the  industry  organizations  represented  by  them,  all 
mistakes  of  the  past  can  be  cured  and  the  WAC  can  render 
a  great  service  in  restoring  the  prestige  of  the  motion  pic- 
ture industry  and  elevating  it  in  public  esteem. 

If  that  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it! 


THE  THIRTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 
OF  20TH  CENTURY-FOX  FILM 
CORPORATION 

Next  month,  Twentieth  Century-Fox  will  celebrate  its 
Thirtieth  Anniversary.  It  was  in  1915,  when  William  Fox 
released  two  Theda  Bara  pictures,  "A  Fool  There  Was"  and 
"Kreutzer's  Sonata"  under  the  corporate  name,  "Fox  Film 
Corporation."  Years  later  this  name  was  changed  to  "Twen- 
tieth Century-Fox  Film  Corporation." 

Since  its  beginning,  this  company  has  had  several  out- 
standing periods.  The  first  such  period  was,  of  course,  its 
first  year,  because  of  the  success  that  Theda  Bara  had  made; 
the  second  was  when  it  brought  out  Tom  Mix,  and  later 
when  it  acquired  the  services  of  William  Farnum,  develop- 
ing them  into  the  biggest  stars  of  those  days;  the  third  was 
when  in  1926  Winfield  Shechan,  relinquishing  his  home- 
office  duties  as  general  manager  of  distribution,  went  to  the 
Coast  and  took  charge  of  production — he  produced  such 
outstanding  box-office  successes  as,  "Seventh  Heaven," 
"What  Price  Glory,"  "Sunny  Side  Up,"  "The  Cock-Eyed 
World"  and  others,  and  developed  such  stars  as  Shirley 
Temple,  Will  Rogers  and  Janet  Gaynor;  the  fourth  was 
when  in  1935  Sidney  Kent  induced  Darryl  Zanuck  and 
Joseph  Schenck,  owners  of  "Twentieth  Century,"  to  amal- 
gamate with  the  Fox  Film  Corporation;  the  fifth  period  was 
when  Spyros  Skouras,  an  experienced  theatre  operator,  be- 
came president  of  the  company.  There  have  been  other 
lesser  periods. 

The  company  made  progress  when  Messrs.  Zanuck  and 
Schenck  affiliated  themselves  with  the  Fox  Film  Corpora- 
tion, but  because  there  was  lack  of  harmony  between  the 
Coast  and  the  Home  Office,  their  efforts  were  neutralized.  As 
a  result,  the  quality  of  the  product  deteriorated. 

Real  progress  was  not  made  until  after  Mr.  Skouras  be- 
came president  of  the  company.  With  his  finished  diplomacy 
and  native  ability  as  a  pacifier,  Mr.  Skouras  was  soon  able 
to  charm  everybody,  East  and  West,  bringing  harmony  into 
the  company's  ranks,  and  whole-hearted  cooperation  be- 
tween the  producing  and  the  selling  organizations. 

When  I  speak  of  Mr.  Skouras'  diplomacy  and  native 
ability  as  a  pacifier,  I  speak  from  knowledge,  for  I  had  the 
opportunity  of  observing  him  from  close  quarters  when  he 
organized  the  Greek  War  Relief  Association  and  drafted  me 


to  act  as  publicity  director  of  it.  As  president  jf  the  Associa- 
tion, Mr.  Skouras  60  inspired  his  co-workers  that,  in  six 
months'  time,  the  Association  was  able  to  collect  six  million 
dollars  in  cash,  at  a  cost  of  2.7%  (two  dollars  and  seventy 
cents  for  every  one  hundred  dollars  collected),  the  lowest 
that  has  ever  been  attained  in  the  history  of  relief  organiza- 
tions in  this  country.  In  addition  to  this  money,  the  Associa- 
tion received  food,  clothing  and  medical  supplies  worth  four 
million  dollars,  donated  by  the  Red  Cross  and  by  other  relief 
agencies.  The  motion  picture  industry  itself  contributed 
more  than  one  million  dollars.  Without  Mr.  Skouras'  tire- 
lessness  and  generosity,  the  Association  would  not,  in  my 
opinion,  have  attained  such  results. 

What  the  progress  of  Twentieth  Century-Fox  has  been 
from  the  time  Mr.  Skouras  became  its  president  imy  be 
judged  by  the  fact  that,  before  he  took  charge,  the  company 
operated  either  at  a  loss  or  at  a  very  small  profit.  When  he 
became  president,  the  company's  stock  was  quoted  in  the 
stock  market  at  about  $9  per  share,  whereas  now  it  is 
quoted  at  about  $27  per  share. 

The  company  has  announced  that  it  is  going  to  celebrate 
its  30th  Anniversary  with  a  string  of  big  money-making 
pictures. 

The  writer  takes  pleasure  in  wishing  Messrs.  Skouras, 
Schenck,  Zanuck,  Tom  Connors  (the  efficient  head  of  world 
wide  distribution  for  the  company),  and  all  their  co-woikcrs 
a  continued  success,  for  he  feels  that  the  success  of  a  com- 
pany in  producing  money-making  picturts  means  prosperity 
for  the  exhibitors. 


"Tarzan  and  the  Amazons"  with 
Johnny  Weissmuller 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set,  time,  7o  mm.) 

Just  moderately  entertaining  program  fare,  best  suited  for 
the  juvenile  trade.  It  is  similar  in  content  to  the  previous 
"Tarzan"  pictures  but,  by  comparison,  is  below  par  for  the 
series.  The  story  is  thin  and  far-fetched,  and  it  offers  little 
to  hold  one's  attention.  The  youngsters,  however,  should 
find  it  exciting,  for  the  lives  of  the  leading  characters  are 
endangered  from  time  to  time.  As  usual,  most  of  the  comedy 
is  provoked  by  the  antics  of  Cheta,  the  chimpanzee.  Johnny 
Weissmuller,  as  Tarzan,  and  Johnny  Sheffield,  as  Boy,  his 
son,  perform  acceptably  considering  the  weak  material  they 
had  to  work  with: — 

Journeying  to  a  jungle  trading  post  to  welcome  back  his 
wife,  Jane  (Brenda  Joyce),  from  a  London  visit,  Tarzan, 
accompanied  by  Boy,  rescue  from  a  savage  panther  a  run- 
away girl  from  a  tribe  of  Amazon  women.  Tarzan  takes  the 
girl  back  to  the  tribe's  secret  village,  where  no  man  but  he 
was  permitted  to  enter  and  leave;  the  Amazons  feared  that 
strangers  would  steal  their  golden  treasures.  At  the  trading 
post,  Tarzan  greets  Jane  and  meets  a  group  of  English 
scientists.  Through  a  gold  bracelet  that  Cheta  had  taken 
from  the  runaway  girl,  the  scientists  learn  of  the  Amazon 
tribe  and  urge  Tarzan  to  lead  them  to  their  secret  village. 
Tarzan,  unwilling  to  break  faith  with  the  Amazons,  refuses. 
The  scientists,  however,  egged  on  by  Barton  MacLane,  a 
greedy  trader,  induce  Boy  to  lead  them  to  the  village,  telling 
him  that  he  will  aid  the  cause  of  civilization.  The  Amazons 
capture  the  intruders,  and  their  Queen  (Maria  Ouspenskaya ) 
sentences  them  to  a  life  of  slavery.  Led  by  MacLane,  the 
scientists  try  to  escape,  bearing  some  of  the  golden  treasures. 
MacLane  makes  good  his  escape,  but  the  others  are  killed. 
Boy  is  recaptured  and  sentenced  to  die.  Meanwhile  Tarzan, 
warned  by  Cheta,  races  to  the  village  to  rescue  his  son.  En 
route,  he  encounters  MacLane,  who  dies  in  an  attempt  to 
kill  him.  Tarzan  arrives  at  the  Amazons'  village  in  time  to 
convince  the  tribe  that  their  secret  was  safe,  thus  gaining 
Boy's  release. 

Hans  Jacoby  and  Marjorie  L.  Pfaelzer  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Sol  Lesser  produced  it,  and  Kurt  Neumann  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Henry  Stephenson,  J.  M.  Kerrigan,  Shirley 
O'Hara,  Steven  Geray  and  others. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  187S. 


Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH   AVENUE  Published     Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  Unnm  1K19  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  i\wwu  ioi«  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  ,  _,  .,           .       „    ,     .      ^  .   

ri-oat  Britain                     IS  75  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New  '  Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

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"55c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  MARCH  31,  1945  No.  13 


COLUMBIA  AND  THE  RECORD 


As  a  tribute  to  General  Sales  Manager  Abe  Montague's 
twenty  years  with  the  company,  Columbia  has  announced 
that  it  has  named  its  annual  sales  drive  the  "Montague 
Twentieth  Anniversary  Campaign." 

The  announcement  states  that,  during  the  campaign, 
Columbia  will  offer  the  greatest  product  lineup  in  the  com- 
pany's history,  and  tells  with  pride  that  the  company  has 
grown  from  a  modest,  humble  position  in  the  industry  to  one 
of  distinction  and  importance,  and  that  its  many  thousands 
of  exhibitor  friends  are  a  source  of  pride. 

As  a  service  to  the  subscribers  of  this  paper,  I  should  like 
to  present  some  of  the  facts  concerning  the  record  Columbia 
has  made  for  itself  in  recent  years. 

But,  first,  I  should  like  to  set  down  the  outstanding  films 
Columbia  promises  to  deliver  during  the  current  sales  drive, 
which  covers  the  fifteen  week  period  from  March  16  to 
June  28.  They  are:  "Counter-Attack,"  with  Paul  Muni; 
"Over  21,"  with  Irene  Dunne;  "A  Thousand  ond  One 
Nights,"  with  Cornel  Wilde;  and  "The  Fighting  Guards- 
man." 

Let  us  now  go  back  to  Columbia's  1943-44  sales  cam- 
paign, which  was  known  as  "Dates  to  Win."  Here  is  what 
Columbia  promised  and  what  it  failed  to  deliver.  Promised 
for  delivery  during  the  period  covered  by  the  drive  were 
"Cover  Girl,"  "Curly"  (released  as  "Once  Upon  a  Time"), 
"Address  Unknown,"  "Pilebuck"  (released  as  "Secret  Com- 
mand"), "Mr.  Winkle  Goes  to  War,"  "Road  to  Yesterday" 
(released  as  "Together  Again"),  "Tonight  and  Every 
Night,"  with  Rita  Hayworth,  and  a  Kay  Kyser  musical 
("Carolina  Blues").  Columbia  failed  to  deliver  during  the 
campaign  period  "Secret  Command,"  "Mr.  Winkle  Goes  to 
War,"  and  "Carolina  Blues,"  but  it  did  deliver  these  pictures 
later  on  in  the  season.  In  addition,  it  failed  to  deliver  "To- 
gether Again"  and  "Tonight  and  Every  Night,"  the  two 
most  important  productions  it  promised,  and,  as  you  all 
know,  it  withheld  these  pictures  from  the  1943-44  contract- 
holders  and  placed  them  on  the  1944-45  program.  Thus  we 
find  that  out  of  eight  top  productions  promised  for  delivery 
during  the  "Dates  to  Win"  campaign,  only  three  were  de- 
livered within  the  specified  time,  three  at  later  dates,  and 
two  withheld.  (Incidentally,  such  pictures  as  "Cover  Girl," 
"What  a  Woman,"  and  "Sahara,"  which  were  delivered 
during  1943-44,  were  withheld  from  the  1942-43  contract- 
holders.) 

Let  us  now  take  up  Columbia's  record  of  performances 
for  the  current  season  up  to  the  present  time:  Most  of  you 
will  recall  that,  when  Columbia  announced  its  program  for 
1944-45,  it  changed  its  method  of  approach;  that  is,  instead 
of  making  definite  promises  as  to  what  pictures  it  would 
deliver,  it  listed  its  roster  of  players  and  story  properties, 
and  stated  that  its  "program  for  1944-45  will  be  selected 
from  such  personalities  and  material  as  are  hereby  listed,  or 
from  additional  material  acquired  and  produced  during  the 
year." 

In  explaining  this  new  method  of  approach,  Columbia 
stated  in  the  announcement  that  "the  presentation  is  made  in 


this  form  at  this  time  in  order  that  the  company  may  remain 
elastic  in  its  thinking,  may  make  such  changes  as  it  believes 
to  be  in  the  best  interests  of  an  improved  program,  and 
consequently,  in  the  best  interests  of  the  theatres  served." 

Let  us  take  a  look  at  how  this  "elastic  thinking"  has 
worked  out  up  to  the  present  time.  The  only  positive  prom- 
ises Columbia  made  for  its  1944-45  season  were  that  it 
would  produce  44  features  (exclusive  of  westerns  and 
shorts),  and  that  twenty  of  these  forty-four  would  be  top- 
bracket  films.  The  announcement  called  these  twenty  top- 
bracket  pictures  "the  greatest  number  ever  offered  in  a 
single  year  by  Columbia  .  .  .  with  a  corresponding  reduction 
in  the  number  of  B  pictures." 

Thus  far,  Columbia  has  set  for  release  a  total  of  twenty- 


six  pictures.  These  are  the  following: 

6002  Tonight  and  Every  Night  Feb.  22 

6003  Together  Again   Dec.  22 

6014  Eadie  Was  a  Lady  Jan.  23 

6016  Strange  Affair   Oct.  8 

6017  Crime  Doctor's  Courage  Feb.  27 

6018  Rough,  Tough  and  Ready  Mar.  22 

6019  Leave  It  to  Bio n die  Feb.  22 

6021  Shadows  in  the  Night  Oct.  19 

6022  The  Mark  of  the  Whistler  Nov.  2 

6023  The  Power  of  the  Whistler  Apr.  19 

6024  I  Love  a  Mystery  Jan.  25 

6025  Tahiti  Nights  Dec.  28 

6026  Eve  Knew  Her  Apples  Apr.  12 

6028  Meet  Miss  Bobby  Socks  Oct.  12 

6032  She's  a  Sweetheart  Dec.  7 

6033  Sergeant  Mike  Nov.  9 

6034  A  Guy,  a  Gal,  and  a  Pal  Oct.  26 

6037  Escape  in  the  Fog  Apr.  5 

6038  Dancing  in  Manhattan  Dec.  14 

6039  Let's  Go  Steady  Jan.  4 

6040  The  Missing  Juror  Nov.  16 

6041  Youth  on  Trial  Jan.  11 

Counter-Attack   Apr.  26 

Boston  Blackie  Booked  on  Suspicion  May  10 

The  Fighting  Guardsman   May  24 


With  twenty-six  features  released  or  already  set  for  re- 
lease, there  still  remain  eighteen  pictures  to  complete  the 
forty-four  promised  for  the  season. 

As  said,  Columbia  has  promised  twenty  top-bracket  pic- 
tures. If  you  will  examine  the  preceding  release  schedule, 
you  will  notice  that  only  seven  productions  have  been  so  far 
allocated  to  the  top  bracket  of  twenty.  Of  these,  "Tonight 
and  Every  Night"  and  "Together  Again"  have  been  allo- 
cated rightly.  The  other  five,  "Eadie  was  a  Lady,"  "Strange 
Affair,"  "Crime  Doctor's  Courage,"  "Rough,  Tough,  and 
Ready,"  and  "Leave  It  to  Blondie,"  are  strictly  program 
pictures, — not  one  of  them  is  good  enough  to  top  a  double 
bill.  Yet  we  find  them  as  part  of  the  top  bracket  of  twenty. 
Now,  what  will  be  the  thirteen  pictures  still  needed  to  round 
out  the  top  twenty? 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


50 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  31,  1945 


"The  Affairs  of  Susan"  with  Joan  Fontaine 
and  George  Brent 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  109  min.) 
Audiences  should  enjoy  many  hearty  laughs  in 
this  comedyfarce.  The  story  is  thin,  but  good  direc- 
tion  and  the  zestful  acting  of  the  players  make  it 
highly  entertaining.  Despite  some  slow  stretches  in 
the  action,  it  holds  one's  attention  well,  has  witty  dia- 
logue, and  maintains  a  note  of  high  comedy  from  be- 
ginning to  end.  Joan  Fontaine  is  particularly  good  as 
a  comedienne.  As  the  vivacious  young  woman  with 
whom  four  men  fall  in  love,  she  portrays  three  dis- 
tinctive personalities — an  honest,  naive  woman;  a 
frivolous,  sophisticated  play-girl;  and  an  intellectual, 
unemotional  woman,  each  personality  depending  on 
the  temperament  of  the  man  with  whom  she  was  ro- 
mancing at  the  time.  These  romances  are  the  cause  for 
much  laughter,  particularly  because  one  of  the  suitors 
is  her  former  husband.  Since  one  cannot  guess  which 
one  of  the  suitors  she  will  finally  marry,  one  is  held  in 
suspense  right  to  the  end.  The  production  values  are 
good,  and  the  clothes  Miss  Fontaine  wears  should  de- 
light women  patrons. 

In  the  development  of  the  story,  Walter  Abel,  a 
conservative  Government  official,  falls  in  love  with 
Joan,  who  accepts  his  proposal  of  marriage.  When  he 
learns  that  she  had  been  divorced  from  George  Brent, 
a  Broadway  producer,  and  that  she  had  been  engaged 
to  Dennis  O'Keefe,  a  serious  author,  and  Don  DeFore, 
a  wealthy  lumberman,  Abel  determines  to  find  out 
the  truth  about  his  bride-to-be.  He  invites  the  three 
men  to  dinner  and  asks  them  to  relate  their  experi- 
ences with  Joan.  In  a  series  of  flashbacks  it  is  shown 
how  Brent  met  Joan  on  a  remote  island  off  the  New 
England  coast.  Her  beauty  and  unworldliness  had  so 
intrigued  him  that  he  had  made  her  a  great  stage  star 
and  had  married  her.  But  her  inherent  honesty  and 
inability  to  lie  had  embarrassed  him  so  often  that  it 
eventually  led  to  their  divorce.  When  she  returned 
from  Reno,  she  had  met  DeFore  in  Brent  s  office  and, 
by  deliberately  behaving  as  a  gay,  glamorous  woman, 
and  by  lying  shamelessly,  had  induced  him  to  back  one 
of  Brent's  plays.  Her  bold  actions,  however,  had 
proved  too  much  for  DeFore,  causing  him  to  break 
their  engagement.  She  next  met  O'Keefe  on  a  park 
bench,  and  had  become  so  intrigued  by  his  serious 
writings  that  siie  took  to  wearing  mannish  clothes  and 
assumed  an  intellectual  air.  But  this  romance  soon 
came  to  an  abrupt  end  when,  after  deliberately  getting 
O'Keefe  drunk  to  trick  him  into  marrying  her,  her 
innate  honesty  had  triumphed  and  she  had  let  him 
alone.  Their  stories  told,  all  three  men  realize  their 
love  for  Joan  and,  with  Abel  following  closely,  make 
a  dash  for  her  apartment,  where  each  pleads  his  case. 
Brent  emerges  victorious. 

Thomas  Monroe,  Laszlo  Gorog,  and  Richard  Flour- 
noy  wrote  the  screen  play,  Hal  B.  Wallis  produced  it, 
and  William  Seiter  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"G.I.  Honeymoon"  with  Gale  Storm 
and  Peter  Cookson 

(Monogram,  March  9;  time,  70  min.) 
A  fairly  entertaining  program  comedy-farce;  it  is 
nonsensical  and  occasionally  suggestive,  but  it  is  not 
offensive.  The  story  deals  with  the  frustrations  of  a 
soldier  and  his  bride  who,  because  of  military  orders 
and  other  incidents,  find  themselves  unable  to  con- 


summate their  marriage.  Basically,  the  story  idea  is 
good,  but  it  has  been  given  a  weak  script  and  mediocre 
direction.  The  comedy  is  quite  funny  in  spots,  but 
much  of  it  is  pretty  dull  because  of  the  obviously  con- 
trived, trite  farcical  situations;  yet  they  are  of  the 
sort  that  will  probably  draw  hearty  laughter  from 
undiscriminating  patrons.  The  pace  is  fast: — 

Just  as  Gale  Storm  and  Lieut.  Peter  Cookson  are 
married,  he  receives  orders  to  report  for  duty  imme- 
diately. Gale  follows  him  and,  on  the  train,  flirts  with 
Jerome  Cowan,  a  gambler,  and  tricks  him  into  ex- 
changing his  drawing  room  for  her  upper  berth.  Her 
desire  to  be  alone  with  her  husband  is  frustrated  when 
he  is  ordered  to  stand  guard  duty  on  the  train  all 
night.  Arriving  at  their  destination,  Gale,  through  a 
series  of  coincidents,  rents  an  apartment  from 
Cowan,  unaware  that  the  building  had  been  declared 
out  of  bounds  by  the  army  because  he  operated  a 
gambling  establishment.  Gale  unwittingly  arranges 
a  reception  for  her  husband's  fellow  officers  and  his 
commanding  Colonel,  but,  prior  to  their  arrival,  a 
group  of  soldiers  come  to  the  apartment  in  the  belief 
that  it  was  a  gambling  "joint."  Gale,  mistaking  them 
for  her  husband's  guests,  entertains  them.  She  realizes 
the  truth  when  the  officers  and  their  wives  begin  to 
arrive,  and  manages  to  hide  the  soldiers  in  different 
parts  of  the  apartment.  Meanwhile  Cowan,  seeking 
revenge  on  Gale  for  tricking  him  on  the  train,  notifies 
the  military  police  that  her  apartment  was  filled  with 
"brass  hats,"  who  were  out  of  bounds.  With  the  ar- 
rival of  the  police,  Cookson 's  irate  Colonel  orders  his 
arrest.  It  all  turns  out  for  the  best  when  Gale's  aunt, 
arriving  for  a  visit,  proves  to  be  an  old  girl-friend  of 
the  Colonel,  and  persuades  him  to  release  Cookson. 
Given  a  forty-eight  hour  pass  for  a  belated  honey- 
moon, Cookson  finds  himself  frustrated  once  again 
when  an  announcement  comes  over  the  radio  can- 
celling all  leaves. 

Richard  Weil,  Jr.,  wrote  the  screen  play,  Lindsley 
Parsons  produced  it,  and  Phil  Karlstcin  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Arline  Judge,  Frank  Jenks  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Power  of  the  Whistler" 
with  Richard  Dix 

(Columbia,  April  19;  time,  67  mm.) 
This  third  in  the  "Whistler"  series  of  program 
psychological  murder  melodramas  is  decidedly  in- 
ferior to  the  other  two  pictures.  It  lacks  the  suspense 
that  was  so  predominant  in  the  first  two  pictures, 
which  were  directed  expertly  by  William  Castle,  and 
the  story  is  so  confusing  and  so  illogical  that  one  loses 
interest  in  the  outcome.  Moreover,  it  is  unpleasant, 
for  the  leading  character  is  a  homicidal  maniac  whose 
actions  throughout  are  far  from  pleasurable.  Particu- 
larly distasteful  are  the  closing  scenes  in  which  the 
heroine,  to  save  herself,  kills  the  maniac  by  stabbing 
him  in  the  throat  with  a  pitchfork.  Although  this 
killing  is  done  in  self-defense,  one  canont  escape  the 
feeling  that  it  is  coldblooded.  There  is  no  comedy 
relief : — 

Richard  Dix,  an  escaped  maniac  from  a  mental  in- 
stitution, suffers  a  temporary  loss  of  memory  when  he 
is  accidentally  struck  by  a  car.  He  wanders  into  a  cafe, 
where  Janis  Carter,  without  his  knowledge,  tells  his 
fortune  with  a  deck  of  cards.  The  cards  foretell  death 
for  him  within  twenty- four  hours,  and  Janis  warns 


March  31,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


51 


him  of  his  danger.  When  he  tells  her  that  he  had  just 
suffered  a  loss  of  memory,  Janis  offers  to  help  him. 
Through  different  papers  found  on  his  person,  Janis 
institutes  an  unsuccessful  investigation  to  learn  his 
identity.  She  arranges  to  have  him  spend  the  night  at 
her  apartment,  and  persuades  her  sister  (Jeff  Don' 
nell)  to  help  check  a  few  more  of  the  clues  to  his 
identity.  On  the  following  morning,  Dix  recovers  his 
memory  but  does  not  mention  it  to  Janis;  he  planned 
to  use  her  in  a  scheme  to  murder  the  chief  warden  of 
the  institution  from  which  he  had  escaped.  Pretending 
a  partial  recovery  of  his  memory,  Dix  persuades  Janis 
to  accompany  him  to  the  town  where  the  warden 
lived.  Meanwhile  Jeff,  following  up  the  clues  to  Dix's 
identity,  discovers  who  he  really  is  and  learns  of  his 
scheme  to  murder  the  warden.  She  notifies  the  police 
and  spurs  them  into  action.  Shortly  after,  Dix,  driv- 
ing an  automobile  to  the  warden's  home,  is  stopped  by 
the  police.  He  lies  his  way  out  of  the  situation,  arous- 
ing  Janis'  suspicion.  When  she  questions  him,  he  re- 
veals his  identity  and  reaches  for  a  knife  to  kill  her  lest 
she  foil  his  plans.  She  manages  to  wrench  herself  free, 
and  flees  for  her  life,  Dix  in  pursuit.  She  reaches  a 
barn  and  hides  in  the  hay  loft,  but  Dix,  still  wielding 
the  knife,  climbs  up  after  her.  To  save  herself,  she 
picks  up  a  pitchfork  and  stabs  him  to  death. 

Aubrey  wisberg  wrote  the  screen  play,  Leonard  S. 
Picker  produced  it,  and  Lew  Landers  directed  it. 

Too  morbid  for  children. 


"Eve  Knew  Her  Apples"  with  Ann  Miller 
and  William  Wright 

(Columbia,  April  12;  time,  64  min.) 
Just  a  moderately  amusing  program  comedy.  It  has 
a  few  good  comedy  situations,  but  for  the  most  part  it 
is  silly  and  may  prove  tiresome.  An  attempt  has  been 
made  by  the  producers  to  imitate  "It  Happened  One 
Night,"  but  the  results  are  feeble.  There  are  no  novel 
twists  in  the  plot;  it  unfolds  in  just  the  manner  one 
expects.  Ann  Miller  sings  a  few  songs  of  the  popular 
variety,  which  come  as  a  welcome  relief  from  the 
story's  tediousness.  She  does  not,  however,  do  any 
dancing;  this  is  unfortunate,  for  had  she  danced  it 
would  have  undoubtedly  bolstered  the  entertainment 
values:- — 

Ann  Miller,  a  singing  radio  star,  is  followed  to  a 
summer  resort  by  Ray  Walker,  her  manager,  who 
objected  to  her  taking  a  vacation;  he  wanted  her  to 
continue  working  and  to  sign  a  motion  picture  con- 
tract. To  escape  Walker,  Ann  hides  in  an  old  auto- 
mobile owned  by  William  Wright,  a  reporter.  Shortly 
after,  Wright's  car  is  stopped  by  the  police,  who  were 
searching  for  an  escaped  murderess.  Later,  when 
Wright  discovers  Ann,  he  believes  her  to  be  the  mur- 
deress. He  contacts  his  editor  and  promises  a  scoop. 
Meanwhile  Walker  and  John  Eldredge,  Ann's  weal- 
thy fiance,  had  offered  a  $5000  reward  to  the  person 
finding  her.  Wright  eventually  learns  of  her  identity 
and  of  her  reasons  for  hiding  out.  Both  fall  in  love 
and  decide  to  marry.  Wright  leaves  her  at  a  farm  and 
goes  to  his  newspaper  office,  where  he  files  a  story 
about  his  forthcoming  marriage  to  her.  While  he  is 
gone,  a  farmer  discovers  Ann  and  reports  her  where- 
abouts to  her  fiance,  who  drives  out  and  picks  her  up. 
Believing  that  Wright  had  deserted  her,  and  that  he 
had  revealed  her  presence  on  the  farm  to  collect  the 
reward  money,  Ann  determines  to  marry  Eldredge 
immediately.  Wright,  learning  that  she  had  been 


found,  and  that  she  planned  to  marry  Eldredge,  as- 
sumes that  she  had  played  him  for  a  fool.  Angered,  he 
notifies  Walker  that  he  was  coming  to  his  office  to  put 
in  a  claim  for  money.  Ann  becomes  even  more  infuri- 
ated when  she  learns  of  this,  but  when  Wright  claims 
only  $35  for  expenses  incurred  while  aiding  her,  Ann 
realizes  the  truth  and  reunites  with  him. 

E.  Edwin  Moran  wrote  the  screen  play,  Wallace 
MacDonald  produced  it,  and  Will  Jason  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Corn  Is  Green"  with  Bette  Davis 
and  John  Dall 

(Warner  Bros.,  no  release  date  set;  time,  114  min.) 

An  excellent  dramatic  entertainment,  finely  pro- 
duced. It  is  a  good  combination  of  a  human  interest 
story  and  skillful  characterizations,  with  intelligent 
and  sensitive  direction.  Its  appeal,  however,  will  be 
mainly  to  high  class  audiences;  as  far  as  the  masses 
are  concerned,  although  there  is  human  interest  in 
the  story,  it  is  too  wordy,  and  since  there  is  little 
action,  many  patrons  may  become  fidgety.  Moreover, 
the  atmosphere  is  heavy  and  there  is  little  comedy 
relief.  Bette  Davis  does  artistic  work  as  the  middle- 
aged  London  schoolteacher,  who  comes  to  a  poor 
Welsh  mining  town  with  a  determination  to  bring  the 
benefits  of  education  to  illiterate  boys.  She  is  at  all 
times  a  sympathetic  character,  because  of  her  self- 
sacrificing  efforts  to  help  the  underprivileged.  It  is  a 
drama  of  courage  and  faith,  with  many  situations 
that  will  stir  the  emotions.  Although  its  chief  appeal 
will  be  to  the  classes,  Bette  Davis'  popularity,  and  the 
fact  that  the  story  had  been  adapted  from  a  famous 
stage  play,  should  help  to  draw  the  rank  and  file : — 

Arriving  in  the  mining  town  to  take  up  residence 
in  a  house  she  had  recently  inherited,  Miss  Davis  is 
appalled  by  the  ignorance  and  poverty  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, who  sent  their  twelve-year-old  children  to  work 
in  the  mines.  She  launches  an  educational  program  to 
stamp  out  illiteracy,  but  her  efforts  are  sabotaged  by 
the  local  squire  (Nigel  Bruce) ,  who  feared  that  edu- 
cated youngsters  would  be  to  his  economic  dis- 
advantage. Undaunted,  Miss  Davis  turns  her  home 
into  a  school  and  employs,  at  her  own  expense,  two 
assistant  teachers.  When  she  discovers  among  her 
pupils  John  Dall,  a  gifted  young  miner,  she  deter- 
mines to  make  something  of  him  in  the  hope  that  he 
will  one  day  lead  his  people.  In  two  years,  Dall  pro- 
gresses so  rapidly  that  Miss  Davis  prepares  him  for 
an  Oxford  scholarship.  But  the  boy,  rebelling  against 
her  constant  driving,  gets  drunk  one  evening  and  has 
an  affair  with  Joan  Lorring,  disreputable  daughter  of 
Miss  Davis'  cockney  housekeeper.  Months  later,  when 
Miss  Davis  learns  of  Joan's  pregnancy,  she  bribes  the 
girl  to  keep  the  news  from  Dall  lest  it  interfere  with 
his  examinations.  Dall  wins  the  scholarship,  but, 
when  he  learns  that  Joan  had  borne  his  illegitimate 
son,  he  insists  upon  marrying  her  and  returning  to 
the  mines.  Violently  opposed  to  his  giving  up  his  bril- 
liant future  to  live  with  Joan,  who  neither  loved  Dall 
nor  wanted  the  child,  Miss  Davis  solves  the  problem 
by  adopting  the  baby.  Grateful,  Dall  goes  on  to 
Oxford. 

Casey  Robinson  and  Frank  Cavett  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Jack  Chertok  produced  it,  and  Irving  Rapper 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Rhys  Williams,  Rosa- 
lind Ivan,  Mildred  Dunnock  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


52 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  31,  1945 


Assuming  that  Columbia  will  deliver  "Over  21,"  "The 
Fighting  Guardsman,"  "Counter- Attack,"  and  "A  Thou- 
sand and  One  Nights,"  the  four  top  bracket  pictures  prom- 
ised for  delivery  during  the  current  sales  drive,  and  assum- 
ing also  that  they  will  be  placed  in  the  top  brackets,  there 
will  be  left  nine  pictures  to  complete  the  top  bracket  twenty. 

Let  us  see  what  Columbia  has  to  offer  from  among  its 
properties,  and  which  of  these  properties  are  in  production, 
so  that  we  may  contemplate  delivery  this  season. 

From  the  information  that  I  have  been  able  to  gather,  the 
following  pictures  have  been  completed  but  have  not  yet 
been  set  for  release:  "Ten  Cents  a  Dance,"  "Blonde  from 
Brooklyn,"  and  "Surprise  in  the  Night."  All  three  are  of 
program  grade.  The  only  picture  now  in  production  (other 
than  "Over  21")  is  "Kiss  and  Tell";  but  whether  this  top 
picture  will  be  delivered  to  the  1944-45  contract-holders 
depends  on  how  "elastic"  Columbia  remains  in  its  thinking. 
Columbia  has  announced  plans  for  the  production  of  "Some 
Call  It  Love,"  starring  Rosalind  Russell,  but  shooting  has 
not  yet  been  started.  Nor  has  anything  been  done  about  such 
properties  as  "Jacobowsky  and  the  Colonel,"  "Burlesque," 
"April  Showers,"  or  "Chatauqua."  All  these  were  among 
the  outstanding  properties  from  which  Columbia  stated  it 
would  select  its  1944-45  program.  When  Columbia  an- 
nounces its  1945-46  program  within  the  next  few  months, 
this  writer  will  not  be  surprised  to  find  these  properties  listed 
among  those  of  the  new  season;  it  is  an  old  Columbia  prac- 
tice to  remove  properties  from  one  season  and  dangle  them 
as  bait  for  prospective  new-season  customers. 

Thus  we  find  that  "Kiss  and  Tell"  is  the  only  top-bracket 
picture  now  in  production,  but  since  Columbia  has  made 
no  announcement  that  it  will  release  it  this  season,  Har- 
rison's Reports  ventures  to  say  that,  on  the  basis  of  Colum- 
bia's past  performances,  it  will  probably  be  withheld  from 
the  1944-45  contract-holders,  and  offered  for  delivery  in  the 
1945-46  season.  And  if  "Kiss  and  Tell"  should  turn  out  to 
be  an  outstanding  production,  there  is  a  possibility  that  Co- 
lumbia will  give  it  the  "Song  to  Remember"  treatment;  that 
is,  sell  the  picture  separate  and  apart  from  any  program, 
taking  it  away  from  such  exhibitors  as  are  entitled  to  it. 

Since  there  are  no  other  top-bracket  pictures  in  produc- 
tion, and  since  those  that  are  already  completed  are  strictly 
of  program  grade,  the  question  of  what  pictures  will  even- 
tually be  allocated  to  complete  the  top  bracket  of  twenty  is 
indeed  pertinent.  It  is  so  pertinent,  in  fact,  that  Columbia 
owes  it  to  its  "thousands  of  exhibitor  friends"  to  furnish  an 
answer.  And  unless  such  an  answer  is  given,  every  exhibitor 
has  the  right  to  ask  whether  Columbia  will  pursue  the  tac- 
tics it  employed  in  previous  years,  and  is  still  employing  in 
the  current  season — that  of  allocating  pictures  of  lesser  value 
to  the  high  film  rental  brackets,  subjecting  the  exhibitors  to 
loss  of  revenue. 

Examine  the  release  schedule  once  more  to  see  the  type 
of  pictures  that  have  been  given  allocation  numbers  6014, 
6016,  6017,  6018,  and  6019:  not  one  is  worthy  of  topping 
a  double  bill;  yet  they  comprise  part  of  the  top  twenty. 

Other  than  "Tonight  and  Every  Night"  and  "Together 
Again,"  the  quality  of  Columbia's  product  thus  far  this 
season  has  ben  mediocre,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two 
program  pictures,  which  were  no  more  than  fair.  But,  in 
fairness,  it  should  be  said  that  the  majority  of  the  product 
has  been  no  worse  than  that  of  some  of  the  other  companies. 

Here  is  again  an  opportunity  for  Columbia  to  redeem  it- 
self in  the  eyes  of  the  exhibitors,  and  really  to  pay  a  tribute 
to  Abe  Montague,  its  general  sales  manager,  in  whose  honor 
the  current  sales  drive  has  been  named.  With  but  a  few 
more  months  left  of  the  1944-45  season,  Columbia  should 
have  a  pretty  good  idea  of  what  productions  it  hopes  to  have 
completed,  and  to  which  brackets  it  intends  to  allocate  these 
pictures.  It  should  make  clear  its  intentions  to  its  customers, 
and,  if  the  prdouct  that  will  be  available  is  not  of  the  quality 


that  will  justify  allocation  in  the  higher  brackets,  it  should 
honestly  offer  to  make  proper  adjustments.  Once  Columbia 
makes  up  its  mind  to  stop  playing  the  game  of  "cat  and 
mouse,"  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  independent  exhibitors  will 
give  it  their  full  support.  But  until  Columbia  learns  to  deal 
in  a  forthright  manner,  no  exhibitor  can  be  blamed  for  be- 
ing wary  about  making  a  deal  with  its  representatives. 

Columbia's  past  has  been  so  inglorious  that  it  would  re- 
quire many  more  columns  to  give  you  all  the  facts.  I  have 
repeatedly  called  the  attention  of  these  injustices  to  the 
Columbia  executives  with  the  hope  that  they  would  reform, 
treating  the  exhibitors  in  a  fair  way,  but  I  have  not  suc- 
ceeded. And  I  have  grown  tired  of  dealing  with  their  in- 
justices in  these  columns  so  frequently.  But  regardless  of 
my  personal  feelings,  I  believe  that  these  are  facts  that  you 
are  entitled  to  know,  for  it  is  thus  that  you  can  protect  your 
interests. 


ARE  THE  LUSH  TIMES  OVER? 

A  drop  of  $7,000,000  in  theatre  admission  tax  collections 
in  December  as  compared  with  the  collections  in  November, 
as  disclosed  by  the  Internal  Revenue  Department,  is  indica- 
tive of  the  condition  that  many  exhibitors  have  long  been 
proclaiming — that  the  increased  receipts  were  due,  not  to 
increased  attendance,  but  to  the  increase  in  the  price  of  ad- 
missions. 

Though  when  the  new  admission  tax  schedules  were  put 
into  effect  the  tax  collections  almost  doubled  up,  many  ex- 
hibitor leaders  felt  that  the  receipts  would  eventually  suffer 
because  of  the  new  tax  rates.  They  had  the  same  effect  as  if 
the  prices  of  admission  themselves  were  increased,  for  the 
public  does  not,  as  a  rule,  stop  to  analyze  where  the  increase 
goes;  the  picture  patron  knows  only  one  thing — he  is  asked 
to  pay  more. 

If  the  drop  in  admission  tax  revenue  continues,  the  ex- 
hibitor organizations  should  at  once  plan  a  campaign  to  call 
this  condition  to  the  attention  of  Congress,  with  the  object 
in  view  of  inducing  it  to  reduce  the  taxes  to  where  they 
were  last  April.  The  exhibitors  should  tell  their  Congress- 
men that  the  effect  of  the  increased  taxes  was  to  reduce  the 
theatre  receipts  without  benefitting  the  Government.  Even 
if  the  tax  receipts  should  not  drop  to  exactly  what  they  were 
before  the  new  rates  went  into  effect,  Congress  should  be 
told  that  the  difference  is  more  than  offset  by  the  loss  of 
revenue  from  personal  income  taxes.  In  other  words,  though 
the  revenue  from  amusement  admissions  may  remain  slightly 
higher  than  it  was  before  the  new  rates  went  into  effect,  the 
portion  that  the  Government  will  receive  will  in  the  long 
run  be  smaller  because  the  owners  of  the  amusement  places, 
hit  by  a  reduction  in  theatre  receipts,  will  pay  less  income 
tax. 


THE  HONEYMOON  IS  OVER 

The  growing  print  shortage,  the  approaching  end  of  the 
European  war,  and  the  need  for  a  more  flexible  position  in 
order  to  liquidate  their  250  million  dollars  worth  of  stored 
films,  is  the  No.  1  problem  of  the  distributors,  states  a  recent 
bulletin  of  the  ITO  of  Northern  California. 

"They  (the  distributors),"  continues  the  bulletin,  "won't 
admit  that  the  honeymoon  is  over,  but  exhibitors  know  it 
and  unless  they  curb  their  film  rentals  to  conform  with  the 
shrinking  grosses  they  will  be  behind  the  8-ball.  Shrinking 
grosses  will  mean  shrinking  film  rentals  and  the  producers 
will  get  less  revenue  for  pictures  produced  at  a  greater  cost. 
This  time  it  will  not  do  them  any  good  to  cry  'we  have  to 
have  more  money  for  these  pictures  because  they  cost  us  so 
much."  Remember  when  they  cried,  'We  must  have  more 
money  because  we  have  lost  all  our  foreign  trade."  The  ex- 
hibitors were  suckers  once  but  will  not  be  again.  With  a  live 
and  let  live  program  they  would  not  have  been  caught  with 
a  large  inventory." 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH   AVENUE  Published     Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  Rnnm  1812  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  ftoom  ioi£  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain  16.50  .   _.  .  _  ,  .  „   

frpatRHKin                     15  7<>  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New" Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      m  Editoria,  PoiicT:  No  Probiem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

ibc  a  copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  APRIL  7,  1945  No.  14 


An  Opportunity  for  the  War  Activities  Committee 


Numerous  letters  from  exhibitors  all  over  the  country 
have  been  reaching  my  desk  commenting  on  the  editorial, 
"Public  Relations  and  the  War  Activities  Committee," 
which  appeared  in  the  March  24  issue  of  this  paper.  Typical 
of  the  comments  made  is  the  following  letter  from  Mr.  R.  W. 
Wood,  president  of  the  Circle  Theatre  Company,  in  Port' 
land,  Oregon: 

"I  have  just  read  your  article  in  the  issue  of  March  24 
on  'Public  Relations  and  the  WAC,'  and  how  true  it  is! 

"It  seems  rather  strange  that  after  all  the  efforts  we  and 
the  other  theatres  throughout  the  nation  have  given  to  the 
progress  of  the  war  that  the  theatres  should  be  treated  as 
joints. 

"As  you  probably  know  we  have  had  a  policy  of  being 
open  until  4  A.M.,  each  day  for  the  past  26  years.  With  the 
senseless  curfew  it  has  affected  business  here  30%,  which 
also  affects  bond  buying  and  reduces  tax  money  to  the 
Federal  Treasury  in  no  small  degree. 

"We  have  taken  part  in  all  the  Government  drives  from 
the  very  start. 

"You  probably  know  you  have  left  one  important  item 
out  of  your  list  of  five  mentioned,  that  last  year,  throughout 
the  nation  over  17,000  free  movie  days  were  given  in  sup- 
port of  bond  drives — the  theatres  paying  all  expenses. 

"Your  article  hit  the  nail  on  the  head  and  I  hope  it  may 
have  some  effect  on  those  who  know  nothing  about  con- 
ditions out  here  on  the  Coast,  where  we  don't  use  coal  and 
have  no  manpower  shortage." 

Mr.  Wood  raises  a  sound  argument  when  he  says  that 
"the  senseless  curfew  .  .  .  affects  bond  buying  and  reduces 
tax  money  to  the  Federal  Treasury."  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
it  is  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  the  War  Activities 
Committee  could  use  in  an  effort  to  induce  the  Government 
to  rescind  the  curfew  order  insofar  as  it  affects  the  nation's 
motion  picture  theatres.  Thousands  of  these  theatres  sell 
bonds  during,  not  only  the  loan  drives,  but  also  every  other 
day  in  the  year.  Because  of  the  convenience,  many  persons 
have  bought  their  bonds  at  theatres  only.  But  a  large  part 
of  them,  now  that  the  theatres'  box-offices  close  too  early 
to  suit  their  time  of  liesure,  neither  attend  the  theatres  nor 
buy  bonds.  Thus  the  Government  loses  out  in  three  ways — 
bond  sales,  admission  taxes,  and  income  taxes  from  theatre 
operations. 

The  other  exhibitors  who  have  written  me,  as  well  as 
Mr.  Wood,  make  particular  mention  of  the  fact  that  the 
Government  seemingly  lacks  consideration  of  the  work  the 
motion  picture  theatres  have  done  and  still  are  doing  for  the 
war  effort. 

The  fault  lies,  not  with  the  Government,  but  with  the 
industry's  War  Activities  Committee,  which,  as  it  has  al- 
ready been  said  in  these  columns,  is  the  ideal  agency  for  the 
handling  of  the  industry's  public  relations  during  war-time, 
since  its  members  represent  every  branch  of  the  industry. 
Unfortunately,  the  WAC  has  not  functioned  as  a  truly 
representative  body;  its  affairs  have  been  run  by  a  small 
clique,  which  has  usurped  the  powers  of  the  different  com- 
mittees that  make  up  the  organization.  Though  the  mem- 


bers of  these  committees  represent  many  industry  organi- 
zations, they  are,  in  reality,  mere  window-dressing.  On  more 
than  one  occasion  has  it  been  brought  to  my  attention  that 
many  members  of  these  committees  were  neither  consulted 
nor  advised  in  regard  to  matters  that  affected  the  industry 
as  a  whole.  The  decisions  were  made  privately  by  the  ruling 
clique,  Brandt,  Fabian,  Harmon. 

If  something  is  to  be  done  about  the  curfew,  or  about 
any  other  Government  ruling,  for  that  matter,  the  plan  of 
procedure  should  not  be  decided  by  a  handful  of  men.  Con- 
sider, for  instance,  the  case  of  Mr.  Woods'  Circle  Theatre, 
in  Portland.  In  his  particular  territory  there  is  neither  a 
shortage  of  coal  nor  of  manpower.  Why,  then,  should  Mr. 
Wood  be  made  to  close  his  theatre  at  midnight?  In  other 
territories  similar  conditions  may  exist,  causing  exhibitors 
to  undergo  unnecessary  hardships  as  a  result  of  a  blanket 
ruling  by  the  Government.  How  can  a  handful  of  men,  un- 
familiar with  conditions  in  film  territories  other  than  their 
own — conditions  such  as  are  described  by  Mr.  Wood,  take 
it  upon  themselves  to  act  for  the  exhibitors  of  those  terri- 
tories? By  proper  representation,  it  may  be  possible  to  in- 
duce the  Government  to  relax  its  rulings  in  areas  where 
there  is  an  absence  of  the  conditions  that  brought  on  the 
rulings.  And  no  fair-minded  exhibitor  in  a  "stricken"  area 
would  object  to  such  a  procedure,  since  the  imposition  of 
unnecessary  hardships  on  his  fellow-exhibitors  will  not 
alleviate  his  own  hardships. 

The  solution  of  the  public  relations  problem  will  come 
about  only  when  the  War  Activities  Committee  makes  up 
its  mind  to  act  as  a  body,  and  to  enlist  the  support  and  in- 
fluence of  every  exhibitor  to  induce  the  Government  to 
modify  rulings  that  work  a  hardship  on  the  business  with- 
out in  any  way  helping  the  war  effort. 

Here  is  a  chance  for  the  War  Activities  Committee  to 
drop  politics  and  to  render  a  real  service  to  the  motion 
picture  industry  as  a  whole. 

*       *  * 

From  Martin  Smith,  president  of  National  Allied: 

"I  have  just  finished  reading  your  editorial  'Public  Rela- 
tions and  the  War  Activities  Committee'  as  it  appeared  in 
your  Reports  of  March  24th. 

"Please  accept  my  heartiest  congratulations  on  not  only 
grasping  the  significance  of  the  situation  but  also  in  carry- 
ing your  views  in  the  Reports." 

From  Sidney  E.  Samuelson,  general  manager  of  the 
Allied  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania: 

"Compliments  and  congratulations  on  your  splendid, 
fearless  editorial  on  'Public  Relations  and  the  War  Activi- 
ties Committee.' 

"Is  it  too  much  to  hope  that  some  one  of  the  so-called 
big  executives  of  the  industry  will  heed  your  warning  and 
take  action,  thereby  preventing  untold  future  grief?  I  hope 
so,  but  I  doubt  it." 

Lack  of  space  prevents  my  reproducing  other  such  letters, 
from  independent  exhibitors,  but  the  preceding  two  should 
give  you  a  clear  idea  of  how  they  feel  about  this  question. 


54 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  7,  1945 


"The  Silver  Fleet"  with  Ralph  Richardson 
and  Googie  Withers 

(PRC,  June  15;  time,  77  mm.) 
Good  program  fare.  Based  on  the  underground  resistance 
theme,  this  British-made  melodrama  ranks  with  the  better 
pictures  of  its  type.  The  story,  which  has  its  locale  in  Hol- 
land, is  intriguing  and,  without  resorting  to  sensational 
melodramatics,  the  action  maintains  a  steady  undercurrent 
of  excitement  and  suspense  from  start  to  finish,  owing  to 
the  constant  danger  to  the  hero,  who  pretends  collaboration 
with  the  Nazis  in  order  to  gain  their  confidence.  The  plot 
differs  from  the  usual  story  of  its  type  in  that  the  hero  aids 
his  fellow-patriots  to  commit  acts  of  sabotage  without  re- 
vealing his  identity,  even  permitting  them,  as  well  as  his 
wife,  to  think  of  him  as  a  "Quisling."  The  acting  of  the 
entire  cast,  particularly  Ralph  Richardson,  is  impressive: — 

Richardson,  head  of  a  Dutch  shipbuilding  yard,  is  "re- 
quested" by  the  Nazis  to  continue  its  management  when 
they  occupy  Holland.  Sensing  an  opportunity  to  be  of 
service  to  his  country,  Richardson  feigns  collaboration  with 
the  Nazis,  winning  their  confidence.  He  uses  his  position 
to  gain  valuable  information  about  trial  runs  on  a  com- 
pleted submarine  and,  without  revealing  his  identity,  sends 
instructions  to  a  group  of  Dutch  patriots,  enabling  them 
to  overpower  the  Nazi  crew  and  to  sail  the  submarine  to 
England.  Meanwhile  the  unsuspecting  patriots,  as  well  as 
his  wile  (Googic  Withers),  treats  him  as  a  "Quisling."  But 
he  does  not  reveal  to  them  his  true  work  lest  one  of  them 
unwittingly  interfere  with  his  sabotage  plans.  Upon  com- 
pletion of  the  second  submarine,  Richardson  finds  that  its 
sabotage  presents  a  difficult  problem  because  of  the  Nazis' 
refusal  to  allow  a  Dutchman  on  board  during  the  trial  runs. 
Cleverly  playing  his  hand,  Richardson,  as  a  reward  for  his 
cooperation,  secures  an  invitation  to  accompany  a  party  of 
important  Nazi  officials  on  the  trials.  All,  including  Rich- 
ardson, lose  their  lives  when  the  submarine  submerges  and, 
through  mechanism  installed  secretly  by  Richardson,  ex- 
plodes. At  home,  Richardson's  diary  reveals  to  his  wife  his 
great  courage  and  sacrifice. 

Vernon  C.  Sewell  and  Gordon  Wellesley  wrote  the 
screen  play  and  directed  it.  Michael  Powell  and  Emeric 
Pressburgcr  produced  it.  The  cast  includes  Esmond  Knight, 
Beresford  Egan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Phantom  of  42nd  Street"  with 
Dave  O'Brien  and  Kay  Aldridge 

(PRC,  May  2;  time,  58  min.) 

Just  moderately  interesting  program  fare.  It  is  a  murder 
mystery  melodrama,  with  comedy,  differing  little  in  quality 
from  the  usual  run  of  such  low-budgeted  pictures.  The  story 
is  somewhat  trite,  and  its  treatment  is  so  routine  that  one 
finds  his  interest  in  the  proceedings  lagging.  It  may,  how- 
ever, prove  acceptable  to  the  ardent,  undiscriminating  fol' 
lowers  of  this  type  of  entertainment,  for  some  of  the  situa- 
tions are  suspenseful.  Frank  Jenks,  as  a  taxi  driver,  handles 
most  of  the  comedy,  but  little  of  it  is  effective.  In  general, 
the  acting  is  unimpressive: — 

Dave  O'Brien,  a  dramatic  critic  covering  the  theatrical 
debut  of  Kay  Aldridge,  daughter  of  Alan  Mowbray,  a  noted 
actor,  neglects  to  telephone  his  editor  when  Mowbray's 
millionaire  brother  is  murdered  mysteriously  during  the  in- 
termission. Scoffed  at  by  the  editor,  O'Brien  determines  to 
prove  that  he  is  a  good  newspaperman  by  solving  the  crime. 
He  becomes  friendly  with  Kay  and  learns  from  her  that  she 
was  worried  about  her  father's  safety,  because  a  strange 
woman  had  been  lurking  near  her  home.  The  murder  of  a 
watchman  who  had  worked  with  Mowbray  twenty-five  years 
previously  convinces  O'Brien  that  Mowbray's  old  Reper- 
tory Company  held  the  solution  to  the  crimes.  He  investi- 
gates the  woman  (Edythe  Elliott)  who  had  been  lurking 


about  Mowbray's  home  and  discovers  that  6he  was  Kay's 
mother,  whom  the  girl  thought  was  dead.  He  learns  from 
Miss  Elliott  that,  as  the  Repertory  Company's  ingenue,  she 
had  loved  Stanley  Price,  an  actor,  but  had  married  Mowbray 
when  Price  disappeared.  Mowbray's  murdered  brother,  too, 
wanted  to  marry  her.  After  Kay's  birth,  she  had  divorced 
Mowbray  to  marry  Price.  Eventually,  she  divorced  Price, 
and  the  last  she  heard  of  him  was  that  he  had  died  in  an 
asylum.  The  murder  of  another  former  member  of  the  Re- 
pertory Company,  as  well  as  a  few  attempts  on  his  own  life, 
spur  O'Brien  into  action.  With  the  cooperation  of  the  police 
and  Mowbray,  he  arranges  for  a  benefit  performance  of 
Julius  Caesar,  in  order  that  Mowbray,  as  Caesar,  could  be 
used  as  a  target  by  the  murderer  during  the  part  when  Brutus 
stabs  him.  The  scheme  proves  successful,  enabling  O'Brien 
to  uncover  the  theatre's  stage  manager  as  the  killer,  who 
turns  out  to  be  Price  in  disguise.  O'Brien  proves  that  Price 
sought  revenge  on  Mowbray's  entire,  family,  because  he  felt 
they  were  responsible  for  his  broken  marriage  to  Miss  Elliott. 

Milton  Raison  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Albert  Herman 
directed  it.  Mr.  Herm  an  and  Martin  Mooncy  were  the  asso- 
ciate producers.  The  cast  includes  Jack  Mulhall  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Two  O'Clock  Courage"  with  Tom  Conway 
and  Ann  Rutherford 

(RKO.  no  release  date  set;  time,  66  min.) 
A  fairly  good  program  murder  mystery  melodrama.  The 
story  is  neither  novel  nor  logical,  but  it  holds  one's  atten- 
tion well  and  keeps  one  guessing  as  to  the  murderer's  identity. 
Since  the  hero  is  an  amnesia  victim,  who  learns  that  he  had 
been  involved  in  the  murder  but  does  not  know  if  he  had 
committed  the  crime,  the  interest  is  heightened  by  his  efforts 
to  establish  his  identity  and  to  solve  the  murder.  It  has 
effective  comedy,  too,  with  most  of  the  laughter  provoked 
by  Richard  Lane,  as  an  over-zealous  reporter,  who  con- 
stantly finds  himself  in  trouble  with  his  editor;  every  time 
he  report*  a  solution  to  the  crime,  a  new  development 
upsets  his  story: — 

Suffering  a  loss  of  memory  because  of  a  blow  on  the 
head,  Tom  Conway  is  found  staggering  on  the  street  by 
Ann  Rutherford,  a  girl  taxi  driver.  She  tends  to  his  wound 
and  offers  to  help  him  find  out  who  he  is.  On  their  way  to 
a  police  station,  they  hear  a  newsboy  shouting  about  the 
murder  of  a  local  theatrical  producer  and,  to  their  horror, 
find  that  Conway  fitted  the  description  of  the  dead  man's 
chauffeur,  who  was  suspected  of  the  crime.  Ann,  refusing 
to  believe  him  guilty,  offers  to  help  him  investigate.  They 
visit  the  chauffeur's  rooming  house,  where  the  landlady, 
greeting  Conway  as  a  stranger,  satisfies  him  that  he  was 
not  the  missing  man.  Following  the  clue  of  a  matchbook 
found  in  his  pocket,  Conway  goes  to  a  fashionable  night- 
club, where  he  is  recognized  by  Jean  Brooks,  an  actress; 
Lester  Matthews,  a  playwright;  and  Roland  Drew,  Jean's 
wealthy  fiance.  By  adroit  questioning,  Conway  learns  his 
name  and  discovers  that  he  had  quarreled  with  the  producer 
on  the  night  of  the  murder  about  a  play  written  by  a  friend. 
He  enters  the  dead  man's  home  to  search  for  the  script  only 
to  be  knocked  unconscious  by  an  unseen  assailant.  The 
blow  restores  his  memory,  and  he  recalls  that  he  had  ac- 
cused the  producer  and  Matthews  of  stealing  his  friend's 
play.  Subsequent  events  lead  Conway  to  suspect  Matthews 
of  the  crime,  but  the  mystery  is  cleared  up  when  Jean  kills 
the  playwright.  She  confesses  that  she  had  murdered  the 
producer  because  he  threatened  to  reveal  their  love  affair 
to  her  fiance,  and  that  she  had  killed  Matthews  because  he, 
too,  knew  of  her  past.  His  innocence  proved,  Conway  mar- 
ries Ann. 

Robert  E.  Kent  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ben  Stoloff  pre 
duced  it,  and  Anthony  Mann  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Bette  Jane  Greer,  Emory  Parnell  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


April  7,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


55 


"China's  Little  Devils"  with  Harry  Carey 
and  Paul  Kelly 

(Monogram,  April  27;  time,  74  min.) 

This  fanciful  war  melodrama  may  get  by  as  a  supporting 
feature  in  secondary  houses,  but  as  entertainment  it  will 
appeal  chiefly  to  the  juvenile  trade;  adults  may  find  it  all 
too  far-fetched.  The  action  revolves  mainly  around  a  small 
band  of  Chinese  refugee  children,  who  commit  totally  un- 
believable  acts  of  sabotage  against  the  Jap  military  in  occu' 
pied  China,  effect  miraculous  rescues  of  prisoners  with  the 
greatest  of  ease,  and  in  other  ways  make  complete  monkeys 
of  the  Japs,  even  when  it  comes  to  battling  it  out  with  fire 
arms.  The  Chinese  youngsters  are  appealing  and  their  per- 
formances are  good,  but  one  cannot  help  feeling  as  though 
he  were  watching  a  school  play.  Not  much  can  be  said  for 
the  direction: — 

Paul  Kelly,  a  Flying  Tiger,  lands  his  plane  in  the  ruins  of 
a  Chinese  village,  where  he  finds  Ducky  L.  Louie,  a  Chinese 
boy,  wounded  and  orphaned  by  the  war.  The  Flying  Tigers 
adopt  the  boy  and  teach  him  commando  tactics.  But  a  few 
years  later  they  decide  that  he  needs  an  education,  and  they 
send  him  to  a  missionary  school  operated  under  the  neutral 
American  flag  by  Harry  Carey,  a  kindly  doctor.  There, 
Ducky  organizes  and  trains  the  other  refugee  children  in 
commando  tactics  and,  despite  Carey's  pleas,  they  steal  out 
at  night  to  prey  on  the  Japanese.  During  one  of  their  ex- 
ploits, two  of  the  youngsters  are  taken  prisoners  while  blow- 
ing up  a  supply  base.  Carey  pleads  with  the  Japanese  com- 
mandant to  release  the  lads,  only  to  be  told  that  he  himself 
was  now  a  prisoner,  because  Japan  had  just  declared  war 
against  the  United  States.  Through  a  scheme  devised  by 
Ducky,  the  doctor  is  rescued  by  the  children  and  taken  to 
the  hills.  A  few  days  later,  Kelly's  plane  crashes  in  the 
vicinity  and  he  is  taken  prisoner  by  the  Japs.  The  youngsters, 
however,  through  Ducky's  ingenuity,  rescue  him.  After 
treating  Kelly's  wounds,  they  take  him  to  a  river  to  help 
him  get  back  to  the  Chinese  lines.  A  Japanese  patrol  con- 
verges on  them  in  an  effort  to  capture  Kelly,  but  the  children 
and  Carey  help  him  to  escape,  sacrificing  their  lives  as  they 
shoot  it  out  with  the  Japs. 

William  Hanley  and  Grant  Withers  wrote  the  screen 
play  and  produced  it,  and  Monta  Bell  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Philip  Ahn,  Richard  Loo  and  others. 

"The  Scarlet  Clue"  with  Sidney  Toler 
and  Manton  Moreland 

(Monogram,  April  20;  time,  64  min.) 

While  this  may  appeal  to  the  followers  of  the  "Charlie 
Chan"  murder  mystery  melodramas,  it  is  not  up  to  the 
standard  of  the  other  pictures  in  the  series,  in  that  the  action 
is  slow  and  the  mystery  of  the  murders  is  not  as  absorbing. 
Moreover,  most  of  the  acting  is  stilted  and,  since  the  out- 
come is  obvious,  it  holds  the  spectator  in  just  fair  suspense. 
The  comedy,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  amusing  bit  be- 
tween Manton  Moreland  and  Ben  Carter,  is  not  impressive. 
On  the  whole,  the  picture  leaves  one  with  the  feeling  that 
the  producers  are  having  a  difficult  time  finding  story  ma- 
terial with  which  to  continue  the  series: — 

While  investigating  a  spy  plot  to  steal  secret  radar  plans, 
Government  Agent  Charlie  Chan  (Sidney  Toler)  learns  that 
the  head  of  the  spy  ring  was  unknown  even  to  his  confed- 
erates. Chan  traces  the  murder  of  one  of  the  spies  to  Helen 
Devereaux,  a  radio  actress,  with  whom  the  murdered  man 
had  been  out  on  a  date.  Virginia  Brissac,  sponsor  of  Helen's 
radio  show,  openly  resented  Chan's  interference  with  re- 
hearsals in  order  to  carry  on  his  investigation.  Shortly  after, 
Janet  Shaw,  another  actress,  is  killed  by  a  mysterious  gas  in 
a  crowded  studio.  Unknown  to  Chan,  Janet  had  discovered 
that  the  station's  manager  (I.  Stanford  Jolley)  was  a  spy, 
and  she  had  tried  to  blackmail  him.  Later,  when  Chan's  sus- 
picions fall  on  Jolley,  the  mysterious  spy  leader  lures  him  to 
his  death  by  springing  a  trap  door  in  an  elevator.  To  snare 


the  leader,  Chan  leaves  the  safe  in  a  radar  laboratory  un- 
guarded. Subsequent  events  lead  to  the  murder  of  Jack 
Norton,  another  radio  actor,  and  help  Chan  to  discover  that 
the  murders  were  caused  by  an  ingenious  device  that  had 
been  hidden  in  the  studio  microphones  and  which  emitted 
an  invisible  gas.  As  a  result  of  this  discovery,  Chan,  aided 
by  Benson  Fong,  his  son,  and  Manton  Moreland,  his  chauf- 
feur, is  enabled  to  track  down  the  spy  leader,  who  turns  out 
to  be  Miss  Brissac,  the  radio  sponsor.  She  falls  into  her  own 
elevator  death  trap  in  an  attempt  to  escape  arrest. 

George  Callahan  wrote  the  screen  play,  James  S.  Burkett 
produced  it,  and  Phil  Rosen  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Robert  Homans  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Identity  Unknown"  with  Richard  Arlen 
and  Cheryl  Walker 

(Republic,  April  2;  time,  71  min.) 

A  fine  topical  drama,  well  directed  and  capably  acted. 
Revolving  around  a  returning  soldier,  stricken  with  amnesia, 
who  endeavors  to  establish  his  identity,  the  story  is  novel,  " 
has  deep  human  interest,  touches  of  sadness,  and  a  pleasing 
romance.  It  has  considerable  suspense,  too,  for  the  action 
takes  the  soldier  to  four  homes,  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  and  neither  he  nor  the  spectator  knows  which  one 
of  the  families  may  welcome  him  as  their  own.  The  picture 
should  appeal  to  most  audiences  because  of  the  deep  sym- 
pathy they  will  feel  for  the  hero,  who,  despite  his  own  bitter 
disappointments,  understandingly  gives  aid  and  comfort  to 
those  who  had  lost  loved  ones.  Richard  Arlen,  as  the  soldier, 
gives  a  very  good  account  of  himself,  as  do  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  cast: — 

Suffering  from  a  total  loss  of  memory,  Arlen,  learns  that 
his  identity  was  unknown  to  the  army,  because,  at  the  time 
he  and  four  other  soldiers  were  bombed  in  an  isolated  French 
farmhouse,  his  dog-tag  had  been  blown  off.  He  learns  also 
that  he  was  the  sole  survivor,  and  that  four  dog-tags  had 
been  found  in  the  debris.  His  commandant  (Ian  Keith)  felt 
sure  that  one  of  the  tags  bore  his  name  and,  pending  an 
investigation,  he  hands  Arlen  a  list  of  the  names  to  mull 
over.  Determined  to  identify  himself,  Arlen  decides  to  visit 
the  homes  of  his  dead  buddies,  and  goes  A.W.O.L.  from  a 
troop  train.  He  first  stops  at  the  home  of  Cheryl  Walker, 
who  lost  her  husband.  He  discovers  immediately  that  he  was 
not  her  husband.  After  he  explains,  Cheryl  invites  him  to 
stay  at  her  home  for  a  few  days.  Both  fall  in  love,  and  he 
leaves  her  with  a  determination  to  establish  his  identity;  he 
wanted  to  marry  her,  but  had  to  be  sure  that  no  other 
woman  was  waiting  for  him.  His  next  stop  is  a  home  in 
West  Virginia,  where  Bobby  Driscoll,  a  six-year-old  boy, 
welcomes  him  as  "Daddy."  But  Arlen  soon  learns  that  the 
boy  was  mistaken,  and  he  leaves  for  Chicago,  the  next  stop. 
There,  in  a  dingy  saloon,  he  meets  John  Forrest,  younger 
brother  of  one  of  the  dead  soldiers,  who  was  involved  with 
a  gambling  syndicate.  Satisfied  that  he  was  not  the  boy's 
brother,  Arlen,  after  helping  the  young  man  to  rehabilitate 
himself,  heads  for  the  last  address,  an  Iowa  farm,  confident 
that  it  must  be  his  home.  But  when  Arlen  arrives  there,  he 
soon  learns  that  the  elderly  farm  couple  (Sara  Padden  and 
Forrest  Taylor)  were  not  his  folks.  He  helps  the  downcast 
couple  to  adjust  their  lives  and,  shortly  after,  as  he  drives 
to  the  railroad  station  to  meet  Cheryl,  he  is  picked  up  by 
military  police  and  taken  back  to  camp.  During  his  absence, 
the  army  had  learned  his  identity  and,  through  applied  psy- 
chology, help  him  recollect  that,  in  civilian  life,  he  had  been 
a  college  professor.  His  amnesia  gone,  Arlen  joyfully  reunites 
with  Cheryl. 

Richard  Weil  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Walter  Colmes 
directed  it.  Mr.  Colmes  and  Howard  Bretherton  were  the 
associate  producers.  The  cast  includes  Lola  Lane,  Harry 
Tyler,  Roger  Pryor  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


56 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  7,  1945 


"Counter-Attack"  with  Paul  Muni 
and  Marguerite  Chapman 

(Columbia,  April  26;  time,  90  min.) 
Well  directed  and  expertly  acted,  this  is  a  tense  war  melo- 
drama, suitable  mostly  for  those  who  enjoy  heavy  dramatic 
entertainment.  Most  of  the  action  takes  place  in  the  cellar 
of  a  collapsed  building,  where  Paul  Muni,  a  Russian  para- 
trooper,  finds  himself  trapped  with  a  group  of  Nazi  soldiers 
whom  he  disarms  and  holds  at  bay.  Though  slow-moving, 
the  story  is  filled  with  considerable  suspense  as  Muni,  fight- 
ing weariness,  engages  in  a  battle  of  wits  with  his  prisoners 
in  an  effort  to  secure  vital  information  about  German  mili- 
tary movements.  One  is  kept  on  edge  throughout  in  the 
knowledge  that  the  Germans  will  pounce  upon  Muni  the 
moment  sleep  overcomes  him.  There  is  no  comedy  to  relieve 
the  tension,  nor  is  there  a  romance: — 

Preparatory  to  a  counter-attack  by  Russian  troops,  a 
detachment  of  Soviet  paratroopers,  including  Muni,  are 
ordered  to  launch  a  surprise  attack  on  a  German  garrison 
for  the  purpose  of  capturing  a  German  officer  60  as  to 
secure  information  about  the  enemy's  plans.  In  the  assault, 
the  patrol  is  wiped  out  except  for  Larry  Parks,  Marguerite 
Chapman,  a  guerrila  fighter,  and  Muni,  the  last  two  be- 
coming trapped  in  the  cellar  of  a  demolished  building  with 
eight  Nazi  soldiers.  Muni  cows  the  Germans  with  a  ma- 
chine gun,  and  manages  to  signal  Parks,  above  the  debris, 
sending  him  to  the  Russian  lines  for  help.  Although  none 
of  the  Nazis  wore  an  officer's  uniform,  Muni  discovers  evi- 
dence indicating  that  one  was  an  officer  but  was  hiding  his 
identity.  He  questions  each  man  relentlessly  in  an  effort  to 
identify  the  officer  but  they  defiantly  keep  the  information 
from  him.  The  battle  of  wits  resolves  itself  into  an  en- 
durance contest,  with  the  Germans  waiting  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  overpower  Muni  the  moment  he  drops  from 
physical  exhaustion.  In  an  unguarded  moment,  the  prisoners 
start  a  fight,  wounding  Marguerite,  but  Muni  manages  to 
subdue  them.  Then,  by  simulating  the  murder  of  two  of 
the  prisoners,  he  tricks  the  officer  (Harro  Mcller)  into 
identifying  himself.  Mellcr,  feeling  sure  that  German  troops 
will  eventually  come  to  his  rescue,  proposes  to  Muni  that 
they  exchange  military  information.  Muni  agrees,  obtaining 
vital  information  at  the  expense  of  revealing  the  Russian 
plans.  It  all  turns  out  for  the  best,  however,  when  Russian 
troops  come  to  his  rescue  just  as  he  collapses. 

John  Howard  Lawson  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Zoltan 
Korda  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Phil  Van  Zandt,  George 
Macready,  Roman  Bohnen  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Lady  Confesses"  with 
Mary  Beth  Hughes  and  Hugh  Beaumont 

(PRC,  May  16;  time,  65  min.) 
This  murder  mystery  melodrama  should  prove  acceptable 
program  fare  for  non-discriminating  followers  of  this  type 
of  entertainment.  Although  the  story  is  commonplace  and 
it  lacks  exciting  action,  it  is  sufficiently  mystifying  and  has 
enough  suspense  to  hold  one's  attention  to  a  fair  degree. 
The  treatment  follows  the  usual  pattern  of  directing  sus- 
picion against  several  of  the  characters,  with  the  guilty 
person  emerging  as  the  one  least  suspected.  A  few  songs 
have  been  worked  into  the  story  without  impeding  the 
action : — 

On  the  eve  of  her  marriage  to  Hugh  Beaumont,  Mary 
Beth  Hughes  is  confronted  by  Barbara  Slater,  Beaumont's 
wife,  who  had  been  missing  for  seven  years.  Barbara  warns 
Mary  that  she  will  not  permit  the  marriage.  Mary's  efforts 
to  reach  Beaumont  are  unavailing;  intoxicated,  he  was 
asleep  in  the  dressing  room  of  Claudia  Drake,  singer  in  a 
night-club  owned  by  Edmund  MacDonald,  a  notorious 
character.  Later  that  evening  Barbara  is  found  murdered 
in  her  apartment.  Captain  Emmett  Vogan  of  the  police 
questions  both  Mary  and  Beaumont.  Mary  establishes  a 
satisfactory  alibi,  but  Beaumont  finds  himself  under  sus- 
picion when  MacDonald,  with  whom  he  had  spoken  earlier 


in  the  evening,  denies  that  he  had  6een  him,  despite 
Claudia's  statement  that  he  had  been  in  the  club  at  the 
time  of  the  murder.  Suspicious  of  MacDonald,  Mary  secures 
employment  in  his  nightclub  in  order  to  check  on  his  move- 
ments. She  overhears  a  quarrel  between  Claudia  and  Mac- 
Donald and,  later,  when  Claudia  is  found  murdered,  she 
feels  sure  that  MacDonald  was  responsible  for  both  crimes. 
Finding  a  letter  left  by  Claudia  in  her  dressing  room,  ad- 
dressed to  Captain  Vogan,  Mary  excitedly  telephones  Beau- 
mont. He  asks  her  to  come  up  to  his  apartment  immediately. 
Arriving  there,  Mary  is  horrified  when  Beaumont  opens  the 
letter  in  which  Claudia  accuses  him  of  murdering  Barbara 
and  admits  that  she  had  furnished  him  with  a  false  alibi. 
For  the  first  time,  Mary  realizes  that  he  was  a  homicidal 
maniac.  Meanwhile  Captain  Vogan  had  discovered  Beau- 
mont's fingerprints  at  the  scene  of  Claudia's  murder.  He 
hurries  to  Beaumont's  apartment,  arriving  there  in  time  to 
stop  him  from  murdering  Mary. 

Helen  Martin  wrote  the  screen  play,  Alfred  Stern  pro- 
duced it,  and  Sam  Newfield  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Horn  Blows  at  Midnight"  with 
Jack  Benny  and  Alexis  Smith 

(Warner  Bros.,  Apr.  28;  time,  78  min.) 
This  fantastic  comedy  should  go  over  pretty  well  with 
most  audiences,  for  the  story  is  novel  and  the  plot  develop- 
ments amusing.  As  the  angel  who  is  sent  down  from  Heaven 
to  blow  his  horn  at  midnight  and  thus  destroy  the  wicked 
Earth,  Jack  Benny  i-  cast  in  a  role  that  fits  his  particular 
brand  of  humor.  The  complications  he  gets  himself  into 
when  he  fails  to  complete  his  mission  keep  one  chuckling 
throughout.  At  times  the  comedy  reverts  to  slapstick  in  its 
broadest  form,  with  several  of  the  situations  hilariously 
funny.  The  most  comical  of  these  are  of  the  "Safety  Last" 
variety  in  which  Benny  hangs  precariously  from  a  roof 
cornice  and  a  flagpole  high  above  a  city  street.  These  scenes 
should  provoke  uproarious  laughter  in  crowded  theatres. 
Although  it  is  not  a  big  picture,  it  has  been  given  a  pretty 
lavish  production : — 

Benny,  a  trumpet  player  in  a  symphony  orchestra,  falls 
asleep  during  a  broadcast  and  dreams  that  he  was  an  angel 
in  Heaven.  He  is  summoned  to  the  office  of  the  Chief  (Guy 
Kibbee),  who  assigns  him  to  the  task  of  destroying  the 
planet  Earth  because  of  its  bad  behaviour.  The  Chief  in- 
structs Benny  to  proceed  to  the  Earth  and,  at  the  exact 
6troke  of  midnight,  blow  a  golden  trumpet.  By  this  action, 
the  Earth  would  be  destroyed.  Arriving  on  the  Earth,  Benny 
meets  Allyn  Joslyn  and  John  Alexander,  two  fallen  angels, 
who,  because  they  had  failed  on  a  similar  mission,  had  not 
been  permitted  to  return  to  Heaven.  Realizing  the  pur- 
pose of  Benny's  visit,  the  fallen  angels  plot  to  prevent  his 
blowing  the  horn.  As  midnight  approaches,  Benny  goes  to 
the  roof  of  a  large  hotel.  Just  at  the  stroke  of  midnight, 
Dolores  Moran,  a  disillusioned  cigarette  girl,  tries  to  com- 
mit suicide  by  throwing  herself  from  the  roof.  Benny  stops 
her,  missing  his  chance  to  blow  the  horn.  Crestfallen  over 
his  failure,  Benny  determines  to  make  good  on  the  following 
midnight.  The  fallen  angels,  delighted  at  his  failure,  enlist 
the  aid  of  Reginald  Gardiner,  a  suave  crook,  to  steal  Ben- 
ny's trumpet.  Meanwhile  in  heaven,  Alexis  Smith,  Benny's 
girl-friend,  secures  permission  to  go  down  to  the  earth  to 
investigate  Benny's  failure,  arriving  in  the  midst  of  Gar- 
diner's efforts  to  steal  the  trumpet.  She,  too,  becomes  in- 
volved, and  finally  the  Chief  himself  comes  down  to  look 
into  the  matter.  Benny  eventually  succeeds  in  recovering 
his  trumpet  only  to  be  pushed  off  the  roof  when  the  others 
try  to  stop  him  from  blowing  it.  As  he  falls  to  the  street, 
he  comes  out  of  his  dream. 

Sam  Hellman  and  James  V.  Kern  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Mark  Hellinger  produced  it,  and  Raoul  Walsh  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Franklyn  Pangborn,  Mike  Mazurki  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVII  NEW  YORK,  SATURDAY,  APRIL  7,  1945  No.  14 

(Partial  Index  No.  2 — Pages  26  to  52  Iricl.) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Affairs  of  Susan,  The- — Paramount  (109  min.)   50 

Betrayal  from  the  East — RKO  (82  min.)   27 

Body  Snatcher,  The— RKO  (78  min.)   32 

Brewster's  Millions — United  Artists  (79  min.)   42 

Bring  on  the  Girls — Paramount  (92  min.)   26 

Circumstantial  Evidence — 20th  Century-Fox  (68  min.)  .  27 
Cisco  Kid  Returns,  The — Monogram  (64  m.)  .not  reviewed 

Clock,  The— MGM  (90  min.)   46 

Colonel  Blimp — United  Artists  (148  min.)    47 

Corn  is  Green,  The — Warner  Bros.  (114  min.)   51 

Crime  Doctor's  Courage,  The — Columbia  (70  min.) ...  36 

Crime,  Inc.— PRC  (75  min.)   28 

Delightfully  Dangerous — United  Artists  (93  min.)  ....  34 

Dillinger,  John — Monogram  (71  min.)   42 

Docks  of  New  York — Monogram  (62  min.)   36 

Earl  Carroll  Vanities — Republic  (91  min.)   39 

Enchanted  Cottage,  The— RKO  (92  min.)   27 

Enemy  of  the  Law — PRC  (56  m.)  not  reviewed 

Escape  in  the  Fog — Columbia  (63  min.)   42 

Eve  Knew  Her  Apples — Columbia  (64  min.)   51 

Fashion  Model — Monogram  (61  min.)   38 

Fog  Island— PRC  (70  min.)    43 

Frisco  Sal — Universal  (94  min.)    26 

Gangsters'  Den — PRC  (55  m.)  not  reviewed 

God  is  My  Co-Pilot— Warner  Bros.  (90  min.)   31 

G.I.  Honeymoon — Monogram  (70  min.)    50 

Having  Wonderful  Crime— RKO  (70  min.)   26 

Her  Lucky  Night — Universal  (63  min.)   28 

High  Powered — Paramount  (60  min.)   30 

Hollywood  and  Vine— PRC  (58  min.)   43 

Hotel  Berlin — Warner  Bros.  (98  min.)   34 

House  of  Fear,  The — Universal  (68  min.)   46 

It's  A  Pleasure— RKO  (90  min.)   36 

Keep  Your  Powder  Dry— MGM  (93  min.)   27 

Man  Who  Walked  Alone,  The— PRC  (73  min.)   47 

Marked  for  Murder — PRC  (58  m.)  not  reviewed 

Molly  and  Me — 20th  Century-Fox  (76  min.)   38 

Navajo  Trail — Monogram  (55  m.)  not  reviewed 

Pan-Americana — RKO  (85  min.)   30 

Picture  of  Dorian  Gray,  The — MGM  (110  min.)   30 

Power  of  the  Whistler,  The — Columbia  (67  min.) ....  50 
Rough  Ridin'  Justice — Columbia  (58  m.) . . .  .not  reviewed 
Rough,  Tough  and  Ready — Columbia  (66J/2  min.)  ....  38 

Royal  Scandal,  A — 20th  Century-Fox  (94  min.)   46 

Salty  O'Rourke — Paramount  (97  min.)    31 

See  My  Lawyer — Universal  (67  min.)   30 

.Sheriff  of  Cimarron — Republic  (55  m.)  not  reviewed 

She's  a  Sweetheart — Columbia  (69  min.)   35 

Song  for  Miss  Julie,  A — Republic  (70  min.)   32 

Spell  of  Amy  Nugent,  The— PRC  (60  min.)   34 

Strange  Illusion— PRC  (86  min.)   31 

Stranger  from  Sante  Fe — Monogram  (53  m.) . not  reviewed 

Sudan — Universal  (76  min.)   39 

There  Goes  Kelly — Monogram  (61  min.)   35 

Unseen,  The — Paramount  (79  min.)   32 

Utah — Republic  (78  m.)  not  reviewed 

Without  Love— MGM  (111  min.)   47 

Youth  on  Trial — Columbia  (60  min.)   35 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 

Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H.  Y.) 

6039  Let's  Go  Steady — Parrish-Moran  Jan.  4 

6041  Youth  on  Trial— Collins-Reed  Jan.  11 

6014  Eadie  Was  a  Lady — Miller-Besser  Jan.  18 

6024  I  Love  a  Mystery — Bannon-Foch  Jan.  25 

6204  Sage  Brush  Heroes — Starrett  (54  m.)  Feb.  1 


6221 

6002 

6019 
6017 
6205 
6034 
6018 

6037 
6026 
6222 
6023 


Sing  Me  a  Song  of  Texas — Lane  (66  m.) .  .  .  .Feb.  8 
Tonight  and  Every  Night — Hayworth- 

Bowman   Feb.  22 

Leave  it  to  Blondie — Lake-Singleton   .Feb.  22 

Crime  Doctor's  Courage — Baxter-Crane  Feb.  27 

Rough  Ridin'  Justice — Starrett  (58  m.)  . . .  .Mar.  5 
A  Guy,  A  Gal  and  a  Pal — Hunter-Merrick .  .Mar.  8 
Rough,  Tough  and  Ready — McLaglen- 

Morris   Mar.  22 

Escape  in  the  Fog — Foch- Wright  Apr.  5 

Eve  Knew  Her  Apples — Miller- Wright  Apr.  12 

Rockin'  in  the  Rockies — Stooges-Hughes.  .  .  .Apr.  17 

Power  of  the  Whistler — Dix-Carter  Apr.  19 

Return  of  the  Durango  Kid — Starrett  Apr.  19 

Counter- Attack — Muni-Chapman  Apr.  26 

Boston  Blackie  Booked  on  Suspicion — Morris. May  10 
The  Fighting  Guardsman — -Parker-Louise  . .  .May  24 
Special 

A  Song  to  Remember — Muni-Oberon  Mar.  1 


Metro-Gcldwyn- Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Tor^  19,  7v[.  T.) 
Block  9 

50 1  The  Seventh  Cross — Tracy-Gurie  September 

502  Barbary  Coast  Gent — Beery  September 

503  Waterloo  Bridge — Taylor-Leigh  (reissue)  ..  September 

504  Maisie  Goes  to  Reno — Sothern-Hodiak. ...  September 

505  Marriage  is  a  Private  Affair — Turner- 

Craig   October 

506  Kismet — Dietrich-Colman   October 

507  Mrs.  Parkington — Pidgeon-Garson  November 

508  Naughty  Marietta — MacDonald-Eddy 

(reissue)   November 

510  An  American  Romance — Donlevy  November 

509  Lost  in  a  Harem — Abbott  6?  Costello  December 

Block  10 

513  The  Thin  Man  Goes  Home — Powell-Loy  January 

514  Main  Street  After  Dark— Arnold  January 

515  Music  for  Millions — O'Brien-Allyson  February 

516  Blonde  Fever — Astor-Dorn  February 

517  This  Man's  Navy — Beery-Drake  February 

518  Between  Two  Women — Johnson-Barrymore. .  .March 

519  Nothing  But  Trouble — Laurel  &  Hardy  March 

520  Keep  Your  Powder  Dry — Peters-Turner-Day.  .March 

Specials 

500  Dragon  Seed — Hepburn-Huston  August 

511  Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo — Tracy-Johnson.  .January 

512  Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis — Garland-O'Brien  January 

521  National  Velvet — Rooney-Taylor  Not  set 


Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 
461  Song  of  the  Range — Wakely  (57  m.)  Dec.  1 

421  Crazy  Knights — Gilbert-Howard  Dec.  8 

416  Shadow  of  Suspicion — Weaver-Cookson  Dec.  15 

403  Alaska — Taylor-Lindsay   Dec.  22 

409  Bowery  Champs — East  Side  Kids  Dec.  29 

414  Army  Wives — Knox-Rambeau  Jan.  12 

420  Adventures  of  Kitty  O'Day — Parker-Cookson. Jan.  19 

417  The  Jade  Mask — Sidney  Toler  Jan.  26 

422  There  Goes  Kelly— Moran-McKay  (re.)  Feb.  24 

410  Docks  of  New  York— East  Side  Kids  Feb.  24 

429  The  Cisco  Kid  Returns— Renaldo  (64  m.)  . .  .Mar.  27 

423  Fashion  Model — Lowery-Weaver  Mar.  29 

401  Forever  Yours — Storm-Brown  (reset)  Apr.  1 

406  G.I.  Honeymoon — Storm-Cookson  (re.)  ...  .April  8 

454  Gun  Smoke — J.  M.  Brown  (59  m.)  Not  set 

455  Navajo  Trail — J.  M.  Brown  (55  m.)  Not  set 

418  The  Scarlet  Clue— Sidney  Toler  April  20 

405  China's  Little  Devils — Carey-Kelley  April  27 

456  Stranger  from  Sante  Fe — J.  M.  Brown  (53  m.).  Not  set 

402  Dillinger — Tierney-Lowe   Not  set 


April  7,  1945  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


Paramount  Features 

( 1 501  Broadway,  Hew  Jor\  18,  H-  T.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  3 

441 1  Here  Come  the  Waves — CrosbyHutton  

4412  Dangerous  Passage — Lowery-Brooks  

4413  For  Whom  the  Bell  Tolls — Cooper-Bergman  

4414  Practically  Yours — Colbert-MacMurray  

441?  Double  Exposure — Morris-Kelly  

Block  4 

4416  Bring  on  the  Girls — Tufts-Bracken-Lake  

4417  The  Unseen — McCrea-Russell  

4418  Salty  O'Rourke— Ladd-Russell   

4419  High  Powered — Lowery-Brooks  

Block  5 

4421  The  Affairs  of  Susan — Fontaine-Brent  

4422  Murder,  He  Says — MacMurray-Walker  

4423  Scared  Stiff— Haley-Savage  

4424  A  Medal  for  Benny — Lamour-DcCordova  

Special 

4432  Sign  of  the  Cross — Reissue  

PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  22,  H-  T.) 
514  Rogues'  Gallery — Jenks-Raymond  Dec.  6 

556  Oath  of  Vengeance — Buster  Crabbe  (57  m.)  .  .Dec.  9 

501  The  Town  Went  Wild — Lydon-Bartholomew.Dec.  15 

513  Castle  of  Crimes — English-made  Dec.  22 

553  The  Whispering  Skull— Texas  Rangers  (56m). Dec.  29 

557  His  Brother's  Ghost — Buster  Crabbe  (56  m.) .  .Feb.  3 
516  The  Kid  Sister— Pryor-Clark  Feb.  6 

554  Marked  for  Murder — Texas  Rangers  (58  m.) .  .Feb.  8 

523  The  Spell  of  Amy  Nugent — English  cast  Feb.  10 

508  Fog  Island— Atwill-Zucco   Feb.  15 

507  The  Man  Who  Walked  Alone— O'Brien- 

Aldridge  Mar.  15 

Strange  Illusion — Lydon-William  Mar.  31 

502  Crime,  Inc.— Tilton-Neal  Apr.  15 

Shadows  of  Death — Buster  Crabbe  (56  m.) 

(re.)   Apr.  19 

Hollywood  y  Vine — Ellison-McKay  (re.)  Apr.  25 

Phantom  of  42nd  St. — O'Brien-Aldridge  May  2 

Enemy  of  the  Law — O'Brien-Ritter  (56  m.).  .May  7 

The  Lady  Confesses — Hughes-Beaumont  May  16 

The  Missing  Corpse — Brombcrg-Jenks  June  1 

Gangsters'  Den — Buster  Crabbe  (55  m.)  June  14 

The  Silver  Fleet — English  cast  June  15 

Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway,  Hew  York  19,  H-  T.) 
453  Firebrands  of  Arizona — Burnette-Carson 

(56  m.)   Dec.  1 

408  Thoroughbreds — Neal-Mara   Dec.  23 

406  Lake  Placid  Serenade — Ralston  Dec.  23 

407  The  Big  Bonanza — Arlcn-Livingston  Dec.  30 

3316  Sheriff  of  Las  Vegas— Elliott-Blake  (55  m.).Dec.  31 

409  Grissly's  Million's — Kelly-Grey   Jan.  16 

410  The  Big  Show-Off— Lake-Dale  Jan.  22 

464  The  Topeka  Terror — Lane-Stirling  (55  m.) .  .Jan.  26 

3317  Great  Stage  Coach  Robbery— Elliott  (56  m.)  .Feb.  15 

411  A  Song  for  Miss  Julie — Dolin-Markova  Feb.  19 

454  Sheriff  of  Cimarron — Carson-Stirling  (55m.) .  .Feb.  28 

441  Utah— Roy  Rogers  (78  m.)  Mar.  21 

412  The  Great  Flamarion — Von  Stroheim-Hughes.Mar.  30 
414  Identity  Unknown — Arlen- Walker  Apr.  2 

RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  T.) 
(No  National  Release  Dates) 
Block  2 

506  Girl  Rush — Carney-Brown  

507  Falcon  in  Hollywood — Conway-Borg  

508  Murder,  My  Sweet — Powell-Shirley  (formerly 

"Farewell,  My  Lovely")  

509  Nevada — Mitchum-Jeffreys  

510  Experiment  Perilous — Lamar-Brent  

Block  3 

511  What  a  Blonde— Errol-Borg  

512  Betrayal  from  the  East — Tracy-Kelly  

513  Pan  Americana — Terry- Arden  

514  Having  a  Wonderful  Crime — O'Brien-Landis  

515  The  Enchanted  Cottage — Young-McGuire  

Block  4 

516  Zombies  on  Broadway — Brown-Carney  

517  The  Body  Snatcher— Karloff -Daniel  


518  Tarzan  and  the  Amazons — Weissmuller  

519  China  Sky— Scott-Warrick   

520  Those  Endearing  Young  Charms — Young-Day  

Specials 

551  The  Princess  and  the  Pirate — Bob  Hope  

581  Casanova  Brown — Cooper- Wright   

582  Woman  in  the  Window — Bennett-Robinson  

583  Belle  of  the  Yukon— Scott-Lee  

584  It's  a  Pleasure— Henie-O'Shea  

591  The  Three  Caballeros — Disney  

Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St..  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 
Block  5 

512  Winged   Victory — McCallister-O'Brien  December 

513  Sunday  Dinner  for  a  Soldier — Baxter- 

Hodiak   December 

(Note:  Beginning  with  January,  the  practice  of  desig- 
nating releases  by  bloc\s  has  been  discontinued.) 

514  Keys  of  the  Kingdom — Peck-Mitchell  January 

515  The  Fighting  Lady — Documentary  January 

516  Hangover  Square — Cregar-Darnell  February 

517  A  Tree  Grows  in  Brooklyn — McGuire-Dunn .  February 

518  Thunderhead — Son  of  Flicka — McDowall  March 

519  Circumstantial  Evidence — Nolan-O'Shea  March 

520  The  Song  of  Bcrnadette — Jennifer  Jones  April 

521  A  Royal  Scandal — Bankhead-Eythe  April 

522  Molly  and  Me — Woolley-Fields   April 

523  Call  of  the  Wild— Gable  (reissue)   April 

United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

Dark  Waters — Oberon-Tone   Nov.  10 

3  Is  a  Family — Ruggles-Broderick  Nov.  23 

Gue»t  in  the  House — Baxter-Bellamy  Dec.  8 

Tomorrow,  the  World — March-Field   Dec.  29 

I'll  Be  Seeing  You — Rogers-Cotten-Temple  Jan.  5 

Mr.  Emmanuel — English-made  Jan.  19 

Delightfully  Dangerous — Powell-Moore  Mar.  31 

Brewster's  Millions — O'Keefe- Walker  Apr.  7 

It's  in  the  Bag — Fred  Allen  Apr.  21 

Colonel  Blimp — English  cast  May  4 

Hold  Autumn  in  Your  Hand — Scott-Field  May  18 

The  Great  John  L. — McClure-Darnell  May  25 

Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  Tor^  20,  H-  T.) 

9035  Night  Club  Girl— Austin-Norris  Jan.  5 

9020  She  Gets  Her  Man— Davis-Errol  Jan.  12 

9039  Under  Western  Skies— O'Driscoll-Beery,  Jr.. Jan.  19 

9010  The  Suspect — Laughton-Raines  Jan.  26 

9002  Here  Come  the  Co-Eds— Abbott-Costello  Feb.  2 

9021  Her  Lucky  Night — Andrews  Sisters  Feb.  9 

9013  House  of  Frankenstein — Karloff-Chaney  Feb.  16 

9036  The  Mummy's  Curse — Lon  Chaney  Feb.  16 

9012  Frisco  Sal — Bey-Foster-Curtis  Feb.  23 

9006  Sudan— Montez-Bey-Hall   Mar.  2 

9025  The  House  of  Fear — Rathbonc-Bruce  Mar.  16 

I'll  Remember  April — Jean-Grant  (re.)  Apr.  13 

Song  of  the  Sarong — Gargan-Kelly  Apr.  20 

Salome — Where  She  Danced — DeCarlo- 

Bruce  (re.)  Apr.  27 

Patrick  the  Great — O'Connor-Ryan  May  4 

Honeymoon  Ahead — Jones-McDonald  (re.). May  11 
Swing  out  Sister — Cameron-Treacher  (re.).  .May  18 
See  My  Lawyer — Olsen  6*1  Johnson  (re.)  . .  .  .May  25 

Blonde  Ransom — Grey-Cook  (re.)  June  1 

The  Woman  in  Green — Rathbone-Bruce.  .  .  .June  8 

That's  the  Spirit — Oakie-Ryan  June  15 

(Ed.  Note:  The  release  dates  shown  in  the  last  index  for 
the  following  features  have  been  withdrawn:  "haughty 
Hineties,"  "I'll  Tell  the  World,"  "Penthouse  Rhythm," 
and  "Beyond  the  Pecos.") 

Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  Tor\  18,  H-  T.) 

406  The  Very  Thought  of  You — Morgan-Parker. Nov.  11 

407  The  Doughgirls — Sheridan-Carson  Nov.  25 

409  Hollywood  Canteen — All  star  cast  Dec.  30 

410  To  Have  and  Have  Not — Bogart-Bacall  Jan.  20 

411  Objective  Burma — Errol  Flynn  Feb.  17 

412  Roughly  Speaking — Russell-Carson   Mar.  3 

413  Hotel  Berlin — Emerson-Dantine  Mar.  17 

414  God  is  My  Co-Pilot — Morgan-Massey  Apr.  7 

415  The  Horn  Blows  at  Midnight — Jack  Benny, .  .Apr.  28 


Page  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index  April  7,  1945 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 

Columbia — One  Reel 

6655  Community  Sings  No.  5  (9  m.)  Jan.  1 

6501  Dog,  Cat  &  Canary — Col.  Rhap.  (6  m.)  Jan.  5 

6856  Screen  Snapshots  No.  6  (9  m.)  Jan.  26 

6805  Kings  of  the  Fairway — Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  2 

6954  Korn  Kobblers— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.)  Feb.  2 

6656  Community  Sings  No.  6  (10  m.)  Feb.  9 

6602  Kickapoo  Juice — Li'l  Abner  (7m.)  Feb.  23 

6857  Screen  Snapshots  No.  7  (9  m.)  Feb.  25 

6806  Rough  and  Tumble — Sports  (9m.)  Mar.  2 

6657  Community  Sings  No.  7  Mar.  15 

6858  Screen  Snapshots  No.  8  Mar.  29 

6752  The  Egg  Yegg— Fox  6s?  Crow  (7'/2  m.)  (re.)  .Apr.  11 
6703  Goofy  News  Views — Phantasy  (re.)  Apr.  27 

6502  Rippling  Romance — Col.  Rhap.  (8  m.)  (re.). Apr.  27 

6807  The  Iron  Master— Sports  (9y2  m.)  Apr.  27 

6753  Kukunuts — Fox  6s?  Crow  (re.)  May  4 

6859  Screen  Snapshots  No.  9  May  17 

6503  Fiesta  Time — Col.  Rhapsody  (re.)  May  18 

6808  Hi  Ho  Rodeo — Sports  May  25 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

6410  Woo,  Woo!— Hugh  Herbert  (16  m.)  Jan.  5 

6132  Sign  of  Evil — Black  Arrow  No.  13  (15  m.).. Jan.  12 

6133  An  Indian's  Revenge — Black  Arrow  No.  14 

(15  m.)  Jan.  19 

6403  Three  Pests  in  a  Mess — Stooges  (15  m.)  Jan.  19 

6134  The  Black  Arrow  Triumphs — Black  Arrow  No.  15 

(15  m.)   Jan.  26 

6140  Hot  News— Brenda  Starr  No.  1  (22  m.)  Jan.  26 

6430  Snooper  Service — Brendel  ( 14 J/2  m-)  Feb.  2 

6141  The  Blazing  Trap — Brenda  Starr  No.  2 

(18  m.)  Feb.  2 

6142  Taken  for  a  Ride — Brenda  Starr  No.  3 

(18  m.)   Feb.  9 

6143  A  Ghost  Walks— Brenda  Starr  No.  4  (18m.). Feb.  16 

6431  Off  Again,  On  Again — Howard  (16  m.)  Feb.  16 

6144  The  Big  Boss  Speaks— B.  Starr  No.  5  (18m.)  .Feb.  23 

6145  Manhunt — Brenda  Starr  No.  6  ( 18  m.)  Mar.  2 

6432  Two  Local  Yokels— Clyde  (17J/2  m.)  Mar.  2 

6146  Hideout  of  Terror — B.  Starr  No.  7  (18  m.).Mar.  9 

6147  Killer  at  Large— B.  Starr  No.  8  (18  m.)  Mar.  16 

6404  Booby  Dupes — Stooges  (17  m.)  Mar.  17 

6148  Dark  Magic— Brenda  Starr  No.  9  (18  m.) .  .Mar.  23 

6149  A  Double-cross  Backfires — B.  Starr  No.  10 

(18  m.)   Mar.  30 

6433  Pistol  Packin'  Nitwits — Brendel  Apr.  4 

6150  On  the  Spot— Brenda  Starr  No.  11  (18  m.)  .Apr.  6 

6151  Murder  at  Night— B.  Starr  No.  12  (18  m.)..  Apr.  13 

6152  Mystery  of  the  Payroll — B.  Starr  No.  13 

(18  m.)   Apr.  20 

6160  Mechanical  Terror — Monster  &  the  Ape  No.  1 

(22  m.)   Apr.  20 

6161  Edge  of  Doom — Monster  &  Ape  No.  2 

(18  m.)   Apr.  27 

6162  Flames  of  Faith — Monster  6s?  Ape  No.  3 

(18  m.)  May  4 

6163  The  Fatal  Search— Monster  &  Ape  No.  4 

(18  m.)  May  11 

6164  Rocks  of  Doom — Monster  6s?  Ape  No.  5 

(18  m.)  May  18 

6411  Wife  Decoy — Hugh  Herbert  May  18 

6165  A  Friend  in  Disguise — Monster  6s?  Ape  No.  6 

(18  m.)  May  25 

6166  A  Scream  in  the  Night — Monster  6s?  Ape  No.  7 

(18  m.)   June  1 

6423  Jury  Goes  Round  6s?  Round — Vera  Vague. .  .June  1 


Metro-Gold wyn-Mayer — One  Reel 
1943*44 

T'522  Wandering  Here  and  There — Travel.  (9m)  .Dec.  9 

W-541  Mouse  Trouble — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Dec.  23 

W-542  Barney  Bear's  Polar  Pet — Cartoon  (7  m.) .  .Dec.  30 

W-543  Screwy  Truant — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Jan.  13 

W-544  The  Unwelcome  Guest— Cartoon  (7  m.) .  .Feb.  17 
W-545  Shooting  of  Dan  McGoo — Cartoon  (7m.)  .Mar.  3 

M-590  Little  White  Lie — Miniature  (11  m.)  Mar.  3 

K-575  It  Looks  Like  Rain — Pass.  Par.  (9  m.)  Mar.  3 

S-559  Track  6s?  Field  Quiz— Pete  Smith  (9  m.)  Mar.  3 

W-546  Jerkey  Turkey — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Apr.  7 

(More  to  come) 


1944-45 

T-611  Shrines  of  Yucatan — Traveltalk  (9  m.)  Feb.  24 

T-612  See  El  Salvador— Traveltalk  (10  m.)  Mar.  31 

Metro-Gold  wyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 
1943-44 

A-501  Dark  Shadows— Special  (22  m.)  Dec.  16 

(More  to  come) 

Paramount — One  Reel 

U4-3  Hot  Lip  Jasper — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

L4'2  Unusual  Occupations  No.'  2  (10  m.)  Jan.  12 

Y4-2  Who's  Who  in  Animal  Land — Speaking  of 

Animals  (9  m.)   Jan.  19 

R4-4  Out  Fishin' — Sportlight  (9  m.)  Jan.  26 

E4-2  Pop-Pie- Ala-Mode— Popeye  (7  m.)  Jan.  26 

P4-3  When  G.  I.  Johnny  Comes  Home — 

Noveltoon  (8m.)  Feb.  2 

J4-3  Popular  Science  No.  3  (10  m.)  Feb.  16 

R4-5  Blue  Winners— Sportlight  (9  m.)  Feb.  23 

L4-3  Unusual  Occupations  No.  3  (10  m.)  Mar.  9 

Y4-3  In  the  Public  Eye — Speak,  of  Animals  (8m)  .Mar.  16 

E4-3  Tops  in  the  Big  Top — Popeye  Mar.  16 

U4-4  Jasper  Tell — Puppetoon  (8m.)  Mar.  23 

R4-6  Game  Bag— Sportlight  (9  m.)  Mar.  30 

D4-3  Magicalulu — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  Mar.  2 

P4-4  Scrappily  Married — Noveltoon  (re.)  (8  m.). Mar.  30 

J4-4  Popular  Science  No.  4  (10  m.)  Apr.  6 

D4-4  Beau  Ties — Little  Lulu  Apr.  20 

E4-4  Shape  Ahoy — Popeye   Apr.  27 

L4-4  Unusual  Occupations  No.  4  May  11 

Y4-4  Talk  of  the  Town — Speak,  of  Animals  May  18 

U4-4  Jasper's  Minstrels — Puppetoon  (9m.)  May  25 

J4-5  Popular  Science  No.  5  June  1 

E4-5  For  Better  or  Nurse — Popeye  June  8 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF4-1  Bonnie  Lassie — Musical  Parade  (19  m.)...Oct.  6 

FF4-2  Star  Bright— Musical  Parade  (20  m.)  Dec.  15 

FF4-3  Bombalera— Musical  Parade  (20  m.)  Feb.  9 

FF4-4  Isle  of  Tabu— Musical  Parade  (17  m.)  Apr.  13 

FF4-5  Boogie  Woogie — Musical  Parade  (17  m.)..June  15 

Republic — Two  Reels 

481  Zorro's  Black  Whip — Lewis- Stirling 

(12  episodes)   Dec.  16 

482  Manhunt  of  Mystery  Island — Bailey-Stirling 

(15  episodes)  Mar.  17 

RKO — One  Reel 

54304  Parallel  Skiing — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Dec.  1 

54105  Donald's  Off  Day— Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  8 

54203  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  3  (9  m.)  Dec.  8 

54305  Five  Star  Bowlers — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Dec.  29 

54106  Tiger  Trouble — Disney  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

54204  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  4  (9  m.).  Jan.  19 

54107  The  Clock  Watcher— Disney  (8  m.)  Jan.  26 

54306  Court  Craft — Sportscope  (8  m.)   Jan.  26 

54307  Ski  Gulls— Sportscope  (7  m.)  Feb.  23 

54205  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  5  (9  m.)  Mar.  2 

54308  Athlete  of  the  Year — Sportscope  (8  m.)  . .  .Mar.  23 
54109  The  Eyes  Have  It— Disney  (7  m.)  Mar.  30 

RKO — Two  Reels 

53203  Swing  Vacation — Headliners  (19  m.)  Dec.  1 

53102  New  Americans — This  is  America  (l^J/^mJ.Dec.  15 

53402  Ali  Baba— Edgar  Kennedy  (18  m.)  Jan.  5 

53103  Power  Unlimited — This  is  America  (17  m.)  .Jan.  19 

53104  On  Guard — This  is  America  (17  m.)  Feb.  9 

53703  Birthday  Blues— Leon  Errol  (17  m.)  Feb.  16 

53403  Sleepless  Tuesday— Edgar  Kennedy  (18m.)  .Feb.  23 

53105  Honorable  Discharge — This  is  America 

(17  m.)  Mar.  9 

53204  Swing  Fever — Headliners  (19  m.)  Mar.  16 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

5257  Canyons  of  the  Sun — Adventure  (8  m.)  Jan.  5 

5509  Mighty  Mouse  6s?  the  Pirate — Terry.  (6m.).  .Jan.  12 
5302  Steppin'  Pretty — Sports.  (8  m.)  Jan.  19 

5510  Port  of  Missing  Mice — Terrytoon  (6J/2  m.) .  .Feb.  2 
5353  Nova  Scotia — Sports  (8m.)  Feb.  9 

5511  Ants  in  Your  Pantry — Terrytoon  (6  m.)  . .  .Feb.  16 
5255  City  of  Paradox — Adventure  (8  m.)  Mar.  2 

5512  Raiding  the  Raiders — Terrytoon  Mar.  9 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


April  7,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


5256  Alaskan  Grandeur — Adventure  (8  m.)  Mar.  16 

5513  Post  War  Inventions — Terrytoon  Mar.  23 

5514  Fisherman's  Luck — Terrytoon  Mar.  30 

5902  Good  Old  Days — Lew  Lehr  Apr.  6 

5515  Mighty  Mouse  ftf  the  Kilkenny  Cats — 

Terrytoon  Apr.  13 

5258  Land  of  10,000  Lakes— Adventure  (8  ra.)..Apr.  27 

5516  Mother  Goose  Nightmare — Terrytoon  May  4 

5517  Smoky  Joe — Terrytoon  May  25 

5354  Down  the  Fairway — Sports  June  1 

5518  The  Silver  Streak— Terrytoon  June  8 

5259  Isle  of  Romance — Adventure  June  20 

5519  Aesops  Fable — The  Mosquito — Terrytoon  .  .June  29 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  11  No.  4 — Inside  China  Today — March  of 

Time  (17^2  m.)  Dec.  1 

Vol.  11  No.  5 — The  Unknown  Battle — March  of 

Time  (18l/2  m.)  Dec.  29 

Vol.  1 1  No.  6 — Report  on  Italy — March  of 

Time  (17  m.)   Jan.  26 

Vol.  11  No.  7 — The  West  Coast  Question — March  of 

Time  (16  m.)   Feb.  23 

Vol.  11  No.  8— Memo  from  Britain — March  of 

Time  (16  m.)  Mar.  23 

Universal — One  Reel 

93  53  Mr.  Chimp  at  Coney  Island — Var.  Views 

(9  m.)  Dec.  11 

9372  One  Man  Newspaper— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)...Dec.  18 

9235  Painter  and  the  Pointer — Cartune  (7  m.). .  .Dec.  18 
9234  Pied  Piper  of  Basin  St. — Cartune  (7  m.)  Jan.  15 

9373  ABC  Pin-up— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Jan.  15 

9374  Pigtail  Pilot— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Jan.  22 

9354  White  Treasure — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Jan.  29 

9236  Chew  Chew  Baby— Cartune  (7  m.)  Feb.  5 

9237  Sliphorn  King  of  Polaroo — Cartune  (7  m.) .  .Mar.  19 

Universal — Two  Reels 
9693  The  Boomerang — River  Boat  No.  13  (17  m.). Jan.  10 

9124  Jive  Busters — Musical  (15  m.)  Jan.  17 

9581  Invitation  to  Death — Jungle  Queen  No.  1 

(17  m.)   Jan.  23 

9582  Jungle  Sacrifice— Jungle  Queen  No.  2  (17m). Jan.  30 

9583  The  Flaming  Mountain — Jungle  Queen  No.  3 

(17  m.)   Feb.  6 

9584  Wild  Cats  Stampede — Jungle  Queen  No.  4 

(17  m.)  Feb.  13 

9125  Melody  Parade— Musical  (15  m.)  Feb.  14 

9585  The  Burning  Jungle — Jungle  Queen  No.  5 

(17  m.)   Feb.  20 

9586  Danger  Ship— Jungle  Queen  No.  6  (17  m.).Feb.  27 

9126  Swing  Serenade — Musical  (15  m.)  Feb.  28 

9587  Trip  Wire  Murder — Jungle  Queen  No.  7 

(17  m.)   Mar.  6 

9588  The  Mortar  Bomb — Jungle  Queen  No.  8 

(17  m.)   Mar.  13 

9589  Death  Watch— Jungle  Queen  No.  9  (17  m.)  .Mar.  20 

9590  Execution  Chamber — Jungle  Queen  No.  10 

(17  m.)   Mar.  27 

9591  The  Trail  to  Doom — Jungle  Queen  No.  11 

(17  m.)   Apr.  3 

9592  Dragged  Under — Jungle  Queen  No.-12 

(17  m.)   Apr.  10 

9593  The  Secret  of  the  Sword — Jungle  Queen  No.  13 

(17  m.)   Apr.  17 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

1721  Herr  Meets  Hare — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Jan.  13 

1503  Glamour  in  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  Jan.  13 

1306  Fella  with  a  Fiddle— Hit.  Par.  (7  m.)  Jan.  20 

1606  Rhythm  of  the  Rhumba — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.).Jan.  27 

1701  Draftee  Daffy — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Jan.  27 

1504  Bikes  and  Skis— Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  10 

1722  Unruly  Hare — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Feb.  10 

1307  When  I  Yoo  Hoo— Hit  Parade  (7m.)  Feb.  24 

1702  Trap  Happy  Porky — Looney  Tune  (7  m.) . .  .Feb.  24 

1505  Cuba  Calling— Sports  (10  m.)  Mar.  10 

1404  Overseas  Roundup — Varieties  (10  m.)  Mar.  17 

1308  I  Only  Have  Eyes  for  You— Hit  Par.  (7  m.)  .Mar.  17 

1607  Musical  Mexico — Merrie  Melody  (7m.)...  .Mar.  24 

1703  Life  with  Feathers — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  Mar.  24 

1506  Swimcapades — Sports  (10  m.)  Apr.  7 

1704  Behind  the  Meat  Ball — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  .  Apr.  7 

1309  Ain't  We  Got  Fun— Hit  Par.  (7  m.)  Apr.  21 

1723  Hare  Trigger — Bugs  Bunny  (7m.)  Apr.  21 


1507 
1705 
1706 
1608 
1405 
1508 

1105 
1101 

1002 
1106 
1003 
1107 
1109 
11 10 
1108 

1004 


Water  Babies — Sports  ( 10  in.)  May  5 

Ain't  that  Ducky — Looney  Tune  (7  in.) .  .  .  .May  5 

Gruesome  Twosome — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  May  19 

Circus  Band — Melody  Master  (10  m.)  May  19 

Overseas  Roundup  No.  2 — Varieties  ( 10  m.)  .May  26 

Mexican  Sea  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  May  26 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

Nautical  but  Nice — Featurette  (20  m.)  Dec.  2 

I  Am  An  American — Featurette  (20  m.).  .  .  .Dec.  23 

Beachhead  to  Berlin — Special  (20  m.)  Jan.  6 

Congo — Featurette  (20  m.)  Feb.  17 

Pledge  to  Bataan — Special  (20  m.)  Feb.  3 

Navy  Nurse — Featurette  (20  m.)  Mar.  3 

Are  Animals  Actors? — Featurette  (20  m  ).  .Mar.  31 
Law  of  the  Badlands — Featurette  (20  m.)..  .Apr.  14 
It  Happened  in  Springfield — Featurette 

(20  m.)  Apr.  28 

Coney  Island  Honeymoon — Special  (re.) 

(20  m.)  May  12 


NEWSWEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 

55264  Wed.  (E) .  .  Apr.  4 

55165  Sat.  (O).  .  .Apr.  7 

55266  Wed.  (E).  .Apr.  11 

55167  Sat.  (0)...Apr.  14 

55268  Wed.  (E).  .Apr.  18 

55169  Sat.  (O). .  .Apr.  21 

55270  Wed.  (E).  .Apr.  25 

55171  Sat.  (O). .  .Apr.  28 

55272  Wed.  (E).  .May  2 

55173  Sat.  (O) . .  .May  5 

55274  Wed.  (E).  .May  9 

55175  Sat.  (O).  .  .May  12 

55276  Wed.  (E).  .May  16 

55177  Sat.  (O). .  .May  19 


Paramount 

61  Sunday  (O). 

62  Thurs.  (E) . . 

63  Sunday  (O). 

64  Thurs.  (E).  . 

65  Sunday  (O) . 

66  Thurs.  (E). . 

67  Sunday  (O). 

68  Thurs.  (E). . 

69  Sunday  (O) . 

70  Thurs.  (E). . 

71  Sunday  (O). 

72  Thurs.  (E) . . 

73  Sunday  (O) . 

74  Thurs.  (E). . 


News 

.Apr.  1 
.Apr.  5 
.Apr.  8 
.Apr.  12 
.Apr.  15 
.Apr.  19 
.Apr.  22 
.Apr.  26 
.Apr.  29 
.  .May  3 
.  .  May  6 
.  .May  10 
.  .May  13 
.  .May  17 


Fox  Movietone 

61 

Tues. 

(O).. 

..Apr.  3 

62 

Thurs 

(E).. 

..Apr.  5 

63 

Tues. 

(O).. 

.  .Apr.  10 

64 

Thurs. 

(E).. 

.  .Apr.  12 

65 

Tues. 

(O).. 

. .  Apr.  17 

66 

Thurs. 

(E).. 

.  .Apr.  19 

67 

Tues. 

(O).. 

.  .Apr.  24 

68 

Thurs. 

(E) . . 

. .  Apr..  26 

69 

Tues. 

(O).. 

. .  May  1 

70 

Thurs. 

(E).. 

.  .May  3 

71 

Tues. 

(O).. 

.  .  May  8 

72 

Thurs. 

(E) . . 

.  .May  10 

73 

Tues. 

(O).. 

.  .May  15 

74 

Thurs. 

(E) . . 

.  .May  17 

Metrotone  News 

259 

Tues. 

(O). 

..Apr.  3 

260 

Thurs. 

(E). 

..Apr.  5 

261 

Tues. 

(O). 

.  .Apr.  10 

262 

Thurs. 

(E). 

.  .Apr.  12 

263 

Tues. 

(O). 

.  .Apr.  17 

264 

Thurs. 

(E). 

.  .Apr.  19 

265 

Tues. 

(O). 

.  .Apr.  24 

266 

Thurs. 

(E). 

.  .Apr.  26 

267 

Tues. 

(O). 

..May  1 

268 

Thurs. 

(E). 

.  .  May  3 

269 

Tues. 

(O). 

..May  8 

270 

Thurs. 

(E). 

.  .May  10 

271 

Tues. 

(O). 

.  .May  15 

272 

Thurs. 

(E). 

.  .May  17 

Universal 

385 

Tues 

(O).. 

, .  Apr.  3 

386 

Thurs. 

(E) . . 

.Apr.  5 

387 

Tues. 

(O).. 

,  .Apr.  10 

388 

Thurs. 

(E).. 

.  .Apr.  12 

389 

Tues. 

(O).. 

,  .Apr.  17 

390 

Thurs. 

(E).. 

.Apr.  19 

391 

Tues. 

(O).. 

.Apr.  24 

392 

Thurs. 

(E)  • 

.  Apr.  26 

393 

Tues. 

(O). 

. .  May  1 

394 

Thurs. 

(E). 

.  .May  3 

395 

Tues. 

(O). 

.  .  May  8 

396 

Thurs. 

(E). 

.  .May  10 

397 

Tues. 

(O). 

.  .May  15 

398 

Thurs. 

(E). 

.  .May  17 

All  American  News 

128  Friday   Apr.  6 

129  Friday   Apr.  13 

130  Friday   Apr.  20 

131  Friday   Apr.  27 

132  Friday   May  4 

133  Friday   May  11 

134  Friday   May  18 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by. 

United  States   $15.00  Ttnnrry  1  «1  9  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  APRIL  14,  1945 


No.  15 


WHAT  ABOUT  IT,  MR.  ADAMS? 

Motion  Picture  Daily  reports  that  the  distribution  heads 
of  the  film  companies  have  stated  that,  because  of  the  statu- 
tory order  issued  recently  by  the  British  Board  of  Trade, 
requiring  that  a  license  be  obtained  to  export  positive  and 
negative  prints  processed  in  Britain  for  exhibition  abroad, 
the  American  producer-distributors  will  have  to  make  chang- 
es in  their  methods  of  supplying  release  prints  of  American 
pictures  to  Sweden,  Australia,  Egypt,  India  and  other  coun- 
tries. 

These  executives  said  that  London  laboratories  have  been 
servicing  some  of  the  aforementioned  countries  with  release 
prints  of  American  pictures,  but  now  the  prints  will  have 
to  be  made  in  this  country,  thus  creating  a  further  drain  on 
the  already  tight  raw  stock  situation. 

The  British  order  was,  of  course,  brought  about  by  the 
raw  stock  shortage  in  their  own  country. 

Raw  film  stock,  like  sugar,  meat,  or  shoes,  is  a  rationed 
commodity.  The  intent  behind  the  Government's  rationing 
of  any  commodity  is  to  give  all  parties  affected  by  the  short- 
age an  equitable  share  of  the  available  amount  of  that  com- 
modity. Thus  far  the  War  Production  Board  has  not  seen 
to  it  that  equitable  treatment  be  accorded  to  all  those  inter- 
ested in  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  rationed  raw  film 
stock.  So  far  as  the  producers  are  concerned,  the  WPB  has 
allocated  the  available  raw  stock  on  what  appears  to  be  a 
fair  basis,  but  it  has  done  nothing  about  regulating  the 
usage  of  this  stock  so  that  the  American  exhibitors,  who  are 
equally  dependent  upon  the  stock  for  their  livelihood,  might 
share  its  benefits  equitably. 

The  distributors  themselves  admit  that,  because  of  the 
aforementioned  British  ruling,  they  will  have  to  draw  raw 
stock  from  the  domestic  market  to  protect  their  interests  in 
foreign  markets.  And  the  WPB  is  permitting  them  to  do  so 
at  the  expense  of  the  American  exhibitor. 

Letters  from  independent  exhibitors  throughout  the  coun- 
try have  been  transmitted  to  the  WPB  by  National  Allied 
showing  that,  even  prior  to  the  order  curtailing  release 
prints,  the  producer-distributors  reduced  the  number  of 
prints  per  picture  to  such  an  extent  that  many  exhibitors 
were  put  far  behind  in  playing  time.  Moreover,  they  used 
the  shortage  to  increase  the  clearance  that  their  affiliated 
theatres  enjoyed,  as  well  as  to  extract  higher  film  rentals 
from  "the  independents. 

Mr.  Stanley  Adams,  head  of  the  WPB's  Durable  Goods 
Division,  which  allocates  the  raw  film  stock,  has  stated 
that  "the  WPB  will  not  permit  .  .  .  anyone  to  have  an 
advantage  to  the  disadvantage  of  anyone  else.  Any  indica- 
tions to  the  contrary  will  bring  immediate  action  for  relief 
by  the  WPB." 

Well,  what  about  some  action,  Mr.  Adams? 


COMMON  SENSE  NEEDED  TO  MEET 
COMPETITION  ABROAD 
SUCCESSFULLY 

In  an  interview  with  the  trade  papers  recently,  J.  A.  Mc- 
Conville,  President  of  Columbia  International  Pictures 
Corporation,  said  that,  since  the  Argentine  Government 
issued  a  decree  making  it  compulsory  for  exhibitors  to  pay 
percentage  terms  on  Argentine  productions,  it  is  now  pos- 
sible for  the  U.S.  distributors  to  secure  percentage  terms, 
thus  gaining  for  their  pictures  income  that  is  commensurate 
with  their  earning  power 


As  said  in  these  columns  before,  there  is  going  to  be 
stiff  competition  in  the  exhibition  of  pictures  abroad.  In 
each  country  the  native  product  will  be  favored  over  im- 
ported product,  and  although  American-made  pictures  will 
have  greater  demand  than  the  pictures  of  other  nations, 
they  will  have  competition  from  the  local  product,  and  in 
a  tough  way. 

This  paper  pointed  out  in  one  or  two  articles  that  the  way 
to  meet  competition  effectively  in  a  given  country  is  for  the 
American  producers  to  send  to  that  country  their  best 
pictures,  so  that  the  native  population  will  have  a  chance 
to  compare  the  high  quality  of  these  American  pictures  with 
the  average  quality  of  the  national  product.  If  the  producers 
should  adopt  such  a  policy,  the  American  pictures  will  sweep 
aside  all  competition  from  local  product. 

Who  can  doubt  that  in  Argentina,  where  the  number  of 
theatres  is  small,  and  where  the  money  spent  on  local  pro- 
ductions will  naturally  have  to  be  only  a  small  part  of  what 
is  spent  on  pictures  in  this  country,  the  American  pictures 
will  be  preferred  to  those  of  Argentina  if  the  policy  sug- 
gested were  followed? 

If  the  American  producers  should  not  follow  the  policy 
of  sending  only  their  best  product  abroad,  competition  to 
American  pictures  will  stiffen  also  for  another  reason:  play- 
ers native  to  a  given  country  will  become  so  popular  that 
the  mediocre  American  pictures,  and  even  the  best  ones, 
will  be  outgrossed  by  the  pictures  with  the  local  talent.  They 
have  had  experience  on  this  in  neighboring  Mexico:  I  have 
been  told  that  two  Mexican  stars,  one  male  and  one  female, 
outgross  any  American  star.  And  the  pictures  of  these  stars 
outgross  pictures  with  the  best  American  stars  also  in  other 
countries  where  Spanish  is  spoken. 

The  world  markets  are  slipping  from  the  hands  of  the 
American  companies,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the 
American  producers  refuse  to  listen  to  common  sense.  And 
there  has  never  been  a  time  when  listening  to  common  sense 
would  be  more  profitable  than  it  is  now,  when  the  supply  of 
raw  stock  is  getting  smaller  and  smaller. 


THE  ''ALL-STAR  BOND  RALLY" 
SHORT  SUBJECT 

In  connection  with  the  forthcoming  Seventh  War  Loan 
Drive,  Twentieth  Century-Fox,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
War  Activities  Committee,  has  produced  an  outstanding, 
19-minute  two  reeler  musical,  titled  the  "All-Star  Bond 
Rally,"  starring  such  players  as  Bing  Crosby,  Bop  Hope, 
Betty  Grable,  Harry  James  and  his  Orchestra,  Frank  Sinatra, 
Carmen  Miranda,  Fibber  McGee  and  Molly,  Harpo  Marx, 
Linda  Darnell,  Jeanne  Crain,  Vivian  Blaine,  June  Haver, 
Faye  Marlow  and  others. 

Not  only  is  this  short  subject  a  great  salesman  for  the 
sale  of  bonds  in  theatres,  but  it  is  also  a  top-notch  entertain- 
ment. Moreover,  it  gives  public  recognition  to  the  theatre 
manager  for  the  great  work  he  is  doing  in  the  war  effort. 

The  National  Motion  Picture  Industry  Seventh  War 
Loan  Committee  is  putting  so  much  importance  on  this 
short  subject  that  it  has  arranged  for  the  distribution  of 
1200  prints — double  the  number  customarily  issued  on 
WAC  shorts — so  that  every  theatre  throughout  the  nation 
can  play  it  quickly  and  effectively,  in  order  that  it  do  the 
most  good  during  the  Drive. 

"All-Star  Bond  Rally"  will  be  distributed  to  the  ex- 
hibitors rental  free.  Harrison's  Reports  urges  each  of  you 
to  play  it  at  every  show,  for  it  will,  not  only  spur  the  sale 
of  bonds,  but  also  furnish  your  customers  with  a  "solid" 
nineteen  minutes  of  entertainment. 


58 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  14,  1945 


"The  Valley  of  Decision"  with  Greer  Garson 

and  Gregory  Peck 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  1 18  min.) 

A  very  good  drama,  ideally  suited  to  the  talents  of  Greer 
Garson;  it  should  go  over  very  well,  for  the  story,  based  on 
Marcia  Davenport's  best-selling  novel,  has  all  the  ingredients 
that  endow  it  with  mass  appeal.  Laid  in  the  Pittsburgh  of 
1880,  the  story  covers  a  span  of  twelve  years  and  it  revolves 
around  the  unfulfilled  love  between  an  understanding  Irish 
servant  girl  and  the  son  of  a  wealthy  steel  baron.  It  is  a 
beautiful  but  heart-rending  romance,  marred  by  a  tragedy 
in  which  the  young  couple's  fathers,  long  bitter  enemies,  lose 
their  lives  in  a  strike  riot.  Miss  Garson  and  Gregory  Peck, 
as  the  lovers,  are  outstanding,  winning  the  spectator's  re- 
spect because  of  their  display  of  fine  traits.  One  sympathizes 
deeply  with  them  because  of  the  incidents  that  mar  their 
happiness.  One  situation  that  will  stir  the  emotions  is  where 
the  steel  baron,  learning  that  Miss  Garson  had  given  up  his 
son,  because  of  their  difference  in  social  positions,  asks  her 
to  become  his  daughter-in-law.  Changing  events  result  in 
Peck's  marrying  another  woman,  but  years  later,  in  a  pow- 
erfully dramatic  sequence,  he  denounces  his  nagging  wife, 
and  reunites  with  Miss  Garson.  This  ending  should  please 
most  audiences.  Lionel  Barrymore,  as  Miss  Garson's  crip- 
pled, embittered  father,  has  an  unsympathetic  part,  but  he 
plays  it  effectively: — 

Greer  becomes  a  servant  in  the  home  of  Donald  Crisp, 
despite  the  opposition  of  her  father,  who  had  been  crippled 
in  an  accident  in  Crisp's  steel  mill.  She  endears  herself  to 
Gladys  Cooper,  Crisp's  wife,  and  to  their  four  children, 
Gregory  Peck,  Marshall  Thompson,  Dan  Duryea,  and 
Marsha  Hunt.  Love  comes  to  Greer  and  Peck,  but  she  de- 
cides not  to  marry  him  because  of  her  lowly  position.  But 
when  Crisp  learns  of  this,  he  brings  the  two  together.  Greer's 
joy,  however,  is  saddened  by  a  strike  at  the  mill,  encouraged 
by  her  father.  When  Crisp  sends  for  strikebreakers,  Greer, 
fearing  bloodshed,  arranges  for  a  peace  meeting  between 
him  and  the  strikers.  But  through  a  misunderstanding,  the 
strikebreakers  arrive  in  the  midst  of  the  meeting.  Greer's 
father,  enraged,  incites  the  strikers  and,  in  the  ensuing  battle, 
both  he  and  Crisp  are  killed.  Grief  stricken,  Greer  with- 
draws from  Peck's  life.  Ten  years  later,  Peck,  married  to 
Jessica  Tandy,  a  childhood  sweetheart,  leads  an  unhappy 
life  because  of  her  constant  nagging.  When  Peck's  mother 
is  stricken  with  a  heart  attack,  she  calls  for  Greer,  much  to 
the  annoyance  of  Jessica,  who  feared  that  Peck's  love  for 
her  might  flame  anew.  After  their  mother's  death,  Duryea, 
Thompson,  and  Marsha  vote  to  sell  the  steel  mill,  despite 
Peck's  plea  that  it  remain  in  the  family.  Greer,  to  whom 
Peck's  mother  had  left  her  share  of  the  mill,  sides  with  Peck 
and  saves  the  mill  by  inducing  Marsha  to  change  her  vote. 
Incensed  by  Greer's  action,  Jessica  insults  her.  Peck,  angered, 
breaks  with  his  wife  and,  indicating  a  divorce,  reunites  with 
Greer. 

John  Meehan  and  Sonya  Levien  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Edwin  H.  Knopf  produced  it,  and  Tay  Garnett  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Preston  Foster.  Reginald  Owen,  John 
Warburton,  Dean  Stockwell  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Song  of  the  Sarong"  with  William  Gargan 
and  Nancy  Kelly 

( Universal,  April  20;  time,  65  min.) 

Mediocre  program  fare,  handicapped  by  a  story  that  is  up 
to  the  intelligence  of  a  five-year-old  child.  The  whole  thing 
is  no  more  than  an  excuse  for  a  group  of  girls,  particularly 
the  leading  lady,  to  cavort  about  dressed  in  sarongs.  Even 
the  comedy,  furnished  by  Eddie  Quillan  and  Fuzzy  Knight, 
is  too  inane  to  be  amusing.  The  best  that  can  be  said  for  the 
picture  is  that  it  has  a  few  catchy  melodies,  but  even  un- 
discriminating  audiences  will  expect  to  find  more  than  a  few 
tuneful  songs.  The  players  are  helpless  up  against  the  weak 
story  material : — 

William  Gargan,  an  adventurer,  is  hired  by  an  unscrupul- 
ous millionaire  to  steal  a  hoard  of  pearls  from  a  native  tribe 


on  a  South  Pacific  island.  Despite  the  millionaire's  warning 
that  the  treasure  was  guarded  by  natives  with  poisoned 
spears,  Gargan  heads  for  the  island  in  his  seaplane.  En 
route,  he  discovers  two  stowaways«on  board — Eddie  Quillan 
and  Fuzzy  Knight,  who  had  overheard  his  conversation  with 
the  millionaire.  Arriving  on  the  island,  Gargan  placates  the 
suspicious  natives  by  claiming  that  he  was  forced  down  with 
engine  trouble.  He  learns  that  island  was  ruled  by  Nancy 
Kelly,  a  white  girl,  whom  the  natives  believed  to  be  the 
daughter  of  a  Goddess.  Nancy  had  been  reared  and  edu- 
cated by  George  Cleveland,  a  pious  sea  captain,  who  had 
been  marooned  on  the  island  years  previously.  Aware  that 
Gargan  had  come  to  the  island  to  steal  the  pearls,  Cleveland 
tries  to  disuade  him.  But  Gargan  scoffs  at  the  old  man,  and 
determines  to  carry  out  his  plan.  Meanwhile  Nancy  falls  in 
love  with  Gargan,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  George  Dolenz, 
a  high  caste  native,  to  whom  she  was  engaged.  Gargan  re- 
sists falling  in  love  with  her,  but  tries  to  get  from  her  the 
golden  key  to  the  temple  holding  the  pearls.  Failing,  Gargan 
decides  to  dynamite  the  entrance.  Dolenz,  discovering  his 
plan,  pretends  friendship  and  offers  to  help  him  for  a  share 
of  the  loot.  Gargan  agrees,  only  to  find  himself  captured  by 
the  natives,  summoned  by  Dolenz.  As  altar  fires  are  lit  for 
Gargan's  execution,  Nancy  prays  for  a  miracle.  A  sudden 
storm  quenches  the  fire,  and  the  natives,  believing  that  the 
Gods  wished  his  life  spared,  unchain  Gargan.  Dolenz 
leaves  the  island  defeated,  and  Nancy  reunites  with  Gargan. 

Gene  Lewis  wrote  the  screen  play  and  produced  it.  Har- 
old Young  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"I'll  Remember  April"  with  Gloria  Jean 
and  Kirby  Grant 

( Universal,  April  13;  time,  63  min.) 

Just  a  mildly  entertaining  program  picture.  Some  people 
may  find  enjoyment  in  it,. but  it  will  not  be  such  as  to  make 
them  remember  it  or  induce  a  picture  hunger  in  them.  The 
story,  which  is  a  mixture  of  drama,  music,  comedy,  and 
murder  mystery,  is  very  thin,  and  little  imagination  has  been 
used  in  its  presentation.  The  murder  mystery  angle  in  par- 
ticular is  ineffective,  for  the  spectator  is  not  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  guess  the  murderer's  identity;  the  hero,  through 
clues  known  only  to  himself,  traps  the  killer  with  the  great- 
est of  ease.  Gloria  Jean's  pleasant  singing  is  the  best  the 
picture  has  to  offer: — 

Morgan  Wallace,  a  crooked  financier,  admits  to  his  board 
of  directors  that  he  had  gambled  away  their  money,  and 
asks  for  thirty  days  in  which  to  make  restitution.  Because  of 
the  shock,  Samuel  H.  Hinds,  one  of  the  directors,  suffers 
a  heart  attack,  and  is  compelled  to  withdraw  his  daughter, 
Gloria  Jean,  from  finishing  school.  Gloria,  to  help  her 
father  recoup  his  finances,  goes  to  one  of  Kirby  Grant's 
talent  broadcasts,  where  she  is  given  an  opportunity  to  sing 
on  the  radio.  Milburn  Stone,  Grant's  rival  on  another  pro- 
gram, is  so  impressed  with  Gloria's  singing  that  he  arranges 
to  have  her  sing  on  his  show.  But  Grant,  lest  his  sponsors 
be  displeased,  tricks  Gloria  away  from  Milburn's  show  and 
has  her  sing  on  his  own  program  once  again.  Later  Grant 
meets  Gloria's  father  and  learns  of  the  impending  board 
meeting  at  which  the  crooked  financier  was  to  announce 
whether  or  not  he  could  return  the  stolen  funds.  Grant 
manages  to  conceal  a  microphone  in  the  board  room,  but 
instead  of  broadcasting  the  financier's  remarks,  he  finds  him- 
self broadcasting  his  murder  when  the  man  is  shot  mysteri- 
ously. Circumstancial  evidence  points  to  Hinds  as  the  killer, 
but  Grant  refuses  to  believe  it.  He  enlists  the  aid  of  Stone, 
his  rival,  and  both  of  them,  assisted  by  Gloria,  trap  the  real 
killer,  who  turns  out  to  be  a  window  washer  employed  in 
the  defunct  firm's  office  building:  he  had  been  one  of  the 
financier's  many  victims.  With  Hinds  cleared  of  the  murder 
charge,  Grant  wins  Gloria's  heart. 

M.  Coates  Webster  wrote  the  screen  play,  Gene  Lewis 
produced  it,  and  Harold  Young  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Jacqueline  de  Wit,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Pierre  Watkin  and 
others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


April  14, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


59 


"Diamond  Horseshoe"  with  Betty  Grable 
and  Dick  Haymes 

(20th  Century-Fox,  May;  time,  104  rain.) 

This  musical  will  undoubtedly  prove  to  be  an  outstanding 
box-office  attraction;  it  has  been  given  an  elaborate  produc- 
tion, photographed  in  Technicolor,  it  has  Betty  Grable  for 
marquee  value,  and  above  all  it  is  a  good  mass  entertain- 
ment. The  story,  although  of  the  typical  backstage  variety, 
has  considerable  human  interest,  and  the  romance  is  ap- 
pealing. It  has  good  comedy,  too,  with  Phil  Silvers  provok- 
ing most  of  the  laughs  by  his  antics  and  by  his  running  gag 
around  the  question  of  why  the  show  must  go  on.  The  pro- 
duction numbers  are  exquisite  and  highly  imaginative. 
Betty  Grable  appears  at  her  best  here;  she  sings  and  dances, 
wears  the  sort  of  clothes  that  appeal  to  women  and  in  general 
gives  an  effective  performance.  Dick  Haymes,  does  very  well 
in  a  straight  dramatic  role,  less  accent  being  placed  on  his 
singing.  Others  who  take  part  in  the  action  and  in  the 
musical  numbers  include  William  Gaxton  and  Beatrice  Kay, 
with  specialty  numbers  being  contributed  by  Willie  Solar 
and  Carmen  Cavallaro.  The  music  is  melodious: — 

A  feud  between  Betty  and  Gaxton,  top  entertainers  at 
Billy  Rose's  Diamond  Horseshoe,  reaches  a  climax  when 
Dick  Haymes,  Gatxon's  son,  falls  in  love  with  her.  Haymes, 
a  medical  student,  had  quit  school  against  his  father's  wishes 
in  order  to  get  into  show  business,  but  he  had  promised  to 
return  to  his  studies  if  he  failed  to  make  good.  Beatrice  Kay, 
another  entertainer,  who  loved  Gaxton  but  feared  that  she 
would  lose  him,  because  of  his  close  attachment  to  Haymes, 
enlists  Betty's  aid  in  a  plot  to  get  the  boy  out  of  the  way, 
promising  her  a  fur  coat  for  her  trouble.  Betty  accepts 
Haymes'  attentions  only  to  find  herself  deeply  in  love  with 
him.  She  marries  the  young  man,  causing  a  break  between 
father  and  son  when  Gaxton  accuses  her  of  trickery.  Gax- 
ton's  opposition  causes  Betty  to  leave  the  show,  and  she 
teams  up  with  Haymes  in  a  singing  and  dancing  act  that  is 
not  too  successful.  She  soon  realizes  that  his  heart  was  in 
medicine,  and  she  induces  him  to  return  to  school  while  she 
earned  the  money  for  his  tuition.  Gaxton,  learning  of  her 
sacrifice,  begs  her  forgiveness. 

George  Seaton  wrote  the  screen  play  and  directed  it. 
William  Perlberg  produced  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Salome,  Where  She  Danced"  with 
Yvonne  de  Carlo,  Rod  Cameron 
and  David  Bruce 

(Universal,  April  27;  time,  90  min.) 

This  is  a  very  expensive  production,  photographed  in 
Technicolor,  which,  despite  its  hodge-podge  mixture  of 
romance,  music,  comedy,  melodrama,  dancing,  singing, 
espionage,  and  most  anything  else  one  can  think  of,  may  go 
over  with  undiscriminating  audiences  fairly  well.  Discerning 
patrons  will  certainly  find  it  too  ludicrous.  Revolving  around 
the  career  of  a  European  ballet  dancer,  the  story,  which 
leans  heavily  on  the  long  arm  of  coincidence,  begins  with 
Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox,  jumps  to  Europe  for  the 
Prussian-Austrian  War,  hops  back  to  this  country  to  a 
booming  Western  town,  and  finally  ends  up  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. The  action  includes  such  incidents  as  a  sword  duel, 
a  kidnapping  by  Western  outlaws,  piracy,  and  a  runaway 
stagecoach,  and,  for  good  measure,  one  of  the  characters  is 
a  Chinese  philosopher  who  speaks  with  a  Scotch  accent. 
Ludicrous  as  it  is,  the  settings  are  very  colorful,  and  one 
might  enjoy  it  if  he  were  willing  to  accept  the  picture  for 
what  it  is — a  comic  strip  story  played  straight: — 

The  Civil  War  ended,  Rod  Cameron,  a  correspondent, 
goes  to  Berlin,  hoping  to  score  a  "scoop"  on  Germany's 
plan  to  attack  Austria.  He  enlists  the  aid  of  Yvonne  de 
Carlo,  a  Viennese  dancer,  who  agrees  to  accept  advances 
from  Count  Albert  Dekker  so  that  she  might  learn  of  Ger- 
many's plans.  Cameron  scores  his  "scoop,"  but  he  and 
Yvonne,  accompanied  by  J.  Edward  Bromberg,  her  teacher, 
are  forced  to  flee  to  America  to  escape  Dekker's  wrath. 
Cameron  planned  to  launch  Yvonne  on  a  new  career  in  San 


Francisco.  En  route,  they  stop  at  a  small  Western  town, 
where  they  put  on  a  show  to  raise  funds.  The  show  is  in- 
terrupted by  David  Bruce  and  his  outlaws,  who  rob  the 
audience  and  kidnap  Yvonne.  Bruce,  however,  falls  in  love 
with  Yvonne,  and  decides  to  reform.  He  returns  the  stolen 
money  and  joins  the  group  on  the  trip  to  San  Francisco. 
Arriving  there,  Cameron  and  Bruce  contrive  to  have  Walter 
Slezak,  a  wealthy  Russian,  meet  Yvonne.  He  falls  in  love 
with  her,  and  offers  to  sponsor  her  career.  On  Yvonne's 
opening  night,  Dekker  arrives,  seeking  revenge.  Bruce  kills 
him  in  a  saber  duel,  then  steals  a  stagecoach  to  escape  the 
law.  Pursued  and  apprehended  by  Slezak,  Bruce  learns  to 
his  surprise  that  the  Russian  had  used  his  influence  to  square 
matters  with  the  police,  and  that  he  meant  to  step  out  of 
Yvonne's  life  so  that  he  (Bruce)  could  have  her. 

Laurence  Stallings  wrote  the  screen  play,  Walter  Wanger 
produced  it,  and  Charles  Lamont  directed  it.  Alexander 
Golitzen  was  associate  producer.  The  cast  includes  Marjorie 
Rambeau,  Abner  Biberman  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"A  Medal  for  Benny"  with  J.  Carrol  Naish, 
Dorothy  Lamour  and  Arturo  de  Cordova 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  77  min.) 

Well  directed  and  acted,  this  is  an  appealing  human- 
interest  drama,  with  good  touches  of  comedy,  and  with  a 
timely  message  to  those  who  are  not  above  capitalizing  on 
the  fame  of  a  war  hero.  The  story's  locale  is  a  Paisano  com- 
munity in  a  small  California  town,  and  it  revolves  around 
an  elderly,  humble  Paisano,  who  rebuffs  the  town's  big- 
wigs when  they  attempt  to  use  his  dead  son's  fame  for  com- 
mercial advantage.  Tears  and  laughter  are  intermingled  in 
the  story,  and  some  of  the  situations  are  very  stirring,  as 
for  instance  the  one  in  which  the  completely  overwhelmed 
Paisano,  played  superbly  by  J.  Carrol  Naish,  humbly  and 
with  dignity  receives  the  Congressional  Medal  of  Honor 
awarded  posthumously  to  his  son.  There  is  a  strong,  ap- 
pealing romance  between  Dorothy  Lamour  and  Arturo  de 
Cordova.  Having  learned  that  the  dead  hero,  her  sweetheart, 
had  been  unfaithful  to  her,  Dorothy  falls  in  love  with  De 
Cordova,  but  neither  declare  their  love  openly  lest  the  truth 
disillusion  Naish.  Mikhail  Rasumny  provides  some  out- 
standing moments  as  a  demonstrative  Paisano: — 

Despite  De  Cordova's  efforts  to  win  her  love, -Dorothy  re- 
mains faithful  to  Naish's  son,  "Benny,"  who  had  been  run 
out  of  town  because  of  his  scrapes  with  the  police.  Moreover, 
Dorothy  resented  De  Cordova's  capacity  for  avoiding  work, 
and  despised  him  for  swindling  Naish  out  of  his  last  dollar 
on  schemes  that  never  worked  out.  But  when  De  Cordova 
confronts  her  with  proof  of  "Benny's"  unfaithfulness,  Doro- 
thy realizes  and  confesses  her  love  for  him.  Meanwhile 
Naish,  on  the  verge  of  being  evicted  from  his  home  for  non- 
payment of  rent,  receives  word  that  his  son  had  died  in  the 
Philippines,  and  that  he  was  the  nation's  number  one  hero. 
Naish  soon  finds  himself  caught  in  an  exciting  whirl  when 
the  town's  business  men  decide  to  capitalize  on  the  boy's 
fame.  They  move  Naish  out  of  the  ramshackle  Paisano 
neighborhood  and  install  him  in  a  new  home,  so  that  news- 
paper photographs  would  carry  a  good  impression  of  the 
town.  On  the  eve  of  the  presentation  to  him  of  his  son's 
medal,  Naish  learns  that  his  new-found  comfort  was  only 
temporary,  and  that  his  son's  heroism  was  being  exploited 
by  the  town's  "Babbits."  Disillusioned,  he  returns  to  his 
shack  and  refuses  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  celebra- 
tion on  the  morrow.  On  the  following  day,  the  town's 
leaders  are  embarrassed  no  end  when  the  Governor  and  a 
General  arrive  to  make  the  presentation.  But  not  so  the 
General,  who  orders  his  troops  to  march  to  Naish's  home, 
where  he  holds  the  ceremony.  De  Cordova  joins  the  Army 
and  goes  off  to  the  war,  inspired  by  Dorothy's  love,  of  which 
Naish  knew  nothing. 

Frank  Butler  wrote  the  screen  play,  Paul  Jones  produced 
it,  and  Irving  Pichel  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Charles 
Dingle,  Frank  McHugh,  Grant  Mitchell  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


60 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  14,  1945 


"Murder,  He  Says"  with  Fred  MacMurray 
and  Helen  Walker 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  91  min.) 
This  comedy-melodrama  should  go  over  well  with  the 
masses,  first,  because  it  is  fast-moving  and  very  amusing,  and 
secondly,  because  it  is  different.  The  action  takes  place  in  a 
"Tobacco  Road"  setting,  and  it  revolves  around  the  homi- 
cidal antics  of  a  wierd  hillbilly  family  whose  murderous 
tendencies  among  themselves  and  toward  strangers  would 
be  unpleasant  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  story  is  com- 
pletely illogical  and  nonsensical.  As  it  is,  the  situations  are  so 
incredible  and,  in  many  instances,  so  broadly  slapstick,  that 
one  cannot  help  laughing  at  what  transpires.  For  instance, 
one  of  the  lethal  means  used  by  the  family  is  a  poison  that 
causes  the  victim's  body  to  glow  in  the  dark.  The  producers 
have  employed  to  good  effect  standard  devices  such  as  hid- 
den doors  and  secret  passages  to  give  the  proceedings  a 
wierd  atmosphere.  All  in  all,  it  is  the  sort  of  picture  that 
should  attract  considerable  attention: — 

Fred  MacMurray,  a  public  opinion  investigator,  visits  an 
ancient  house  in  the  hillbilly  country  to  inquire  about  the 
mysterious  disappearance  of  a  fellow  worker.  He  is  assaulted 
by  a  pair  of  brawny,  moronic  twins  (both  played  by  Peter 
Whitney)  but  saved  from  death  by  their  whip-cracking 
"maw"  (Marjorie  Main).  Others  in  the  family  included 
Porter  Hall,  "Maw's"  sixth  husband;  Jean  Heather,  her 
dim-witted  daughter;  and  Mabel  Paige,  the  boisterous  grand- 
mother, MacMurray  learns  that  the  family  was  trying  to 
find  out  the  whereabouts  of  $70,000,  which  had  been  stolen 
by  Barbara  Pepper,  an  imprisoned  member  of  the  family, 
and  entrusted  to  the  grandmother,  who  refused  to  reveal 
the  hiding  place.  The  hillbillies  force  MacMurray  to  pose 
as  Barbara's  "boy-friend,"  hoping  the  grandmother  would 
divulge  her  secret  to  him.  The  old  lady  sees  through  the 
ruse,  but  gives  him  a  vague  clue  just  before  she  dies  from 
poisoning.  The  hillbillies,  believing  that  MacMurray  knew 
the  secret,  threaten  to  kill  him,  but  he  is  saved  by  the 
timely  arrival  of  Helen  Walker,  posing  as  Barbara,  who 
cows  the  family  with  her  six-shooter.  Actually,  Helen  was 
the  daughter  of  a  bank  employee  who  had  been  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  $70,000,  and  she  sought  to  recover  the 
money.  Helen  and  MacMurray  join  forces,  constantly  ward- 
ing off  attempts  on  their  lives.  Working  out  the  vague  clue 
left  by  the  grandmother,  the  young  couple  finally  locate  the 
money  and,  after  numerous  chases,  succeed  in  capturing  the 
entire  hillbilly  clan  in  a  bailing  machine. 

Lou  Breslow  wrote  the  screen  play,  E.  D.  Leshin  produced 
it,  and  George  Marshall  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Bullfighters"  with  Laurel  and  Hardy 

(20th  Century-Fox,  May;  time,  61  min.) 

A  fairly  amusing  program  comedy,  done  in  the  typical 
Laurel  and  Hardy  manner;  it  should  entertain  those  who 
enjoy  slapstick  and  nonsensical  farce.  This  time  the  two 
comedians,  as  detectives,  find  themselves  in  Mexico  City, 
where  Laurel's  resemblance  to  a  famed  Spanish  matador 
leads  them  into  a  series  of  complications  that  culminate  in 
Laurel  facing  a  ferocious  bull  in  an  arena.  Some  of  the  slap- 
stick situations  are  highly  amusing,  but  others  become  tire- 
some because  they  are  long  drawn  out.  A  musical  interlude, 
featuring  Diosa  Costello,  comes  as  a  welcome  relief: — 

Arriving  in  Mexico  City  to  track  down  a  curvaceous 
blonde,  Laurel  and  Hardy  check  in  at  a  fashionable  hotel, 
where  Laurel,  much  to  his  amazement,  is  welcomed  royally 
by  the  guests.  He  did  not  realize  that  the  guests  had  mis- 
taken him  for  Don  Sebastian  (also  played  by  Laurel),  a 
famous  Spanish  bullfighter,  whose  arrival  from  Spain  was 
expected.  Meanwhile  Richard  Lane,  Sebastian's  agent,  has 
difficulties  with  Ralph  Sanford,  a  sports  promoter,  who  had 
agreed  to  sponsor  the  matador;  Sanford  had  recognized  a 
picture  of  Sebastian  as  one  of  two  Peoria  detectives,  who 


were  responsible  for  sending  him  to  jail  for  a  crime  he  had 
not  committed.  Lane  mollifies  Sanford  by  proving  that  Se- 
bastian had  never  been  out  of  Spain.  Later  at  the  hotel, 
Lane  meets  the  detectives  and  mistakes  Laurel  for  his  client, 
but  he  soon  realizes  his  mistake  and  explains.  When  word 
comes  that  Sebastian's  arrival  would  be  delayed,  Lane  com- 
pels Laurel  to  pose  as  the  matador  under  threat  of  notifying 
Sanford,  who  had  vowed  to  skin  both  detectives  alive  if  he 
ever  caught  them.  Laurel  meets  Sanford  at  a  night-club,  and 
signs  for  a  bullfight.  On  the  day  of  the  contest,  Lane  learns 
that  Sebastian  may  not  arrive  in  time.  He  bullies  Laurel  into 
agreeing  to  enter  the  bull-ring.  As  he  nervously  awaits  his 
turn,  Laurel  drinks  tequilla  and  becomes  intoxicated.  Mean- 
while the  real  matador  shows  up  unexpectedly  and  enters 
the  ring.  His  skillful  work  amazes  Hardy  and  Lane,  who 
were  under  the  impression  that  they  were  watching  Laurel. 
But  the  hoax  is  exposed  when  Laurel,  drunk,  stumbles  into 
the  ring.  Sanford,  recognizing  the  masquerade,  catches  the 
two  detectives  and  makes  good  his  threat  to  skin  them  alive. 

W.  Scott  Darling  wrote  the  screen  play,  William  Girard 
produced  it,  and  Mai  St.  Clair  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Carol  Andrews,  Ed  Gargan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Scared  Stiff"  with  Jack  Haley 
and  Ann  Savage 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time.  63  min.) 

A  poor  program  murder-mystery  melodrama,  with  the 
accent  on  comedy,  most  of  which  is  so  silly  that  the  spectator 
finds  it  difficult  to  refrain  from  yawning.  Few  of  the  pic- 
tures produced  by  Paramount's  Pine-Thomas  unit  have  been 
worthwhile,  but  this  one  dips  to  a  new  entertainment  low. 
The  story  is  extremely  thin  and  utterly  confusing,  serving 
merely  as  an  excuse  for  an  assortment  of  odd  characters  to 
chase  each  other  through  the  tunnels  of  a  huge  wine  cellar. 
No  fault  can  be  found  with  the  performances,  for  there  is 
not  much  that  the  players  could  do  with  the  material: — 

Jack  Haley,  chess  editor  on  a  newspaper,  is  constantly 
hounded  by  his  managing  editor  (Roger  Pryor),  because  of 
his  inability  to  recognize  news.  Sent  to  Grape  City  to  cover 
a  wine  festival,  Haley  becomes  flustered  at  the  bus  station 
when  he  meets  Ann  Savage,  an  antique  dealer,  with  whom 
he  was  infatuated,  and  he  absent-mindedly  buys  a  ticket  to 
Grape  Center,  where  she  was  going.  When  the  bus  reaches 
Grape  Center,  one  of  the  passengers  is  discovered  murdered. 
All  the  travelers,  including  Veda  Ann  Borg,  an  insurance 
detective,  and  Robert  Emmett  Keane,  a  professor,  are  herded 
into  a  tavern  owned  by  a  pair  of  eccentric,  elderly  twins 
(played  by  Lucien  Littlefield),  who  were  not  on  speaking 
terms.  Haley,  having  sat  next  to  the  murdered  man,  is  sus- 
pected. While  waiting  for  the  sheriff  to  arrive,  Ann  con- 
fides to  Haley  that  she  had  come  to  the  tavern  to  recover 
for  a  client  a  valuable  set  of  gold  chessmen,  owned  by  the 
twins.  The  set  had  been  stolen  from  Ann's  client  by  Barton 
MacLane,  a  gangster,  who  had  in  turn  sold  them  to  the 
twins.  One  of  the  twins  had  sold  his  half  of  the  set  to  Ann, 
but  the  other  was  unwilling  to  do  so.  Haley  agrees  to  help 
her  complete  the  sale.  Meanwhile  MacLane,  who  had  es- 
caped from  prison,  was  in  the  vicinity  bent  on  getting  the 
chessmen  for  himself.  Haley's  efforts  to  buy  the  other  half 
of  the  set  involve  him  in  a  series  of  wierd  happenings,  which 
finally  result  in  a  chase  through  the  tavern's  huge  wine 
cellar,  with  all  the  different  characters  participating.  He 
eventually  captures  MacLane  and  the  professor,  proving 
that  they  had  committed  the  murder  as  part  of  the  plan  to 
steal  the  chessmen.  The  crime  solved,  Haley  telephones  his 
editor  and,  without  mentioning  what  he  had  been  through, 
apologizes  for  missing  his  assignment  at  the  wine  festival. 

Geoffrey  Homes  and  Maxwell  Shane  wrote  the  screen 
play,  and  Frank  McDonald  directed  it.  Mr.  Shane  was  asso- 
ciate producer.  The  cast  includes  George  E.  Stone,  Buddy 
Swan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  APRIL  21,  1945 


No.  16 


Advertising  Tie-Ups  in  Feature  Pictures 


"One  of  the  most  interesting,  behind'the'scenes 
battles  waged  in  Hollywood,"  states  Jimmie  Fidler  in 
a  recent  syndicated  column,  "receives  little  publicity. 
I  refer  to  the  constant  fight  of  manufacturers  to  get 
their  commodities  displayed,  as  prominently  as  pos- 
sible, on  the  screen. 

"Almost  every  big  advertising  agency  has  a  Holly 
wood  representative  whose  job  it  is  to  see  that  the 
agency's  clients  get  a  maximum  amount  of  such  in- 
direct  advertising.  Several  studios  have  ironclad  con- 
tracts  which  oblige  them  to  use  certain  products  in 
movie-making.  One  studio  employs  Cadillacs  when  a 
script  calls  for  an  expensive  story;  another  studio  has 
a  similar  deal  with  Buick. 

"Manufacturers  of  electrical  home  appliances  know 
that  the  casual  display  of  their  products  in  a  hit  movie 
boosts  sales  phenomenally.  Companies  manufacturing 
freshly  designed  mechanical  gadgets  of  all  kinds  know 
that  there  is  no  more  effective,  means  of  introducing 
them  to  the  public  than  placing  them  in  the  hands  of 
a  movie  star.  Tourist  bureaus  and  resort  owners  vie  to 
have  pictures  filmed  in  the  locales  in  which  they  are 
interested. 

"Watch  the  backgrounds  and  props  in  the  next  pic- 
ture you  see.  You'll  be  amazed  at  the  number  of  'ad- 
vertising tie-ups.'  " 

The  concealing  of  advertisements  in  motion  pic- 
tures offered  as  entertainment  to  the  exhibitors  and 
the  public  is  not  a  new  practice.  It  is  an  unethical 
practice  against  which  this  paper  has  fought  long  and 
vigorously.  Old  subscribers  will  recall  the  strenuous 
campaign  waged  by  Harrison's  Reports  in  1931 
when  the  producer-distributors,  faced  with  diminish- 
ing receipts,  resorted  to  screen  advertising,  both  spon- 
sored and  concealed,  in  an  effort  to  bolster  their  weak- 
ened financial  structures. 

This  paper  felt  then  (and  its  opinion  has  not 
changed)  that  the  harm  done  to  the  exhibitors  by  con- 
cealed advertising  in  entertainment  pictures  was  in- 
calculable; the  picture-going  public  resented  paying 
an  admission  price  to  see  an  advertisement,  and  the 
country's  newspapers  and  national  magazines,  with- 
out whose  good-will  the  motion  picture  industry 
would  have  hard  sledding,  resented  the  producer- 
distributors'  intrusion  into  the  advertising  field. 

This  paper's  campaign  against  screen  advertising 


was  so  intense  that  the  nation's  leading  and  most  in- 
fluential newspapers  rallied  to  its  support  with  pow- 
erful editorials,  which,  within  a  few  months,  com- 
pelled the  producer-distributors  to  abandon  that  prac- 
tice. 

Since  then,  concealed  advertising  has  cropped  up  in 
pictures  occasionally,  but  each  time  that  it  did  crop 
up,  this  paper  brought  the  offense  to  the  attention  of 
the  exhibitors. 

The  latest  of  these  offenses  occurs  in  Metro-Gold- 
wyn-Mayer's,  "The  Clock."  A  good  part  of  the  action 
in  this  picture  revolves  around  its  two  stars,  Judy 
Garland  and  Robert  Walker,  spending  the  entire 
night  with  a  Sheffield  milk  company's  driver,  who  had 
been  kind  enough  to  give  them  a  lift  when  they  missed 
their  last  bus.  Not  only  is  the  name,  Sheffield,  on  the 
truck  kept  in  plain  view  of  the  audience,  but  the 
action  includes  a  trip  to  the  company's  milk  depot, 
where  a  large  number  of  their  trucks,  with  the  Shef- 
field name  clearly  visible,  are  shown  being  loaded  with 
milk  for  the  night's  deliveries.  The  young  couple 
spend  the  night  helping  the  driver  deliver  the  milk, 
and  from  time  to  time  other  Sheffield  trucks  appear  on 
the  scene. 

The  Sheffield  company,  which  operates  in  the  New 
York  vicinity,  is  one  of  the  largest  milk  distributors 
in  the  country. 

True,  the  picture's  locale  is  New  York  City,  and  it 
may  be  argued  that  the  use  of  Sheffield  milk  trucks 
does  nothing  but  add  realism  to  the  atmosphere.  But 
does  it  add  any  values  to  the  entertainment?  If  any- 
thing, it  will  serve  to  infuriate  many  a  picture-goer, 
who  will  rightfully  feel  that  he  had  been  imposed 
upon.  And  an  infuriated  patron  shows  his  displeasure 
by  staying  away  from  the  theatres. 

Some  one  at  the  MGM  studio  must  have  been  com- 
pensated in  some  form  for  the  advertisement  given  the 
Sheffield  company  in  "The  Clock."  Whether  the 
studio  executives  know  anything  about  it  or  not, 
however,  this  writer  is  not  in  a  position  to  say.  Per- 
haps some  smart  advertising  agent,  such  as  the  type 
Mr.  Fidler  mentions  in  his  article,  was  able  to  sell  one 
of  the  studio  men  a  bill  of  goods.  But  regardless  of  the 
means  by  which  the  advertising  got  into  the  picture, 
it  is  bad — bad,  not  only  because  the  producer  uses  the 
exhibitors'  screens  as  billboards  without  their  consent, 
but  also  because  the  public  resents  it. 


62 


April  21,  1945 


"Those  Endearing  Young  Charms"  with 
Robert  Young  and  Laraine  Day 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time.  82  min.) 

Although  the  performances  by  Robert  Young  and  Laraine 
Day  are  good,  this  is  just  a  fair  drama,  revolving  around  a 
war-time  romance.  The  chief  fault  lies  in  the  characterization 
of  Young,  whose  actions  will  displease  most  spectators.  He 
is  shown  as  a  smug,  deceitful  Army  pilot,  who  stoops  to 
every  conceivable  trick  to  win  Laraine's  love,  his  intentions 
being  far  from  honorable.  Of  course,  he  eventually  falls  in 
love  with  her  and  sees  the  error  of  his  ways,  but  by  that  time 
the  spectator  finds  it  difficult  to  feel  kindly  towards  him. 
The  fact  that  one's  interest  is  held  to  a  fair  degree  is  due  to 
the  assembled  players,  whose  performances  are  far  superior 
to  the  material  given  them: — 

In  love  with  Laraine  Day,  a  department  store  clerk,  Bill 
Williams,  an  Air  Corps  mechanic,  boasts  about  her  beauty 
when  he  meets  Lieut.  Robert  Young,  whose  reputation  for 
jilting  girls  was  well  known  to  his  friends.  Young  talks 
Williams  into  taking  him  along  to  Laraine's  home  to  meet 
her.  There,  Young  uses  his  natural  charm  on  both  Laraine 
and  her  mother  (Ann  Harding),  and  makes  a  highly  favor- 
able impression  with  Laraine  by  suggesting  that  her  mother 
accompany  them  to  a  night  club.  The  end  of  the  evening 
finds  Laraine  thoroughly  fascinated  by  Young.  Two  days 
later,  he  goes  to  the  department  store  where  she  worked  and 
uses  his  charm  on  the  woman  floor  manager,  persuading  her 
to  let  Laraine  spend  the  afternoon  with  him.  He  takes  her 
to  his  flying  field,  where  he  pretends  that  he  had  been 
ordered  overseas  immediately,  and  bids  her  farewell.  Laraine, 
deeply  in  love  with  him,  goes  home  heartbroken.  Later, 
Young  telephones  her,  saying  that  bad  weather  had  forced 
him  back.  She  impulsively  confesses  her  love  for  him,  and 
agrees  to  a  date  that  night.  Laraine's  mother,  fearful  of 
Young's  intentions,  contacts  Williams  and  asks  him  to  see 
Young.  Williams  visits  Young  and  pleads  with  him  to  stay 
away  from  Laraine,  but  Young  tells  him  to  mind  his  own 
affairs.  Impressed  by  Williams'  argument,  Young  meets 
Laraine  and  confesses  that  he  had  lied  to  her.  Laraine,  dis- 
illusioned, leaves  him.  Awakening  to  the  fact  that  he  had 
fallen  in  love  with  her,  Young  tries  desperately  to  see 
Laraine,  but  she  refuses  to  talk  to  him.  Laraine's  mother, 
convinced  that  his  love  was  true,  and  remembering  that  a 
similar  occurrence  in  her  own  life  years  previously  had 
caused  her  untold  misery,  brings  the  two  together. 

Jerome  Chodorov  wrote  the  screen  play,  Bert  Granet 
produced  it,  and  Lewis  Allen  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Boston  Blackie  Booked  on  Suspicion" 
with  Chester  Morris 

(Columbia,  May  10;  time,  67  min.) 

This  latest  of  the  "Boston  Blackie"  crook  melodramas  is 
a  routine  program  filler,  no  better  and  no  worse  than  the 
previous  pictures  in  the  series.  The  story  is  highly  implausi- 
ble, and  it  follows  the  usual  pattern  of  Chester  Morris  being 
suspected  of  the  crime,  with  additional  evidence  piling  up 
against  him  as  he  goes  through  the  process  of  clearing  him- 
self. It  has  some  comedy  and  suspense.  As  entertainment,  it 
is  strictly  for  those  who  have  not  yet  tired  of  the  series : — 

To  protect  Lloyd  Corrigan's  investment  in  a  rare  book 
shop,  Chester  Morris  disguises  himself  as  a  famous  autioneer 
and  sells  a  rare  edition  of  Dicken's  "Pickwick  Papers"  for 
$62,000.  On  the  following  day,  the  purchaser  visits  Police 
Inspector  Richard  Lane  and  demands  an  investigation  on  the 
grounds  that  the  book  was  a  counterfeit.  Morris,  lest  he  be 
suspected,  starts  a  search  for  the  man  who  had  sold  the  book 
to  Corrigan.  His  search  takes  him  to  an  empty  warehouse, 
where  he  stumbles  over  the  body  of  the  murdered  counter- 


feiter, and  finds  an  envelope  containing  the  $62,000  lying 
on  the  floor.  As  he  tries  to  reconstruct  the  crime,  Lane  arrives 
and  arrests  him  on  suspicion  of  murder.  Morris  manages  to 
escape  and,  later,  learns  that  Lynn  Merrick,  an  employee  at 
the  book  shop,  had  been  in  league  with  the  counterfeiter  in 
order  to  raise  money  to  flee  the  country  with  her  husband, 
an  escaped  convict.  He  learns  also  that  it  was  she  who  had 
committed  the  murder.  Lynn,  aware  that  Morris  had  found 
her  out,  enlists  the  aid  of  her  husband  to  dispose  of  him. 
After  a  series  of  incidents  in  which  Morris  foils  Lynn's  plans 
and  manages  to  elude  the  police,  he  traps  Lynn  and  her  hus- 
band in  their  apartment  and,  at  the  point  of  a  gun,  tricks 
her  into  signing  a  confession  just  as  the  police  arrive  to 
arrest  him. 

Paul  Yawitz  wrote  the  screen  play,  Michel  Kraike  pro- 
duced it,  and  Arthur  Dreifuss  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Frank  Sully,  Steve  Cochran,  George  E.  Stone  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"China  Sky"  with  Randolph  Scott, 
Ruth  Warrick  and  Ellen  Drew 

(RJCO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  78  mm.) 

A  fairly  good  war  melodrama;  it  should  satisfy  the  rank 
and  file.  The  motivating  force  behind  the  development  of 
the  plot  is  a  strong  romantic  triangle,  revolving  around  an 
American  doctor,  his  bride,  and  his  loyal  woman  assistant. 
The  treatment  of  the  story  is  not  particularly  novel,  but  it 
holds  one's  interest  well  because  of  the  sympathy  one  feels 
for  the  doctor  and  his  assistant,  whose  lives  arc  made  miser- 
able  by  his  scheming,  jealous  wife.  The  story  takes  place  in  a 
constantly  bombed  Chinese  village,  and  there  is  considerable 
exciting  action,  particularly  in  the  closing  scenes,  where  the 
doctor  and  the  villagers  put  up  a  stiff  battle  against  Jap  para- 
troopers until  saved  by  Chinese  guerilla  fighters.  The  human 
interest  element  is  strong  throughout: — 

While  waiting  for  Randolph  Scott  to  return  from  a  trip 
to  America  for  money  and  medical  supplies,  Ruth  Warrick, 
his  assistant,  heroically  attends  to  the  sick  and  wounded, 
aided  by  Chinese  doctors  and  nurses.  Ruth,  who  loved  Scott 
secretly,  is  shocked  considerably  when  he  returns  with  a 
bride,  Ellen  Drew.  She  regains  her  composure  and  tries  to 
make  Ellen  as  comfortable  as  possible,  but  the  young  bride, 
sensing  Ruth's  love  for  her  husband,  becomes  hostile  towards 
her.  The  continuous  air  raids  on  the  village  unnerve  Ellen, 
and  she  determines  to  compel  Scott  to  return  to  the  United 
States  with  her.  Scott,  however,  informs  her  that  they  could 
not  leave  because  they  were  hemmed  in  by  the  Japs.  Mean- 
while, Richard  Doo,  a  Japanese  colonel,  wounded  and  cap- 
tured by  Anthony  Quinn,  a  Chinese  guerrilla  leader,  learns 
that  Dr.  Philip  Ahn,  under  whose  care  he  had  been  en- 
trusted, had  a  Japanese  father.  Aware  of  Ellen's  desire  to 
leave  the  village,  the  Jap  colonel  contrives  a  plot  whereby 
he  compels  Ahn,  under  threat  of  exposing  his  ancestry,  to 
persuade  Ellen  to  send  a  telegram  in  her  husband's  name  to 
a  Chinese  in  another  city,  asking  for  a  passenger  plane. 
Ellen,  eager  to  leave  the  village  and  to  separate  Ruth  and 
Scott,  sends  the  telegram,  unaware  that  it  was,  in  reality,  a 
code  message  for  the  Japs  to  attack  the  village.  A  few  days 
later,  Jap  paratroopers  descend  on  the  village  and,  in  the 
ensuing  battle,  in  which  Quinn's  guerrillas  wipe  them  out, 
Ellen  is  killed  as  she  tries  to  run  for  shelter.  Scott,  having 
realized  his  love  for  Ruth,  joins  her  in  tending  to  the 
wounded. 

Brenda  Weisberg  and  Joseph  Hoffman  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Maurice  Geraghty  produced  it,  and  Ray  Enright  di- 
rected it.  Jack  J.  Gross  was  executive  producer.  The  cast 
includes  Carol  Thurston,  "Duckie"  Louie,  Benson  Fong  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


April  21,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


63 


"Son  of  Lassie"  with  Peter  Lawford 
and  Donald  Crisp 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  100  min.) 
If  "Lassie  Come  Home"  proved  popular  with  your  cus- 
tomers, this  sequel  should  please  them  even  more,  for  it  is  a 
first'rate  melodrama,  packed  full  of  deep  human  appeal,  fast 
and  suspensive  action,  and  many  exciting  thrills.  The  mag- 
nificence of  the  outdoor  scenes,  photographed  in  Techni- 
color, is  breathtaking.  This  time  most  of  the  action  takes 
place  in  Norway,  and  it  revolves  around  the  dog's  efforts  to 
locate  his  young  master,  a  R.A.F.  flyer  shot  down  by  the 
Nazis,  and  around  their  eventual  escape  to  England  after 
many  narrow  escapes.  The  collie  dog,  who  performed  so 
splendidly  in  the  first  picture,  again  amazes  one  by  his  in- 
telligence and  sagacity;  he  makes  every  scene  in  which  he 
appears  attention-holding.  There  is  an  incidental  but  pleas- 
ing romance. 

In  the  development  of  the  story,  Laddie,  a  collie  pup,  is 
shown  as  the  mischevious  little  pet  of  Peter  Lawford,  an 
R.A.F.  cadet,  whose  father  (Donald  Crisp)  was  in  charge 
of  the  kennels  on  Nigel  Bruce's  estate  in  Yorkshire.  When 
Lawford  returns  to  the  estate  after  a  six-months  absence,  he 
finds  that  the  kennels  had  been  turned  into  a  training  post 
for  war  dogs,  and  that  Laddie,  now  full-grown,  had  resisted 
all  attempts  to  make  a  fighting  dog  of  him.  Lawford  is 
ordered  to  a  flying  field  nearby,  to  which  he  is  followed  by 
Laddie,  who  hides  aboard  his  plane  just  before  he  takes  off 
on  a  reconnaissance  flight  over  Norway.  The  Nazis  shoot 
down  the  plane,  and  Lawford  parachutes  to  safety  with 
Laddie  in  his  arms.  His  master  injured,  the  dog  goes  for  help 
only  to  be  shot  in  the  leg  by  a  Nazi  soldier.  Wounded, 
Laddie  is  found  by  a  group  of  Norwegian  children,  who  care 
for  him  until  he  recovers.  Meanwhile  Lawford  is  given 
refuge  by  Norwegian  patriots,  but  the  Nazis  eventually 
capture  him  and  take  him  to  a  prison  camp.  Laddie  trails 
Lawford  to  the  camp,  arriving  there  just  after  he  had  escaped. 
A  shrewd  prison  guard,  realizing  that  Laddie  was  searching 
for  Lawford,  takes  the  dog  on  a  leash.  Laddie,  of  course, 
leads  the  guard  to  his  master.  During  a  fight,  Laddie  disarms 
the  guard,  permitting  Lawford  to  overpower  him.  Together, 
the  boy  and  dog  manage  to  elude  searching  parties  and,  after 
a  series  of  hairbreadth  escapes,  they  commandeer  a  Nor- 
wegian fishing  vessel  that  returns  them  safely  to  England. 

Jeanne  Bartlett  wrote  the  screen  play,  Samuel  Marx  pro- 
duced it,  and  S.  Sylvan  Simon  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
June  Lockhart,  Billy  Severn,  Leon  Ames,  Nils  Asther  and 
others. 

Suitable  for  all. 


"Zombies  on  Broadway"  with  Wally  Brown 
and  Alan  Carney 

(RICO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  67  min.) 

Mediocre.  Taking  two-reel  material  and  stretching  it  to 
feature  length  is  an  old  device  with  producers,  and  this  pro- 
gram slapstick  comedy  is  a  good  example  of  the  practice. 
The  story,  which  revolves  around  two  Broadway  press  agents 
who  go  to  a  tropical  island  in  search  of  a  "Zombie,"  is  a 
burlesque  treatment  of  this  old  horror  theme.  The  result, 
however,  is  indifferent,  for  the  story  lacks  sufficient  material 
to  sustain  the  laughs.  Wally  Brown  and  Alan  Carney  have 
the  making  of  a  good  comedy  team,  but  RKO  has  yet  to 
furnish  them  with  decent  material.  Set  this  comedy  down  as 
one  that  might  appeal  to  the  youngsters  but  will  probably 
bore  their  elders: — 

To  publicize  a  new  night-club  owned  by  Sheldon  Leonard, 
a  gangster,  Brown  and  Carney  promise  to  produce  a  live 
Zombie  on  opening  night,  and  secretly  employ  a  Negro 
friend  to  act  as  the  Zombie.  When  a  radio  commentator, 
hostile  to  Leonard,  threatens  to  expose  the  stunt  unless  a 
real  Zombie  is  produced,  the  gangster  compels  Carney  and 


Brown  to  sail  to  the  Virgin  Islands  to  secure  one.  Arriving 
there,  the  boys  meet  Anne  Jeffreys,  a  cafe  singer,  who  offers 
to  lead  them  into  the  jungle  in  search  of  a  Zombie  in  return 
for  her  passage  back  to  New  York.  Meanwhile,  in  a  jungle 
castle,  Bela  Lugosi,  a  scientist,  was  experimenting  with  a 
serum  to  create  Zombies,  and  he  was  in  need  of  white  people 
to  continue  his  work.  One  of  Lugosi's  servants,  having  seen 
Brown,  Carney,  and  Anne  enter  the  jungle,  captures  the 
trio  and  brings  them  to  the  castle.  Lugosi  innoculates  Carney 
and  turns  him  into  a  Zombie  before  all  three,  aided  by  a 
monkey  who  steals  Lugosi's  hypodermic  needle,  manage  to 
escape.  Elated  over  the  fact  that  Carney  was  a  real  Zombie, 
Brown  returns  with  him  to  New  York,  arriving  on  the  open- 
ing night  of  the  club.  There,  the  effect  of  the  serum  wears 
off,  and  Carney  reverts  to  his  normal  self.  Leonard,  in- 
furiated, prepares  to  kill  both  press  agents,  but  Anne,  using 
the  hypodermic  needle  stolen  by  the  monkey,  injects  it  into 
Leonard  and  turns  him  into  a  Zombie.  It  all  ends  with 
Leonard  being  paraded  before  the  night-club's  patrons. 

Lawrence  Kimble  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ben  Stoloff  pro- 
duced it,  and  Gordon  Douglas  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Frank  Jenks,  Louis  Jean  Heydt  and  others. 


"Flame  of  the  Barbary  Coast"  with 
John  Wayne  and  Ann  Dvorak 

(Republic,  release  date  not  set;  time,  91  min.) 

A  good  melodrama  with  music.  It  has  been  given  an  ex- 
pensive production.  Based  on  San  Francisco's  famed  Barbary 
Coast  at  the  turn  of  the  century,  the  story  is  somewhat 
familiar,  but  it  holds  one's  interest  well  because  of  the 
competent  direction  and  acting.  Moreover,  it  contains  the 
type  of  tense  melodramatic  action  the  average  picture-goer 
enjoys.  In  addition,  it  has  some  especially  good  songs  that 
are  sung  effectively  by  Ann  Dvorak.  The  scenes  depicting 
the  disastrous  1906  San  Francisco  earthquake  are  particu- 
larly impressive.  John  Wayne,  as  a  Montana  cattleman, 
makes  a  strong,  hard-hitting  hero,  while  Joseph  Shildkraut, 
as  a  "gentleman"  gambler,  is  properly  sly  and  smooth-talk- 
ing. Their  hectic  rivalry  for  the  love  of  Miss  Dvorak  result 
in  many  tense  moments: — 

Visiting  Shildkraut's  gambling  palace  to  collect  $500  the 
gambler  owed  him,  Wayne  decides  to  try  his  luck  at  the 
gaming  tables.  Fascinated  by  the  brawny  westerner,  Ann 
Dvorak,  Shildkraut's  fiancee  and  singing  star,  offers  to  serve 
as  his  guide.  He  wins  heavily,  but  later,  Shildkraut  plies  him 
with  liquor  and,  through  crooked  cards,  wins  back  the 
money.  On  the  following  morning,  Wayne  learns  that  Ann 
had  played  up  to  him  to  make  Shildkraut  jealous,  and  that 
the  gambler  had  tricked  him  out  of  his  winnings.  He  goes 
back  to  his  cattle  ranch,  where  he  learns  the  art  of  crooked 
gambling  from  a  professional.  After  acquiring  a  new  bank- 
roll, Wayne  returns  to  San  Francisco  to  beat  Shildkraut  at 
his  own  game.  He  wins  a  fortune,  and  decides  to  remain  in 
San  Francisco  to  win  Ann,  too.  In  order  to  impress  her,  he 
invests  his  money  in  the  construction  of  a  competitive 
gambling  palace  opposite  Shildkraut's,  and  induces  Ann  to 
appear  as  the  star  of  his  show.  On  opening  night,  Shild- 
kraut and  his  henchmen  plan  to  start  trouble,  but  they  are 
forestalled  by  an  earthquake,  which  makes  a  shambles  of 
the  Barbary  Coast.  Ann,  injured,  is  saved  by  Wayne,  and 
she  begins  to  realize  her  love  for  him.  As  the  city  recovers 
from  the  disaster,  Shildkraut,  a  political  power,  seeks  to  gain 
control  over  the  election  of  a  new  mayor.  Wayne,  drafted 
by  the  city's  leading  citizens,  enters  the  political  battle,  and 
in  a  final  showdown  wins  both  the  election  and  Ann. 

Borden  Chase  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Joseph  Kane 
produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  William  Fraw- 
ley,  Virginia  Grey,  Russell  Hicks,  Jack  Norton,  Paul  Fix 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


64 


<  HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  21,  1945 


"Patrick  the  Great"  with  Donald  O'Connor 
and  Peggy  Ryan 

(Universal,  May  4;  time,  88  min.) 
An  entertaining  comedy  with  music.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  it  offers  little  in  the  way  of  novelty,  it  has  a  simple  but 
pleasing  story,  and  the  breezy  comedy  mood  that  is  sustained 
throughout  makes  it  enjoyable.  Donald  O'Connor  i6  as  ver- 
satile as  ever  and,  though  he  dominates  the  proceedings,  one 
never  tires  of  him.  Peggy  Ryan,  his  youthful  partner,  is 
typically  exuberant,  and  together  they  make  a  very  engaging 
team,  particularly  when  they  sing  and  dance.  The  music  is 
pleasant: — 

Gavin  Muir,  a  London  producer,  attends  a  backstage 
party  in  honor  of  Donald  Cook,  a  musical  comedy  star,  at 
the  insistence  of  Thomas  Gomez,  Cook's  manager.  Gomez 
wanted  Muir  to  give  Cook  the  leading  role  in  his  new  show. 
At  the  party,  Muir  meets  Donald  O'Connor,  Cook's  son,  an 
irrepressible  youngster  with  his  father's  flair  for  acting.  Muir 
surprises  the  boy  by  accepting  his  invitation  to  visit  a  sum- 
mer theatre,  where  he  and  Peggy  Ryan,  his  girl-friend,  were 
training  for  theatrical  careers.  Impressed  with  O'Connor's 
talents,  Muir  offers  him  the  lead  in  his  new  show.  O'Connor, 
unaware  that  his  father  expected  to  play  the  lead,  rushes  to  a 
mountain  resort,  where  Cook  was  vacationing,  to  tell  him  of 
the  good  news.  There,  he  learns  from  Andrew  Tombes, 
Cook's  valet,  that  his  father  expected  to  play  the  part.  Al- 
though bitterly  disappointed,  O'Connor  notifies  Muir  that  he 
could  not  accept  the  part.  Later,  O'Connor  makes  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Frances  Dee,  a  glamorous  food  expert  vaca- 
tioning at  the  resort,  and  mistakes  her  interest  in  him  for 
love,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  Peggy.  The  situation  be- 
comes complicated  when  O'Connor  introduces  his  father  to 
Frances  and  both  fall  in  love;  neither  one  wanted  to  hurt 
O'Connor's  feelings.  It  all  turns  out  for  the  best,  however, 
when  Cook,  learning  that  his  son  had  given  up  the  leading 
role  in  Muir's  show,  announces  his  engagement  to  Frances 
and  informs  Muir  that  his  honeymoon  would  not  leave  him 
time  to  accept  the  lead  in  his  show.  He  urges  Muir  to  give 
the  role  to  O'Connor.  On  opening  night,  Cook  and  Frances 
watch  O'Connor  score  a  huge  success  on  Broadway. 

Bertram  Millhauser  and  Dorothy  Bennett  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Howard  Benedict  produced  it,  and  Frank  Ryan  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Eve  Arden,  Irving  Bacon  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Vampire's  Ghost"  with  John  Abbott 
and  Charles  Gordon 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  59  min.) 
Mediocre  program  fare.  As  indicated  by  the  title,  this  is 
another  one  of  those  fantastic  tales  that  deal  with  medieval 
superstitions  and  the  supernatural.  This  time  the  story  is  set 
in  an  African  jungle,  and  the  usual  eerie  effects  are  em- 
ployed to  give  the  proceedings  a  wierd  touch,  but  what  trans- 
pires has  been  done  so  many  times  that  the  general  effect  is 
weak.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  one  is  inclined  to  laugh  at  situa- 
tions that  are  not  meant  to  be  funny.  Juvenile  audiences  and 
the  really  undiscriminating  horror-picture  fans  may  find  it 
acceptable,  but  others  will  probably  find  it  conducive  to 
sleep : — 

A  series  of  murders  in  a  small  African  town  stirs  consid- 
erable unrest  among  the  superstitious  natives,  who  attribute 
them  to  a  vampire.  Charles  Gordon,  official  of  a  large  rubber 
plantation  and  fiance  of  Peggy  Stewart,  daughter  of  the 
town's  leading  citizen,  decides  to  travel  into  the  jungle  to 
pacify  the  natives.  He  is  accompanied  by  John  Abbott,  mys- 
terious owner  of  a  waterfront  saloon,  who  had  arrived  in  the 
town  in  recent  months.  Abbott,  a  suave  personality,  had  in- 
gratiated himself  with  Gordon  and  Peggy.  During  the  jour- 
ney, hostile  natives  shoot  at  Gordon's  party,  and  a  bullet 


passes  through  Abbott's  body  without  drawing  blood  or 
harming  him.  Revealed  as  a  vampire,  Abbott  confesses  to 
Gordon  that  he  had  roamed  the  world  for  over  four  hundred 
years,  living  on  the  blood  of  others.  Lest  Gordon  reveal  his 
secret,  Abbott  hypnotizes  him  into  silence.  They  return  to 
town,  where  Peggy  attributes  Gordon's  hypnotic  condition 
to  jungle  fever.  Helpless  to  fight  back,  Gordon  watches 
Abbott  fall  in  love  with  Peggy,  knowing  that  his  interest  in 
her  will  eventually  end  in  her  death.  The  village  priest 
(Grant  Withers)  takes  Gordon  in  hand,  and  through 
prayers  helps  him  to  free  himself  from  Abbott's  power. 
Meanwhile  Abbott  had  fled  into  the  jungle,  taking  with  him 
Peggy,  who  was  completely  hypnotized.  Gordon  and  a  party 
of  searchers  pursue  him.  Abbott  leads  Peggy  to  a  pagan 
temple  in  a  deserted  village,  where  he  planned  to  sacrifice 
her  life  so  that  she  could  live  with  him  through  eternity.  His 
plan  is  foiled  by  the  timely  arrival  of  Gordon,  who  rescues 
Peggy  and  sets  fire  to  the  temple.  Abbott  perishes  in  the 
flames. 

John  K.  Butler  and  Leigh  Brackett  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Rudolph  E.  Abel  produced  it,  and  Lesley  Selander  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Emmett  Vogan,  Adcle  Mara  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Phantom  Speaks"  with  Richard  Arlen 
and  Stanley  Ridges 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  68  min.) 
Like  "The  Vampire's  Ghost,"  reviewed  elsewhere  on  this 
page,  this,  too,  deals  with  the  supernatural,  but  it  is  more 
interesting  than  that  picture,  and  it  should  make  a  fairly 
good  supporting  feature.  Revolving  around  a  scientist  who 
proves  to  himself  that  the  dead  can  communicate  with  the 
living,  the  story  is,  of  course,  fantastic.  Yet  it  holds  one's 
interest  throughout,  because  the  scientist,  influenced  by  the 
spirit  of  a  vindictive  murderer,  is  compelled  to  kill  the  dead 
criminal's  enemies.  One  is  held  in  considerable  suspense  be- 
cause of  the  unwilling  scientist's  inability  to  resist  the  spirit's 
will  power,  and  of  the  mystification  the  murders  cause  the 
police: — 

On  the  eve  of  his  execution,  Tom  Powers,  a  surly,  vindic- 
tive murderer,  is  visited  in  his  cell  by  Stanley  Ridges,  a 
kindly  scientist,  whose  life  studies  had  been  devoted  to  the 
theory  that  the  dead  can  communicate  with  the  living.  He 
asks  Powers  to  aid  him  by  exercising  his  unusually  strong 
will  power  in  an  effort  to  return  after  death.  Soon  after  the 
execution,  Ridges  is  secretly  thrilled  when  Powers'  spirit  con- 
tacts him,  proving  his  theory  correct.  His  satisfaction,  how- 
■  ever,  soon  turns  to  horror  when  Powers  informs  him  that  he 
intends  to  use  him  as  a  tool  to  gain  revenge  on  those  respon- 
sible for  his  conviction.  The  scientist  revolts  against  the  plan, 
but  the  spirit  proves  his  ability  to  take  possession  of  Ridges' 
body  and  mind  at  will.  In  the  grasp  of  Powers'  sinister  spirit, 
the  helpless  scientist  is  forced  to  kill  three  persons.  In  each 
murder,  clues  point  so  conclusively  to  the  seemingly  impos- 
sible fact  that  the  electrocuted  criminal  was  the  killer  that 
the  police  are  completely  mystified.  Richard  Arlen,  a  re- 
porter, who  was  in  love  with  Ridges'  daughter  (Lynne  Rob- 
erts), and  who  knew  of  Ridges'  theory,  stumbles  across 
evidence  pointing  to  the  scientist  as  the  killer.  He  reluctantly 
trails  Ridges  and,  after  a  series  of  strange  events  in  which  he 
himself  is  almost  murdered,  confirms  his  suspicions.  Arlen 
turns  his  information  over  to  the  authorities,  who  apprehend 
the  half-crazed  scientist  and  make  him  pay  with  his  life  for 
the  murders  Powers'  spirit  had  instigated. 

John  K.  Butler  wrote  the  screen  play,  Donald  H.  Brown 
produced  it,  and  John  English  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Charlotte  Wynters,  Jonathan  Hale,  Pierre  Watkin,  Marian 
Martin  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  187S. 

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Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  APRIL  28,  1945 


No.  17 


The  Future  of  Color  in  Motion  Pictures 


As  a  result  of  the  success  that  the  16-mm.  Koda- 
chrome  film  has  attained,  the  Hollywood  studios  have 
been  experimenting  on  shooting  feature  pictures  in 
16-mm.  film  and  then  enlarging  them  to  3  5 -mm.  for 
regular  theatre  exhibition.  Some  of  the  war  films  were 
photographed  on  16-mm.  Kodachrome  film  and  then 
enlarged.  The  results  were  fairly  satisfactory,  but 
not  satisfactory  enough  for  them  to  become  of  gen- 
eral use. 

The  Technicolor  process  employs  three  negatives, 
the  color  prints  from  which  are  superimposed  in  the 
final  printing.  Such  a  process,  not  only  is  highly  ex- 
pensive, but  also  requires  skillful  mechanics,  both  for 
the  special  camera  work  and  in  the  laboratory.  For 
this  reason,  the  producers  hoped  that  eventually  a 
process  employing  only  one  negative  in  an  ordinary 
camera  would  be  developed. 

The  Eastman  Kodak  company  has  developed  such 
a  process,  called  Monopack,  by  combining  all  the 
colors  into  one  negative,  from  which  color  positives 
may  be  printed.  But  it  could  not  become  available  to 
the  industry  until  after  the  war.  In  the  meantime,  the 
Technicolor  company  is  understood  to  have  obtained 
the  exclusive  rights  to  the  Eastman  Monopack  film. 

But  by  obtaining  such  rights,  Technicolor  loosed 
upon  itself  the  anti-trust  forces  of  the  Department  of 
Justice,  which,  according  to  reports  in  the  trade 
papers,  has  been  investigating  the  company  to  find 
out  if  it  is  operating  in  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws. 
The  aim  of  the  Department  of  Justice  may  be  to  bene- 
fit the  entire  industry,  by  making  the  Kodachrome 
Monopack  process  available  to  every  producer  of  mo- 
tion pictures. 

Harrison's  Reports  believes  that,  when  the  color 
process  becomes  simplified  and  cheaper  than  the  pres- 
ent color  processes,  every  feature  picture  and  most 
shorts  will  be  photographed  in  color.  This  is  bound 
to  introduce  into  the  industry  a  new  cycle. 

In  a  desire  to  obtain  the  latest  information  on  the 
progress  of  color  pictures,  Harrison's  Reports  again 
went  to  the  scientist  who  has  been  aiding  it  all  these 
years  on  all  technical  subjects  that  are  related  to  pic- 
ture production  and  exhibition,  such  as,  for  example, 
sound,  television,  third  dimension  pictures  and  other 
subjects.  The  following  represents  the  viewpoint  of 
this  scientist,  presented  for  the  benefit  of  the  readers 
of  Harrison's  Reports  : 

'The  public  has  responded  well  to  color.  There  is 
no  doubt  that,  if  good  color  is  reliably  available  with- 
out excessive  added  costs,  it  will  pay  the  producers 
and  exhibitors  to  offer  color  more  generally  to  the 


public.  A  story  can  often  be  told  more  picturesquely 
through  the  use  of  color  and  dramatic  effects  are  fre- 
quently superior  when  color  is  used.  Good  color  also 
makes  a  picture  more  natural,  and  adds  attractiveness 
particularly  to  the  appearance  of  younger  actors  and 
actresses. 

"But  there  are  a  number  of  points  which  the  ex' 
hibitor  will  have  to  keep  in  mind  in  connection  with 
color.  One  of  them  is  the  quality  of  the  sound  on 
color  prints.  It  is  generally  harder  to  produce  a  good 
sound  track  on  a  color  print  than  on  a  black-and-white 
print  because  the  processing  and  developing  of  color 
prints  is  a  complicated  job.  Every  processing  step  has 
to  be  taken  to  favor  correct  color;  this  may  make  it 
difficult  to  get  high-quality  sound  track  particularly 
in  the  case  of  variable-density  prints.  We  do  not  imply 
that  this  is  necessarily  the  case  but  we  do  point  out 
that  that  will  be  required  in  connection  with  good 
sound  on  color  prints.  Furthermore,  unless  the  sound 
track  is  uniform  with  that  on  black-and-white  prints 
on  the  same  program,  the  projectionist  must  change 
the  sound  level  skilfully  when  going  into  and  out  of 
color  projection. 

"One  of  the  problems  that  has  faced  the  producers 
in  connection  with  color  is  the  processing  problem. 
The  available  processes  are  carried  out  in  only  a  few 
laboratories  in  the  United  States,  which  involves 
shipping  negatives  to  and  from  these  laboratories  and 
securing  release  prints  exclusively  from  them.  It  is 
important  that  laboratories  for  processing  color  pic- 
tures, and  particularly  for  making  the  positive  release 
prints,  shall  be  widely  scattered  around  the  United 
States  and  shall  cooperate  fully  with  the  local  ex- 
changes. This  may  involve  simplification  of  color-film 
processing  but  it  is  a  necessary  step  in  the  wider  com- 
mercialisation of  color. 

"As  matters  stand,  color  pictures  are  more  ex- 
pensive than  black-and-white  pictures.  The  reason  for 
this  is  that  color  has  a  number  of  problems  and  added 
costs  which  are  not  involved  in  black  and  white.  Thus, 
the  sets  in  the  studio  must  be  of  correct  and  interest- 
ing color.  Outdoor  scenes  have  to  be  taken  at  the  right 
season  of  the  year  or  under  a  type  of  sunlight  or 
cloud  light  suitable  for  color  effects. 

"The  lighting  in  the  studio  must  also  be  more  pow- 
erful than  for  black  and  white  because  color  processes 
require  five  to  ten  times  as  much  light  (or  exposure) 
as  black  and  white.  Crowding  a  sufficient  number  of 
powerful  lights  into  the  studio  is  sometimes  a  prob- 
lem, because  of  the  air-conditioning  demands  as  well 
as  of  space  limitations. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


66 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  28,  1945 


"Wonder  Man"  with  Danny  Kaye 
and  Virginia  Mayo 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  96  min.) 

An  hilarious  comedy.  Danny  Kaye's  versatility 
makes  it  highly  entertaining  and,  if  one  is  to  judge 
from  the  continuous  laughter  by  those  who  attended 
the  exhibitor  trade  show  in  this  city,  the  picture 
should  prove  to  be  an  outstanding  box-office  success. 
Kaye  is  cast  as  twin  brothers,  one  a  brash  night-club 
performer,  and  the  other  a  studious  chap.  The  comedy 
is  caused  by  the  complications  that  enter  the  life  of 
the  studious  one  when  his  brother,  murdered  by  gang- 
sters, returns  as  a  ghost  and  compels  him  to  take  his 
place  so  as  to  bring  the  gangsters  to  justice.  The  story 
is,  of  course,  fantastic,  and  the  action  is  silly,  but  very 
entertainingly  so,  for  the  situations  are  extremely 
comical,  and  Kaye  is  given  ample  opportunity  to  dis- 
play his  unique  comedy  talents.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
without  him  the  picture  would  be  just  another  musi- 
cal. It  has  been  produced  on  a  lavish  scale  and  photo- 
graphed in  Technicolor: — 

On  the  eve  of  his  marriage  to  Midge  ( Vera-Ellen) , 
his  dancing  partner,  Buzzy  Bcllew  (Kaye)  is  mur- 
dered by  two  henchmen  of  a  notorious  gangster; 
Buzzy  was  a  witness  to  a  killing  perpetrated  by  the 
gangster.  Shortly  after  Buzzy 's  body  is  dumped  into 
a  park  lake,  Edwin  Dingle  (also  Kaye),  his  scholarly 
twin  brother,  from  whom  he  had  been  separated  for 
many  years,  hears  a  voice  instruct  him  to  go  to  the 
park.  There  he  is  met  by  Buzzy 's  ghost,  who  explains 
his  murder  and  insists  that  Edwin  impersonate  him 
so  that  he  could  deliver  to  the  District  Attorney  (Otto 
Kruger)  the  evidence  needed  to  convict  the  gangster. 
Edwin  refuses,  but  the  ghost,  by  entering  Edwin's 
body,  proves  that  he  can  compel  his  scholarly  brother 
to  act  gay  and  brash.  Edwin  proceeds  to  impersonate 
Buzzy  and,  whenever  he  finds  himself  in  a  situation 
foreign  to  him,  he  is  saved  by  the  timely  appearance 
of  his  ghost  twin.  Edwin  soon  finds  himself  in  a  jam 
with  Virginia  Mayo,  a  librarian,  with  whom  he  was  in 
love;  Midge,  who,  believing  him  to  be  Buzzy,  expected 
him  to  marry  her;  and  the  gangster,  who,  too,  mistook 
him  for  Buzzy  and  wanted  him  killed  once  again. 
Edwin  is  eventually  compelled  to  flee  from  the  gang- 
ster's henchmen  (Allen  Jenkins  and  Edward  Brophy) , 
who  chase  him  through  the  streets  of  New  York  and 
corner  him  backstage  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House.  There,  Edwin  masquerades  as  a  grand  opera 
baritone,  and  by  singing  the  story  of  the  gangsters' 
murders  to  the  District  Attorney  seated  in  a  box,  he 
succeeds  in  having  them  captured.  Buzzy 's  spirit 
satisfied,  Edwin  resumes  his  normal,  placid  life. 

Don  Hartman,  Melville  Shavelson,  and  Philip  Rapp 
wrote  the  screen  play,  Samuel  Goldwyn  produced  it, 
and  Bruce  Humberstone  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Donald  Woods,  S.  Z.  Sakall,  the  Goldwyn  Girls  and 
others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Escape  in  the  Desert"  with  Philip  Dorn, 
Helmut  Dantine  and  Jean  Sullivan 

(Warner  Bros.,  May  19;  time,  79  min.) 
Fair.  Although  decidedly  inferior  to  the  original, 
this  remake  of  "The  Petrified  Forest"  should  go  over 
fairly  well  with  the  undiscriminating  action  fans,  for 
the  melodramatic  action  is  quite  exciting.  It  is,  how- 
ever, of  program  grade.  Patrons  familiar  with  the  play 
may  find  the  picture  disappointing,  for  the  story  lacks 
the  emotional  quality  and  philosophical  content  of  the 
original.  This  time  the  hero  is  a  Dutch  flier,  and  the 
villains,  instead  of  gangsters,  are  escaped  Nazi  prison- 


ers of  war.  The  setting,  an  inn  in  the  Arizona  desert, 
remains  the  same.  As  in  the  original,  the  excitement  is 
caused  by  the  villains'  keeping  the  inn's  occupants 
prisoners  while  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  escape 
a  police  dragnet,  and  by  the  efforts  of  the  occupants 
to  get  word  to  the  outside.  The  closing  scenes,  where 
the  Nazis  are  captured  and  the  Dutch  flier  gives  vent 
to  his  feelings  against  Nazi  bestiality  by  whipping  the 
leader,  reach  a  high  pitch  of  excitement.  There  is  some 
comedy  and  a  romance: — 

Philip  Dorn,  a  Dutch  flier  hitchhiking  across  the 
United  States  to  see  the  country  prior  to  his  joining 
an  Allied  Air  Force,  is  given  a  lift  by  Samuel  H. 
Hinds,  elderly  owner  of  an  inn  in  Death  Valley,  who 
mistakes  him  for  one  of  four  escaped  Nazi  prisoners, 
known  to  be  in  the  vicinity.  Arriving  at  the  inn,  Hinds 
telephones  the  authorities,  but  he  regrets  his  action 
when  Dorn  establishes  his  identity.  Jean  Sullivan, 
Hinds'  granddaughter,  who  was  tired  of  living  in  the 
desert,  becomes  infatuated  with  Dorn  and  begs  him  to 
take  her  away  with  him,  much  to  the  annoyance  of 
Bill  Kennedy,  the  inn's  handyman,  who  was  in  love 
with  her.  Dorn,  though  drawn  to  Jean,  decides  to 
leave  without  her.  Back  on  the  open  road,  he  is  inter- 
cepted by  the  escaped  Nazis  (Helmut  Dantine,  Kurt 
Kruger,  Hans  Schumm,  and  Rudolph  Anders),  who 
had  hi-jacked  a  passing  truck.  They  force  Dorn  to 
lead  them  back  to  the  inn,  where  they  planned  to 
secure  clothes,  weapons,  and  a  car  with  gas  to  take 
them  to  the  Mexican  border.  Discovering  the  gas 
tanks  dry,  and  learning  that  a  delivery  would  be  made 
late  that  evening,  the  Nazi  decide  to  wait.  They  make 
the  inn's  occupants  their  prisoners,  treating  them 
brutally.  Dorn  manages  to  get  out  of  the  inn  to  the 
safety  of  an  adjacent  mine,  and  urges  a  passing  motor- 
ist to  notify  the  sheriff.  When  the  gasoline  truck 
arrives,  Dantine  and  his  men  prepare  to  leave,  but  the 
arrival  of  the  sheriff  and  his  men  stops  them.  Using 
the  inn's  occupants  as  hostages,  Dantine  tries  to  make 
a  deal  for  his  escape,  but  Dorn,  aided  by  the  sheriff, 
subdues  and  captures  the  Nazis. 

Thomas  Job  wrote  the  screen  play,  Alex  Gottlieb 
produced  it,  and  Edward  A.  Blatt  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Alan  Hale,  Irene  Manning,  Blayney 
Lewis  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Mr.  Muggs  Rides  Again"  with 
the  East  Side  Kids 

(Monogram,  June  8;  time,  64  min.) 

The  followers  of  the  "East  Side  Kid"  pictures 
should  find  this  latest  in  the  series  acceptable  program 
fare.  Although  the  story  is  a  re-hash  of  a  horse-racing 
plot  that  has  been  done  many  times,  and  although  the 
treatment  is  conventional,  it  has  enough  human  in- 
terest, awakened  by  the  friendship  between  the 
"Kids"  and  a  small  stable  owner,  and  enough  comedy 
and  excitement  to  satisfy  those  who  are  not  too  fussy 
about  story  material.  The  usual  complications,  which 
show  the  hero  being  barred  from  racing  because  of  a 
crooked  gambler's  machinations  only  to  be  reinstated 
in  time  to  ride  his  horse  to  victory,  occur: — 

After  refusing  to  "throw"  a  race  for  George 
Meeker,  a  crooked  gambler,  Leo  Gorcey,  a  jockey,  is 
framed  by  Meeker's  assistant  (Bernard  Thomas) ,  so 
that  it  appears  that  he  had  won  the  race  dishonestly. 
The  stewards  bar  Gorcey  from  the  track.  Just  as 
Gorcey  and  his  friends  (the  "East  Side  Kids")  pre- 
pare to  return  to  New  York,  they  learn  that  Meeker 
had  engineered  a  sheriff's  sale  in  an  attempt  to  win 


April  28,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


67 


possession  of  Storm  Cloud,  a  prize  horse,  owned  by 
Minerva  Urecal,  a  small  stable  owner,  who  owed 
Meeker  a  feed  bill.  The  "Kids"  thwart  Meeker's  plan 
by  paying  the  bill,  but  Miss  Urecal  insists  that  they 
take  with  them  Sweet  Alice,  her  other  horse,  as 
security  for  their  loan.  The  "Kids"  bring  the  horse 
to  their  East  Side  clubroom,  where  they  soon  find 
themselves  in  trouble  with  the  city's  Health  Depart' 
ment.  They  are  saved  from  arrest  by  the  timely  arrival 
of  Miss  Urecal,  now  prosperous,  who  takes  them  back 
to  the  track  to  help  train  Storm  Cloud  for  a  big  race, 
the  winning  of  which  would  help  her  to  retire.  Lest 
Storm  Cloud  win  the  race  and  cause  him  to  lose  heav 
ily,  Meeker  dopes  the  horse,  forcing  it  to  be  with' 
drawn  from  the  race.  Meanwhile  Thomas,  Meeker's 
henchman,  falls  in  love  with  Nancy  Brinckman,  Miss 
Urecal's  niece,  who  induces  him  to  leave  the  gambler 
and  to  confess  the  plot  that  had  barred  Gorcey  as  a 
jockey.  Reinstated,  Gorcey  persuades  Miss  Urecal  to 
substitute  Sweet  Alice  for  Storm  Cloud.  He  rides 
the  horse  to  victory. 

Harvey  Gates  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sam  Katsman 
and  Jack  Diets  produced  it,  and  Wallace  Fox  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Hunts  Hall,  Billy  Benedict, 
Pierre  Watkin  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Hitchhike  to  Happiness"  with  Al  Pearce, 
Dale  Evans  and  Brad  Taylor 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  72  min.) 

Just  a  minor  program  musical,  best  suited  for  the 
lower-half  of  a  mid-week  double  bill.  Very  little 
novelty  has  been  used  in  the  development  of  the  moss- 
covered  plot,  and  the  action  is  slow  because  of  an  over- 
abundance of  dialogue.  Al  Pearce,  a  good  comedian, 
tries  hard  to  make  his  part  effective,  but  he,  as  the 
others,  is  hampered  by  the  weak  material.  The  best 
that  can  be  said  for  it  is  that  it  has  a  few  "catchy" 
melodies,  sung  pleasantly  by  Dale  Evans : — 

Dale  Evans,  a  star  radio  singer,  returns  from  Holly- 
wood to  New  York  to  visit  the  people  she  had  known 
before  gaining  fame.  She  visits  a  restaurant  owned  by 
Al  Pearce,  a  good-natured  fellow,  who  had  often 
aided  her  in  bad  times.  Unaware  that  she  was  the 
famous  "Alice  Chase"  (her  radio  name) ,  Pearce  of- 
fers to  help  her  once  again.  Dale,  without  revealing 
her  identity,  declines  his  offer.  In  the  restaurant,  she 
meets  and  falls  in  love  with  Brad  Taylor,  a  struggling 
songwriter,  whose  melodies  thrilled  her.  Meanwhile 
Pearce,  whose  ambition  it  was  to  become  a  playwright, 
becomes  the  victim  of  a  cruel  gag  when  three  of  his 
Broadway  "friends"  trick  Willy  Trenk,  a  prominent 
Hungarian  producer,  into  buying  a  play  written  by 
him;  they  had  represented  Pearce  as  a  brilliant 
playwright.  When  Trenk  learns  of  the  fraud,  he 
threatens  to  sue  Pearce  for  the  financial  advance  he 
had  given  him.  Pearce,  however,  tricked  by  his 
"friends,"  had  spent  the  money.  To  help  Pearce  out 
of  his  predicament,  Taylor  suggests  to  Dale  that  she 
impersonate  "Alice  Chase,"  the  radio  star,  to  simu- 
late Trenk's  interest  in  Pearce's  play  by  pretending  an 
interest  in  it  herself.  Dale,  still  hiding  her  identity, 
accepts  the  suggestion  and  manages  to  obtain  Trenk's 
promise  to  back  the  show,  offering  to  play  the  leading 
role  herself.  Taylor,  learning  that  Dale  was  "Alice 
Chase,"  believes  that  she  had  been  kidding  him;  he 
leaves  her.  Although  unhappy  over  Taylor's  disap- 
pearance, Dale  does  her  utmost  to  put  the  show  in 
shape.  On  opening  night,  she  appears  as  a  guest  star 
on  a  radio  program  and  sings  one  of  Taylor's  senti' 


mental  ballads  in  the  hope  that  he  would  hear  it  and 
return  to  her.  He  does,  in  time  to  witness  the  show's 
success. 

Jack  Townley  wrote  the  screen  play,  Donald  H. 
Brown  produced  it,  and  Joseph  Santley  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  William  Frawley,  Jerome  Cowan 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Blood  on  the  Sun"  with  James  Cagney 
and  Sylvia  Sidney 

Very  good !  It  is  a  real  thriller,  with  James  Cagney 
cast  in  the  sort  of  role  that  will  delight  his  fans.  The 
action  takes  place  in  Japan  in  1928,  and  it  revolves 
around  the  efforts  of  a  fearless  American  newspaper' 
man  to  smuggle  out  of  the  country  a  secret  Japanese 
plan  for  world  conquest.  It  is  a  tale  of  murder  and 
Japanese  trickery,  in  which  Cagney,  as  the  newspaper- 
man,  uses  his  fists  freely  and  often  resorts  to  judo  in 
his  dauntless  fight  to  overcome  the  Japs'  efforts  to  re- 
cover the  document,  the  existence  of  which  they  could 
not  admit.  Some  of  the  situations  make  one's  hair 
stand  on  end  and,  though  the  story  is  somewhat  far- 
fetched, it  is  fast-moving,  interesting,  and  holds  one 
in  suspense  from  start  to  finish.  Cagney 's  romance 
with  Sylvia  Sydney,  a  glamorous  Eurasian  spy,  pro- 
vides a  steady  undercurrent  of  excitement,  since  one 
cannot  tell  until  towards  the  finish  which  side  she  was 
on.  The  action  has  some  good  comedy : — 

Cagney,  managing  editor  of  an  English-language 
newspaper  in  Tokyo,  learns  of  the  Jap  plan  for  world 
conquest  and  publishes  the  story,  arousing  the  indig- 
nation of  Jap  officials,  who  deny  the  existence  of  such 
a  plan.  Through  a  series  of  incidents  in  which  Wallace 
Ford,  his  best  friend  and  reporter,  is  murdered  by  the 
Imperial  Secret  Police,  Cagney  obtains  the  only  copy 
of  the  plan.  But  he  is  compelled  to  conceal  it  when  the 
police  arrive  at  his  home  suddenly.  He  is  beaten  and 
taken  to  jail.  On  the  following  morning,  upon  his  re- 
lease, Cagney  determines  to  report  Ford's  murder  to 
the  American  Embassy,  but  when  the  Japs  blandly 
deny  his  accusations,  and  even  prove  that  he  had  been 
arrested  because  of  a  drunken  brawl,  Cagney  realises 
the  futility  of  pressing  his  claim.  He  returns  to  his 
home  to  recover  the  concealed  plan  only  to  find  that 
it  had  been  stolen.  Later,  when  he  is  summoned  to  the 
home  of  the  Jap  premier,  who  tactfully  suggests  that 
he  return  the  plan,  Cagney  realises  that  some  one  un- 
known to  either  the  Japs  or  himself  had  the  plan. 
Bluffing,  Cagney  offers  to  produce  the  plan  when  the 
murderers  of  his  friend  are  convicted  for  the  crime. 
Sylvia  Sydney,  a  beautiful  Eurasian  spy,  is  ordered  by 
the  premier  to  become  friendly  with  Cagney  in  an 
effort  to  recover  the  plan.  Cagney  falls  in  love  with 
her  and,  after  finding  cause  to  suspect  her,  learns  that 
she  had  the  plan  in  her  possession  and  that,  in  reality, 
she  was  a  Chinese  agent  who  had  cleverly  gained  the 
premier's  confidence.  When  Sylvia's  duplicity  is 
found  out  by  the  Japs,  Cagney,  in  a  series  of  swift- 
moving  events,  manages  to  get  her  aboard  an  Amer- 
ican freighter  with  the  plan.  Then,  to  make  good  her 
escape,  he  becomes  involved  in  a  bloody  struggle  with 
the  Imperial  police,  who  finally  shoot  him  down  at 
the  gates  of  the  American  Embassy,  where  wounded 
but  still  alive  he  is  given  refuge. 

Lester  Cole  wrote  the  screen  play,  William  Cagney 
produced  it,  and  Frank  Lloyd  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Porter  Hall,  John  Emery,  Robert  Armstrong, 
Rhys  Williams  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally.    *(United  Artists,  94  min.) 


G8 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  28,  1945 


"The  costumes  of  the  actors  in  color  pictures  must 
of  course  be  more  carefully  selected  to  be  in  color 
harmony  with  the  surroundings,  or  to  be  realistic,  as 
the  case  may  be.  This  sometimes  prevents  the  use  of 
available  material. 

"And  makeup  is  a  more  difficult  problem,  as  is  clear 
enough  in  looking  at  some  of  the  more  clumsy  and 
unpleasant  effects  which  one  occasionally  sees  in  color 
pictures  where  the  wrong  sort  of  makeup  has  been 
used. 

"Since  color  pictures  require  so  much  more  light  in 
the  studio  than  black-and-white  pictures,  stopping 
down  the  lens  is  not  often  practical,  and  accordingly 
depth  of  focus  in  color  pictures  is  often  badly  limited. 
This  leads  to  a  certain  amount  of  trouble  in  patching 
closeups,  medium  shorts,  and  long  shots.  While  there 
are  ways  of  getting  around  this  difficulty,  they  have 
not  as  yet  come  into  practice  in  the  studios.  Quite  a 
few  color  pictures  have  had  to  avoid  real  depth  in  the 
sets,  with  any  foreground  action,  for  this  reason. 

"Some  types  of  stories  are  much  more  suitable  for 
color  than  others.  Pageant  pictures,  musical  comedies, 
and  Westerns  naturally  give  good  results,  if  well 
handled.  The  'society'  comedy,  or  usual  dramatic  pro- 
duction gains  less  from  color  except  if  the  color  is  very 
skilfully  used.  Accordingly  the  story  should  be  care 
fully  examined  for  color  effects  in  order  to  get  the 
greatest  possible  advantage  through  the  use  of  color. 

"Further,  those  who  plan  the  sets  and  costumes 
must  have  artistic  taste  and  a  knowledge  of  public 
preferences  and  responses  to  color.  Some  of  the  color 
pictures  show  a  sad  lack  of  any  wise  planning  in  this 
respect.  But  doubtless  there  will  be  found  competent 
artists,  who  can  handle  this  problem. 

"All  in  all,  the  production  of  a  color  picture  is  a 
bigger  job  than  a  black-and-white  picture,  and  it  is 
not  astonishing  that  it  costs  more  at  the  present  time. 
However,  with  added  experience,  it  should  be  pos- 
sible to  keep  the  cost  of  a  color  picture  not  too  far 
above  that  of  a  black-and-white  picture. 

"In  the  theater  the  color  pictures  require  more  care 
in  handling  for  successful  presentation.  A  good 
bright  screen  is  necessary  if  color  pictures  are  to 
'sparkle'  and  to  show  the  full  value  of  the  color  process 
— particularly  for  the  blue  and  green  tints.  Further- 
more, the  projectionist  must  focus  color  pictures  ex' 
tremely  carefully  to  get  the  best  effects,  because  an 
out-of-focus  color  picture  looks  far  more  'smeary' 
than  a  black-and-white  picture  and,  in  addition,  shows 
false  color  rims  around  objects. 

"Since  color  prints  are  more  expensive  than  black- 
and-white  prints,  they  have  to  be  particularly  care- 
fully handled  by  the  projectionist,  else  the  exhibitor 
will  face  a  considerable  bill  for  damaged  film. 

"One  question  which  may  come  up  when  color  be- 
comes more  generally  used  is  whether  some  of  the 
stars  have  good  coloring  and  therefore  show  up  well 
in  color  pictures.  It  is  not  certain  that  all  stars  who 
have  done  well  in  black-and-white  pictures  will  be 
'chromogenic,'  that  is,  attractive  when  shown  in  color. 
Those  stars  who  are  chromogenic  will  of  course  have 
a  great  advantage  in  that  respect  just  as  did  the  stars 
who  were  able  to  speak  clearly  at  the  time  that  the 
silent  pictures  went  out  and  the  talking  movies  came 
in. 

"In  selecting  youngsters  for  future  film  stars  or  star- 
lets, the  producers  should  look  out  for  those  who  are 


particularly  attractive  in  color.  It  will  be  easier  to  ex- 
ploit these  stars  both  in  the  trailers  and  the  features. 

"One  of  the  reasons  why  color  has  gone  forward 
rather  slowly,  apart  from  the  difficulty  of  producing 
good  color  pictures,  is  the  cost  of  the  negative  and  the 
release  prints.  It  is  easy  to  add  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  to  the  cost  of  production  of  a  black-and- 
white  picture  by  putting  it  into  color,  particularly  if 
costs  are  not  closely  controlled.  As  matters  stand, 
color  prints  for  the  theater  cost  several  times  as  much 
as  those  for  black  and  white.  It  is  practically  certain 
that  they  will  never  be  as  low  in  cost  as  the  present 
black-and-white  prints. 

"There  are  at  least  four  major  color  processes  which 
may  be  useful  for  postwar  theater  work.  One  of  these 
of  course  is  Technicolor.  In  Technicolor,  until  re- 
cently, a  special  camera  of  the  color-separation  type 
was  necessary.  It  was  a  costly  and  ingenious  instru- 
ment, which  some  seemed  to  find  less  convenient  than 
the  standard  studio  camera  for  black-and-white.  But 
recently  there  have  been  produced  'monopack'  pro- 
cesses which  provide  a  single-magazine  film  that  can 
be  used  in  any  ordinary  camera.  This  is  a  great  step 
forward  so  far  as  convenience  is  concerned,  particu- 
larly providing  such  monopack  film  can  be  developed 
locally  by  the  producer  in  his  own  laboratory  and  that 
release  prints  can  be  made  conveniently  in  various 
parts  of  the  country.  The  question  of  high-quality 
dupe  negatives  also  requires  study  in  this  connection. 

"The  Eastman  Company  has  produced  Kodachrome 
film  which  enables  excellent  originals  to  be  made  on 
film  of  any  size.  Some  of  the  16-mm.  Government 
pictures  on  Kodachrome  have  been  extremely  good 
and  indicate  that  monopack  processes  of  the  Koda- 
chrome type  should  be  satisfactory  for  35-mm.  original 
negatives  and  release  prints.  Since  all  the  color  pro- 
cesses are  likely  to  be  further  improved  after  the  war, 
this  prospect  seems  particularly  hopeful. 

"The  Agfa-Ansco  color  film  is  understood  also  to 
be  a  good  product,  which  should  be  available  for 
35-mm.  purposes  sometime  after  the  war.  It  has  been 
rumored  that  the  DuPont  Company  also  has  a  mono- 
pack  process  available. 

"It  looks  as  if  good  monopack  negative  processes 
will  be  available  to  the  producers  after  the  war  and 
will  enable  making  high-quality  release  prints.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  there  will  be  healthy  technical  and 
commercial  competition  between  the  various  groups 
so  that  each  of  them  may  produce  a  superior  product 
and  at  a  lower  cost. 

"Judging  from  present  indications,  it  will  not  be 
many  years  before  most  or  all  of  the  A  pictures  will 
be  in  color.  Putting  the  B  pictures  into  color  will  take 
more  time  and  will  await  lowered  production,  nega- 
tive, and  print  costs  for  color  work. 

"It  is  a  good  idea  for  the  motion-picture  industry 
to  go  to  color  as  fast  as  the  industry  can  afford  to  do 
so  and  to  deliver  a  high-grade  product  in  color.  Tele- 
vision is  no  longer  'around  the  corner' — and  this 
means  that  the  theaters  should  have  the  best  possible 
product.  Television  will  probably  be  in  black  and 
white  for  a  number  of  years  to  come  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  theaters  should  not  maintain  their 
lead  in  the  color  field  during  that  period.  To  do  so 
means  public  satisfaction  and  increased  returns  to 
the  industry." 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  187S. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  MAY  5,  1945  No.  18 


CALLING  MR.  TOM  CONNORS 

The  following,  in  part,  is  from  a  bulletin  dated 
April  30,  issued  by  Allied  States  Association  of  Mo- 
tion Picture  Exhibitors: 

"WHAT  HAPPENED  TO  CALL  OF  THE 
WILD? 

"Numerous  trusting  exhibitors,  relying  on  20th 
Century-Fox  work  sheets  and  sales  talks,  signed  ap- 
plications for  groups  of  pictures  including  the  Clark 
Gable  re-issue  'Call  of  the  Wild,1  only  to  find  this 
picture  had  been  omitted  from  the  approved  con- 
tract. This  happened  not  once,  but  twice. 

"One  exhibitor  leader  recently  wired  Tom  Con- 
nors, Fox's  Vice-President  in  charge  of  World  Dis- 
tribution, charging  that  prints  of  the  picture  are  rest- 
ing on  the  shelves  of  the  exchanges,  adding:  'In 
view  of  the  critical  raw  stock  situation  ...  we  think 
an  explanation  is  due  not  only  to  those  who  bought 
this  picture  in  good  faith,  but  also  to  the  War  Produc- 
tion Board.1 

"This  phase  of  the  matter  properly  is  an  issue  be- 
tween 20th  Century  and  Mr.  Stanley  Adams  of 
W.P.B.  It  is  hoped  that  this  official  will  inquire  into 
the  facts. 

"But  more  is  involved  than  a  possible  waste  of  raw 
stock.  A  Clark  Gable  picture — even  a  re-issue — 
would  be  manna  to  many  picture-starved  exhibitors. 
Presence  of  'Call  of  the  Wild1  in  the  groups  un- 
doubtedly was  an  incentive  for  exhibitors  to  sign 
the  contracts.  Release  of  the  picture  now  would 
bolster  20th  Century's  sagging  good  will  and  also 
would  yield  tidy  film  rentals.  .  .  . 

"This  is  how  the  matter  stands  and  will  continue 
to  stand  until  20th  Century  either  delivers  the  picture 
in  accordance  with  the  deals  worked  out  between 
the  exhibitors  and  the  salesmen  or  until  20th  Century 
offers  a  bona  fide  explanation  as  to  why  the  picture 
was  withheld.  The  usual  eye-wash  as  to  the  other 
wonderful  pictures  in  the  group  won't  do.  We've 
heard  that  one  before." 

Harrison's  Reports  has  omitted  from  the  bulletin 
suggestions  as  to  the  possible  reasons  why  20th  Cen- 
tury-Fox has  not  delivered  "Call  of  the  Wild."  Be- 
fore publishing  these  suggestions,  this  paper  will  first 
endeavor  to  obtain  from  20th  Century-Fox  a  state- 
ment of  the  circumstances  and  the  facts  involved  in 
the  matter.  The  writer  has  tried  to  get  in  touch  with 
Mr.  Connors,  but  up  to  press  time  he  had  not  been 
available  for  comment. 

It  can  readily  be  seen,  however,  that  the  charges 
National  Allied  has  brought  against  20th  Century- 
Fox  reveal  that  a  deplorable  situation  exists  between 
the  company  and  its  customers.  These  customers  are 
entitled  to  know  why  "Call  of  the  Wild"  was  sold  to 


them  twice  within  one  year  and  why  it  has  been 
withdrawn  from  the  approved  contract  each  time. 

Then  again,  there  is  the  matter  of  the  raw  stock 
used  in  the  prints  of  this  picture.  Allied  says  that 
this  is  an  issue  between  the  company  and  the  WPB. 
Harrison's  Reports,  however,  feels  that,  since  the 
exhibitors  have  a  definite  stake  in  every  foot  of  this 
critical  stock,  the  shortage  of  which  is  causing  them 
untold  headaches,  an  explanation  to  them  is  more 
urgent  than  to  the  WPB,  which  up  to  this  time  has 
done  nothing  about  recognizing  exhibition's  equity  in 
raw  stock.  Under  proper  WPB  control,  20th  Cen- 
tury-Fox might  not  have  been  able  to  process  what 
is  claimed  to  be  three  hundred  prints  of  this  picture 
only  to  have  them  remain  on  the  shelves  of  the  ex- 
changes while  the  exhibitors  go  hungry  for  pictures 
because  of  the  raw  stock  shortage. 

Pending  a  statement  from  Mr.  Connors,  Harri- 
son's Reports  will  withhold  further  comment  until 
next  week,  at  which  time  it  will  have  more  to  say 
about  this  matter. 


THE  SENATE  INVESTIGATION  IS  ON 

According  to  reports  in  the  trade  papers,  Mr. 
Dewey  Anderson,  counsel  for  the  U.S.  Senate  Small 
Business  Committee,  which  recently  announced  its 
intention  to  investigate  monopolistic  practices  in  the 
film  industry  to  determine  whether  or  not  inde- 
pendents are  being  forced  out  of  business,  was  to  con- 
fer last  Wednesday  with  officials  of  the  Department 
of  Justice.  The  purpose  of  the  conference  was  to  try 
to  reach  an  understanding  on  the  objectives  of  both 
groups,  and  to  discuss  some  of  the  several  hundred 
complaints  that  have  been  sent  to  the  Committee 
since  it  announced  the  investigation. 

The  trade  papers  state  that  complaints  from  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  are  reaching  the  Committee  at 
the  rate  of  about  a  dozen  each  day. 

At  the  time  that  this  investigation  was  announced, 
Harrison's  Reports  was  of  the  opinion  (and  still 
is)  that  the  Committee  could  save  much  time  and 
money  by  referring  to  the  files  of  the  Department  of 
Justice,  which  has  spent  many  years  carefully  gather- 
ing information  and  facts  relative  to  monopolistic 
practices  in  the  industry.  This  paper  stated  that,  if 
the  Committee  would  merely  digest  the  information 
contained  in  these  files,  it  would  become  as  fully  con- 
vinced about  the  existence  of  these  monopolistic  prac- 
tices as  if  it  had  conducted  an  independent  investi- 
gation. It  was  pointed  out  that  the  time  and  effort 
that  would  be  required  for  a  needless  investigation 
could  be  put  to  better  use  in  the  formulation  of  a  pro- 
posed plan  to  eliminate  these  practices. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


70 


May  5,  1945 


"Swing  Out,  Sister"  with  Rod  Cameron 
and  Frances  Raeburn 

(Universal,  May  18;  time,  60  min.) 

Other  than  a  few  tuneful  but  not  outstanding 
musical  interludes,  there  is  not  much  to  recommend 
in  this  program  comedy,  which  is  decidedly  inferior 
to  most  pictures  of  this  type  produced  by  Universal. 
The  story  is  so  inane  that  one  loses  interest  in  the 
outcome.  Moreover,  the  action  is  consider.ibly  slow 
and  the  comedy  is  forced.  There  is  really  not  one 
situation  that  will  remain  in  one's  mind.  Nor  do  the 
characters  do  anything  to  arouse  one's  sympathy  since 
most  of  their  actions  are  ridiculous.  Arthur  Treacher 
provokes  some  laughs  by  his  actions  as  a  "swing" 
music  lover: — 

Rod  Cameron  and  Arthur  Treacher,  his  friend, 
classical  musicians  with  a  secret  love  for  "swing" 
music,  are  invited  to  the  home  of  Billie  Burke,  spon- 
sor of  a  classical  music  society.  There  they  meet 
Frances  Raeburn,  Miss  Burke's  niece,  and  Jacqueline 
Dc  Wit,  her  pal.  Frances  pretended  to  her  family 
that  she  was  studying  classical  music,  but  actually 
she  and  Jacqueline  worked  in  a  night-club  as  a  singing 
team.  Unaware  that  Frances  was  a  lover  of  "hot" 
music,  Cameron  plans  to  convert  her  from  a  classical 
singer  to  a  "jive"  singer.  Both  eventually  learn  of 
their  mutual  love  for  "swing,"  and  for  one  another. 
Meanwhile  Milburn  Stone,  the  night-club  owner, 
who  hoped  to  marry  Frances,  learns  of  her  new 
romance  and  determines  to  break  it  up.  He  arranges 
for  Frances'  family  to  come  to  the  night-club  to  hear 
her  sing,  making  it  appear  as  if  Cameron  had  re- 
vealed her  secret.  Peeved,  Frances  decides  to  marry 
Stone,  but  through  the  friendly  interference  of 
Treacher  and  Jacqueline,  it  all  ends  with  both  lovers 
being  reunited. 

Henry  Blankfort  wrote  the  screen  play,  Bernard 
W.  Burton  produced  it,  and  Edward  Lilley  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Samuel  S.  Hinds,  Fuzzy  Knight, 
Constance  Purdy,  the  Leo  Diamond  Quintet,  Selika 
Pettiford  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Fighting  Guardsman"  with  Willard 
Parker  and  Anita  Louise 

(Columbia,  May  24;  time,  84  min.) 

Although  there  is  nothing  distinctive  about  this 
costume  picture,  and  though  it  does  not  rise  above 
the  level  of  program  fare,  it  should  offer  fairly  good 
entertainment  for  audiences  that  like  heroic,  "Robin 
Hood"  acts,  sword  play,  and  other  thrills,  irrespective 
of  logic.  To  the  intelligent  clement,  some  of  the  situ- 
ations will  prove  deridingly  laughable.  The  story, 
based  on  Alexandre  Dumas'  "The  Companions  of 
Jehu,"  revolves  around  a  young  French  nobleman, 
who  secretly  leads  a  band  of  oppressed  peasants  in 
revolt  against  the  tyranny  of  Louis  XVI.  It  has  a  fair 
share  of  excitement  drawn  from  stock  melodramatic 
situations,  a  romance,  and  some  comedy.  No  one  in 
the  cast  means  anything  at  the  box-office,  but  the  per- 
formances are  passable : — 

Masking  his  identity,  Willard  Parker,  a  French 
nobleman,  leads  his  band  of  peasants  in  daring  raids 
against  the  King's  mail  coaches,  confiscating  gold 
extorted  from  the  people  and  distributing  it  among 


the  poor.  Through  Janis  Carter,  an  innkeeper's 
daughter  who  becomes  the  King's  mistress,  Parker 
learns  of  the  King's  plans  to  capture  him  and  is  en- 
abled to  turn  every  situation  to  his  own  advantage. 
Parker,  in  his  capacity  as  a  nobleman,  defends  the 
actions  of  the  "mysterious  bandit,"  arousing  the 
wrath  of  George  Macready,  the  King's  aide.  In  a 
duel  between  the  two,  Parker  declines  to  harm  Mac- 
ready  because  of  his  love  for  Anita  Louise,  Macready's 
sister.  Meanwhile  John  Loder,  an  English  nobleman, 
who  was  touring  France  to  determine  the  wisdom 
of  granting  a  large  loan  to  the  King,  becomes  friendly 
with  Parker.  When  the  King  (Lloyd  Corrigan)  learns 
that  Loder  was  the  bankers'  agent,  he  determines  to 
arrange  a  marriage  between  him  and  Anita  in  order 
to  win  his  friendship  for  France.  In  the  meantime, 
Parker'6  secret  headquarters  arc  found  out,  and  the 
King  dispatches  Macready  and  soldiers  to  capture 
him.  Macready  is  killed  in  the  battle  that  follows, 
and  Anita,  holding  Parker  responsible,  bids  the  King 
to  hasten  her  marriage  to  L/xler.  But  Loder,  knowing 
that  Parker  was  innocent,  convinces  Anita  that  she 
was  in  the  wrong.  Parker  and  his  men,  having  de- 
feated the  King's  soldiers,  storm  the  palace  gates  in 
an  attempt  to  force  the  King  to  grant  France  a  con- 
stitution. With  the  aid  of  Anita  and  Loder,  he  over- 
powers the  King's  guards,  an  act  that  culminates  in 
the  French  Revolution. 

Franz  Spencer  and  Edward  Dein  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Michel  Kraike  produced  it,  and  Henry  Levin 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Edgar  Buchanan,  Elisa- 
beth Risdon  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Brighton  Strangler"  with  John  Loder 
and  June  Duprez 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  67  min.) 

A  pretty  good  program  psychological  murder  melo- 
drama. The  plot  is  somewhat  illogical  and  the  acting 
occasionally  stilted,  but  since  it  has  several  exciting 
and  chilling  situations  the  spectator's  attention  is  held 
throughout.  The  story,  laid  in  London,  revolves 
around  an  actor  who  suffers  a  loss  of  memory  during 
an  air  raid  and  believes  himself  to  be  the  psychological 
killer  he  had  been  portraying  on  the  stage.  Consider- 
able suspense  is  sustained  as  the  actor,  following  the 
play's  plot,  strangles  victims  who  correspond  to  the 
characters  in  the  play.  The  closing  scenes,  where  the 
maniac  meets  his  doom,  are  far-fetched  but  novel : — 

Cast  as  "The  Brighton  Strangler"  in  a  murder  play, 
John  Loder,  an  actor,  loses  his  memory  when  injured 
in  an  air  raid.  He  wanders  to  a  railroad  station,  where 
he  overears  June  Duprez,  a  young  WAAF,  ask  for 
a  ticket  to  Brighton.  The  word  "Brighton"  strikes  a 
chord  in  his  memory  and  it  reminds  him  of  his  stage 
role  in  which  he  played  an  escaped  maniac  who  took 
revenge  upon  the  people  responsible  for  having  com- 
mitted him  to  an  asylum.  Believing  himself  to  be  the 
maniac,  Loder  buys  a  ticket  to  Brighton  and  follows 
June.  They  strike  up  an  acquaintance  on  the  train, 
and  June  confides  to  him  that  she  was  married  secretly 
to  Michael  St.  Angel,  an  American  flyer,  but  did  not 
want  to  tell  her  family  about  it.  Loder  agrees  to  help 
her  cover  up  dates  with  her  husband.  In  Brighton, 
Loder  becomes  enveloped  in  his  role  of  the  "Brighton 


May  5,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


71 


Strangler"  and,  in  a  succession  of  murders,  strangles 
the  town's  mayor  and  the  chief  inspector  of  police. 
Then,  in  his  deranged  mind,  he  believes  that  June  sus- 
pected him  of  the  crimes,  and  he  resolves  to  kill  her. 
Meanwhile  June's  husband,  who  had  been  puzzled  by 
Loder's  strange  behaviour,  sees  a  picture  of  Loder 
and  recognizes  it  as  that  of  the  star  who  was  pre- 
sumed killed  in  the  air  raid.  He  notifies  the  police, 
who,  together  with  Rose  Hobart,  the  play's  author, 
search  for  Loder  and  find  him  on  a  hotel  roof  stran- 
gling June.  Realizing  that  Loder  was  re-enacting  his 
stage  role,  Miss  Hobart  calls  upon  every  one  to  ap- 
plaud. Loder,  thinking  the  play  had  ended,  releases 
June.  As  he  steps  back  to  acknowledge  the  applause, 
he  topples  over  the  parapet  to  his  death. 

Arnold  Phillips  and  Max  Nosseck  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Herman  Schlom  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Nosseck 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Miles  Mander  and 
others. 

Unpleasant  for  children. 

"The  Southerner"  with  Zachary  Scott 
and  Betty  Field 

(United  Artists,  May  18;  time,  91  min.) 

One  can  find  no  fault  with  the  production  that 
David  L.  Loew  and  Robert  Hakim  have  given  this 
drama,  but  its  value  is  doubtful  for  the  masses;  it  is 
not  a  cheerful  entertainment,  for  it  deals  with  the 
suffering,  humiliation,  and  defeat  of  a  tenant  farmer 
in  the  South,  hopelessly  struggling  to  keep  his  little 
family  together.  The  theme  is  so  depressing  and  sordid 
that  its  chief  appeal  will  probably  be  to  serious'minded 
audiences.  The  story  has  many  strong  dramatic  and 
emotional  situations,  and  holds  one's  interest  through- 
out. Zachary  Scott,  as  the  struggling  farmer,  and 
Betty  Field,  as  his  wife,  are  excellent,  while  the  others 
in  the  cast  give  them  very  able  support.  Miss  Field's 
devotion  to  her  husband  and  her  belief  in  his  ideals 
give  the  picture  its  human  touch:— 

Seeking  independence,  Scott,  a  migratory  worker, 
decides  to  become  a  tenant  farmer.  With  his  wife, 
two  children,  and  his  shrill-tongued  grandmother, 
Scott  moves  into  a  dismal,  broken-down  shack,  where 
the  family  spends  a  dreary  winter  living  meagerly. 
J.  Carrol  Naish,  his  hard-bitten  neighbor,  grudgingly 
permits  him  to  draw  water  from  his  well.  With  the 
arrival  of  Spring,  Scott  and  Betty  start  plowing  the 
ground.  Their  hardships  increase  when  one  of  the 
children  is  stricken  with  a  dread  disease  (pellagra) 
and  the  village  doctor  warns  the  anguished  parents 
that  they  must  get  fresh  vegetables  and  milk  if  the 
boy  is  to  recover.  Kindly  neighbors  come  to  the  aid 
of  the  distressed  family  by  furnishing  them  with  a 
cow,  and  Scott,  after  a  vicious  quarrel  with  Naish, 
patched  up  by  their  mutual  love  for  fishing,  gains  the 
use  of  his  vegetable  garden.  Cheered  by  his  good 
fortune,  Scott  fights  off  misgivings  at  having  chosen 
farming  instead  of  a  well-paying  job  in  a  big  city 
factory;  he  felt  that  one  good  cotton  crop  would  for- 
ever rid  him  of  his  poverty.  Despite  many  more 
hardships,  Scott  and  Betty  succeed  in  raising  a  rich 
cotton  crop,  but  before  they  can  harvest  the  fruits  of 
their  labor  the  crop  is  ruined  and  their  farm  deva- 
stated by  a  heavy  storm.  Scott,  dejected,  decides  to 
give  up  farming  and  take  the  factory  job,  but  the 


sight  of  Betty  and  the  children  industriously  repair- 
ing the  damage  restores  his  confidence.  With  renewed 
vigor,  he  determines  to  try  again  in  the  hope  that 
the  new  crop  will  bring  him  the  security  he  cherished. 

The  screen  play,  based  on  the  novel,  "Hold  Au- 
tumn in  Your  Hand,"  was  written  and  directed  by 
Jean  Renoir.  The  cast  includes  Beulah  Bondi,  Percy 
Kilbride,  Blanche  Yurka,  Nestor  Paiva,  Estelle  Taylor 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Missing  Corpse"  with  J.  Edward 
Bromberg  and  Isabel  Randolph 

(PRC,  June  1 ;  time,  62  min.) 

A  fairly  good  program  comedy-melodrama.  The 
fact  that  the  story  is  thin  does  not  matter  much,  for 
it  moves  at  a  steady  pace  and  has  many  humorous 
situations.  Most  of  the  comedy  results  from  the  efforts 
of  a  middle-aged  publisher  to  hide  from  the  police  and 
his  family  the  body  of  a  rival  publisher,  because  he 
knew  that  circumstances  pointed  to  him  as  the  killer. 
The  discovery  of  the  body  in  different  parts  of  the 
house  and  its  continuous  disappearance  keep  all  the 
characters  in  a  constant  state  of  bewilderment.  The 
main  drawback  is  the  lack  of  star  names,  but  those 
who  see  the  picture  will  find  it  entertaining: — 

J.  Edward  Bromberg,  a  newspaper  publisher,  be- 
comes incensed  when  Paul  Guilfoyle,  unscrupulous 
publisher  of  a  rival  paper,  prints  an  uncomplimentary 
story  about  his  daughter.  He  visits  Guilfoyle  and 
threatens  to  kill  him  if  he  slanders  his  family  again. 
Shortly  after,  Guilfoyle  tries  to  blackmail  Ben  Wel- 
den,  an  ex-convict,  into  murdering  Bromberg,  but 
Welden,  to  retrieve  a  written  murder  confession 
Guilfoyle  had  been  holding  over  him,  murders  Guil- 
foyle instead,  and  hides  the  body  in  the  luggage  com- 
partment of  Bromberg's  car.  Meanwhile  Bromberg, 
tired  of  his  ungrateful  family,  decides  to  go  up  to  his 
hunting  lodge,  accompanied  by  Frank  Jenks,  his 
chauffeur.  Arriving  at  the  lodge,  Bromberg  discovers 
the  body.  He  conceals  the  discovery  in  the  belief  that 
Jenks  had  committed  the  crime  to  please  him.  But 
Jenks,  too,  discovers  the  body  and,  to  protect  Brom- 
berg, hides  it  in  a  wood  box.  Both  men  finally  learn 
that  neither  had  committed  the  crime,  but,  because 
Bromberg  had  publicly  threatened  Guilfoyle,  they 
decide  to  say  nothing  to  the  police  and  to  get  rid  of 
the  body.  By  this  time  Bromberg's  family  learns  of 
Guilfoyle's  disappearance  and,  in  the  belief  that 
Bromberg's  sudden  vacation  had  a  connection,  they 
decide  to  go  to  the  lodge.  There,  a  series  of  farcical 
events  take  place  with  different  members  of  the  family 
finding  the  body  as  Bromberg  keeps  hiding  it.  Mean- 
while Belden,  believing  the  confession  was  on  Guil- 
foyle's body,  comes  to  the  lodge  to  retrieve  it  only  to 
be  apprehended  by  the  police  who  had  come  to  arrest 
Bromberg.  He  confesses  the  murder,. clearing  the  mis- 
understood publisher. 

"Blood  on  the  Sun"  with  James  Cagney 
and  Sylvia  Sidney 

(United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time,  94  min.) 
In  the  review  printed  last  week,  the  distributor, 
release  date  information,  and  running  time  were  in- 
advertently omitted. 


72 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  5,  1945 


Nevertheless,  the  Committee  seems  determined  to 
earry  on  its  own  investigation  and  to  obtain  its  own 
facts. 

Such  being  the  case,  it  is  important  that  the  ex' 
hibitors  come  forward  with  whatever  information 
they  possess  as  to  the  methods  the  big  companies  are 
employing  to  further  their  monopolies.  But  if  the 
exhibitors  arc  to  aid  the  Committee  in  ferreting  out 
these  monopolistic  practices,  they  must  confute  them- 
selves to  bona  fide  complaints,  the  sort  that  will  stand 
up  under  exhaustive  study.  They  must  avoid  the  sub- 
mission of  complaints  that  arc  no  more  than  "gripes" 
from  those  who  have  made  bad  deals.  Such  complaints 
will  serve,  not  only  to  overburden  the  Committee, 
but  also  to  create  unnecessary  confusion. 

The  only  way  by  which  you  can  help  the  Com- 
mittee, and  yourself,  is  to  submit  to  it  whatever  evi- 
dence you  possess,  preferably  documentary,  so  that 
the  existence  of  the  unfair  practices  of  the  producer- 
distributors  and  of  their  subsidiaries  may  be  proved 
beyond  the  question  of  a  doubt. 


A  FINE  OPPORTUNITY  FOR  THE 
BRITISH  PRODUCERS 

A  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
.Britain,  aimed  at  the  elimination  of  double  taxation 
on  incomes,  has  been  signed  by  Secretary  of  State 
Stettinius  and  Lord  Halifax,  and  has  been  sent  to 
the  United  States  Senate  by  President  Truman  for 
ratification. 

Under  the  treaty,  Americans  paying  income  taxes 
in  Great  Britain  on  monies  earned  in  that  country, 
will  be  permitted  to  list  the  tax  paid  as  a  deductible 
item  when  paying  their  income  taxes  in  this  country. 
The  same,  in  reverse,  will  apply  to  Britishers  earning 
money  and  paying  income  taxes  in  this  country. 

When  approved  by  the  Senate  (there  sccmes  to  be 
no  doubt  that  it  will  be  approved) ,  the  treaty,  in  addi- 
tion to  bringing  tax  relief  to  American  investors  in 
British  industries,  as  well  as  to  British  investors  in 
American  industries,  should  serve  also  to  induce 
American  picture  stars  to  accept  roles  in  British-made 
pictures;  up  to  now,  many  stars  have  been  reluctant 
to  accept  lucrative  offers  from  British  producers  be- 
cause the  double  taxation  would  either  leave  them 
with  a  small  percentage  of  their  earnings,  or,  in  some 
cases,  cause  them  to  suffer  a  financial  loss. 

With  the  treaty  in  force,  the  British  producers 
should  find  it  much  easier  to  negotiate  with  the  popu- 
lar American  stars,  whose  appearance  in  any  of  their 
pictures  would  go  a  long  way  toward  inducing  the 
American  exhibitors  to  book  British-made  pictures, 
for  they  will  feel  secure  in  the  knowledge  that  the 
stars  will  attract  the  public  to  their  box-offices. 

Despite  the  feeling  that  exists  among  many  British 
film  people  that  the  American  film  industry  is  trying 
to  stifle  British  competition,  Harrison's  Reports 
assures  them  that  the  American  exhibitors  have  no 
national  prejudices;  so  long  as  British  films  will  draw 
at  the  box-office,  the  American  exhibitors  will  wel- 
come them.  Moreover,  the  American  independent  ex- 
hibitors, in  particular,  will  be  delighted  to  encourage 
the  British  producers,  for  in  helping  them  to  obtain 
a  firm  hold  in  the  American  market  they  will,  not 
only  gain  another  source  of  product,  but  also  compel 
the  American  producers  to  vie  for  playing  time.  And 
the  keener  the  competition  among  all  the  producers, 
the  better  off  the  exhibitor. 


The  wise  British  producer,  however,  should  not 
depend  on  star  names  alone  to  put  his  pictures  over 
with  the  American  public;  he  should  make  a  close 
study  of  the  tastes  of  the  American  public,  and  he 
should  select  story  material  that  will  be  in  conformity 
with  these  tastes. 

WHAT  A  SMALL-TOWN  EXHIBITOR 
THINKS  OF  US 

Every  so  ofen  subscribers  write  to  me  to  tell  me  of 
the  value  of  Harrison's  Reports  in  the  operation  of 
their  theatres.  Typical  of  these  letters  is  the  following 
from  Mr.  W.  D.  Pate,  of  the  Royal  Theatre  in  Sam- 
son, Alabama: 

"I  like  your  Reports.  They  have  been  a  life  saver, 
or  should  I  say  a  business  saver  to  me.  I  had  been 
retired  for  a  few  years  and  out  of  touch  with  pictures; 
my  sons  had  been  l(X)king  after  everything,  and  all 
at  once  they  were  drafted  into  the  Armed  Services 
and  so  I  had  to  take  over  again,  and  you  can  imagine 
how  lost  I  was.  Then  I  subscribed  to  your  Reports 
.ind  I  cannot  tell  you  just  how  much  they  meant  to 
me. 

"When  the  salesman  comes  and  wants  to  sell  me 
pictures  I  always  get  your  Reports  down,  and  BOY 
do  some  of  them  CUSS.  They  say  you  have  it  in  for 
their  companies,  but  I  soon  convinced  them  to  the 
contrary  by  showing  them  what  you  say  about  certain 
pictures." 

The  hostility  of  some  film  salesmen  who,  in  order 
to  make  deals  with  exhibitors,  will  not  hesitate  to  say 
anything  against  my  paper  whenever  a  bad  review  is 
called  to  their  attention,  is  something  I  have  learned 
to  take  in  stride  after  all  these  years. 

As  I  have  often  stated  in  these  columns,  my  one 
object  has  been  to  render  service  to  the  exhibitors 
without  being  unfair  to  the  producers  and  distribu- 
tors. Whatever  opinion  I  have  of  a  company's  policy 
towards  the  exhibitors  I  reserve  for  the  editorial  pages. 
At  no  time  is  my  opinion  on  pictures  influenced  by 
any  factors  other  than  their  merit.  I  may  find  cause 
to  disagree  with  a  company's  policy,  but  if  it  has  a 
good  picture  I'll  give  it  a  good  review. 


SOME  INFORMATION  ON 
FILM  RENTALS 

Pete  Wood,  secretary  of  the  ITO  of  Ohio,  has  been 
contacting  exhibitors  in  many  parts  of  the  country 
regarding  film  rentals,  and  the  following  are  some  of 
his  findings  as  reported  in  a  recent  organization 
bulletin: 

Paramount:  "Salty  O'Rourkc"  —  50%  of  top  flat 
rental;  "The  Unseen"  —  55%  of  top  flat  rental; 
"High  Powered  '  —  lowest  flat  rental. 

Columbia:  "Song  to  Remember"  —  Has  been  sold  to 
subsequent  run  city  theatres  at  35%  with  de- 
ductions allowed  for  a  second  feature  or  pre- 
miums. 

T.  C.  Fox:  "Sunday  Dinner  for  a  Soldier"  —  50% 
of  top  flat  rental;  "Fighting  Lady"- — lowest  flat 
rental;  "Hangover  Square"  —  low  flat  rental; 
"Keys  of  the  Kingdom"  —  Percentage  split 
starting  at  25%;  "Irish  Eyes  Are  Smiling"  — 
Top  flat;  "Tree  Grows  in  Brooklyn" — Top  flat 
with  percentage  split. 
Wood  explains  that  "50%  of  top  flat  rental" 

means  that,  if  your  top  flat  rental  is  $100,  you  should 

pay  no  more  than  $50  for  Paramount's  "Salty 

O'Rourke." 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH   AVENUE  Published     Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  Unnm  1  «1  9  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  ROOm  lou  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  «■.«...•          .       _  .      _  .   

rrpat  Rritain                     15  75  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New" Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Itg  Editoria]  Policy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

ibc  a  copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  MAY  12,  1945  No.  19 


More  About  'The  Call  of  the  Wild" 


Last  week  there  was  reproduced  in  these  columns 
part  of  a  bulletin  issued  by  Allied  States  Association 
of  Motion  Picture  Exhibitors,  in  which  that  organisa- 
tion  charged  Twentieth  Century-Fox  with  bad  faith 
in  its  dealings  with  numerous  exhibitors  in  connection 
with  the  Clark  Gable  reissue,  "Call  of  the  Wild." 

Specifically,  Allied  claimed  that  "numerous  trust' 
ing  exhibitors,  relying  on  20th  Century  work  sheets 
and  sales  talks,  signed  applications  for  groups  of  pic- 
tures  including  the  Clark  Gable  reissue  kCall  of  the 
Wild,1  only  to  find  that  this  picture  had  been  omitted 
from  the  approved  contract.  This  happened  not  once, 
but  twice." 

In  addition,  it  was  charged  that  prints  of  the  pic- 
ture  (approximately  three  hundred  according  to  Pete 
Wood  of  the  ITO  of  Ohio)  were  resting  on  the  shelves 
of  the  company's  exchanges,  involving  a  possible  waste 
of  raw  stock  at  a  time  when  the  industry  can  ill  afford 
such  a  waste. 

Allied  pointed  out  that  the  presence  of  "Call  of  the 
Wild"  in  the  groups  of  pictures  undoubtedly  was  an 
incentive  for  exhibitors  to  sign  the  contracts,  and  it 
called  upon  Twentieth  Century-Fox,  either  to  deliver 
the  picture  in  accordance  with  the  deals  worked  out 
between  the  exhibitors  and  the  salesmen,  or  to  offer  a 
bona  fide  explanation  as  to  why  the  picture  was  with- 
held. 

Included  in  the  Allied  bulletin  were  some  sugges- 
tions concerning  the  possible  reasons  why  Twentieth 
Century-Fox  has  withheld  release  of  the  picture,  but 
Harrison's  Reports  omitted  publication  of  these 
suggestions  in  order  that  it  might  first  obtain  from  the 
company  a  statement  of  the  circmustances  and  facts 
involved  in  the  matter. 

Since  then  the  writer  has  questioned  Mr.  Tom  Con- 
nors, Twentieth  Century-Fox's  Vice-president  in 
charge  of  world  distribution,  about  this  incident.  Mr. 
Connors,  however,  has  declined  to  make  any  state- 
ment whatever  in  behalf  of  his  company.  Accordingly, 
one  is  left  with  the  impression  that  Allied's  charges 
are  justifiable,  and  that  the  position  of  Twentieth 
Century-Fox  is  indefensible. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Twentieth  Century-Fox 
has  not  come  forth  with  an  explanation  to  the  ex- 
hibitors, Harrison's  Reports  feels  obliged  to  bring 
to  the  attention  of  its  readers  that  part  of  the  Allied 
bulletin  omitted  from  last  week's  issue,  and  which 
deals  with  the  possible  reasons  Twentieth  Century- 
Fox  might  have  for  its  failure  to  deliver  "Call  of  the 
Wild."  The  omission  follows: 


".  .  .  If  the  major  distributors  are  as  competitive  as 
they  soon  will  be  telling  Judge  Goddard  they  are,  why 
doesn't  20th  Century  release  this  picture?  (Editor's 
TSjote:  Judge  Goddard  is  the  trial  judge  in  the  T^ew 
Tor\  anti-trust  case.) 

"A  relevant  circumstance  is  that  Loew's,  Inc. 
(M-G-M),  presided  over  by  Nicholas  Schenck, 
brother  of  Joseph  Schenck,  the  power  behind  the 
throne  in  20th  Century,  is  planning  to  release  a  new 
Clark  Gable  picture,  heralding  that  star's  return  to 
the  screen.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  President  of 
Metro  prevailed  on  the  Executive  Production  Head  of 
20th  Century  to  suppress  the  reissue  for  fear  its  re- 
lease at  this  time  might  interfere  with  the  killing 
which  Metro  expects  to  make  with  the  new  Gable 
offering. 

"However,  it  is  not  necessary  to  base  the  obvious 
inference  on  the  relationship  of  these  dominant  per- 
sonages— and  we  reject  the  suggestion.  Absence  of 
competition  can  be  traced  to  deeper  causes.  If  Metro 
and  20th  Century  merely  distributed  films,  competi- 
tion would  control  their  actions.  But  like  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Big  Five,  each  operates  a  large  chain  of 
key-run  theatres  which  exhibit  its  own  films  and  also 
the  films  of  other  major  distributors.  Thus  the  theatres 
of  each  such  distributor  are  dependent  on  the  other 
distributors  for  necessary  supplies  of  films,  and  each 
is  dependent  on  the  theatres  of  the  others  for  neces- 
sary outlets  for  film,  and  in  this  community  of  in- 
terest there  is  no  room  for  the  play  of  competition." 

The  inference  that  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  has  in- 
fluenced Twentieth  Century-Fox  to  suppress  the  re- 
issue lest  it  interfere  with  the  expected  smash  box- 
office  returns  of  the  new  Clark  Gable  picture  now  in 
production  is  not  a  flattering  one.  It  is  certainly  one 
that  requires  either  a  flat  denial  by  MGM,  or,  if  any 
influence  has  been  exerted,  a  complete  explanation  as 
to  why  it  was  exerted  and  as  to  how  the  exhibitors 
will  be  affected  by  it. 

In  fairness  to  MGM,  Harrison's  Reports  will 
refrain  from  making  any  comment  on  MGM's  alleged 
interference  until  it  has  had  an  opportunity  to  dis- 
cuss the  matter  with  one  of  the  company's  executives. 

As  regards  Twentieth  Century-Fox,  however,  this 
paper  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  company,  by  selling 
the  Clark  Gable  reissue  twice,  by  omitting  it  from  the 
approved  contract  each  time,  and  by  refusing  to  give 
a  bona  fide  explanation  of  its  actions,  has  dealt  im- 
properly with  the  exhibitors  who  bought  the  picture, 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


74 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  12,  1945 


"Ten  Cents  a  Dance"  with  Jane  Frazee, 
Joan  Woodbury,  Robert  Scott 
and  Jimmy  Lloyd 

{Columbia,  June  7;  time,  60  mm.) 
Ordinary  program  fare.  Other  than  the  title  and 
the  fact  that  the  heroine  works  in  a  dance  hall,  there 
is  no  similarity  between  this  story  and  the  one  that 
was  produced  by  Columbia  in  1931,  starring  Barbara 
Stanwyck.  This  is  just  a  routine  romantic  comedy, 
with  music,  modestly  produced,  revolving  around  the 
adventures  of  two  soldiers  on  furlough  who  become 
involved  with  two  taxi-dancers.  Neither  the  story  nor 
the  treatment  is  particularly  novel,  but  it  has  enough 
popular  type  music  and  comedy  to  get  by  with  un- 
discriminating  audiences,  especially  the  "jitterbug" 
set: — 

Privates  Robert  Scott,  a  millionaire's  son,  and 
Jimmy  Lloyd,  his  buddy,  in  town  on  a  thirty-six-hour 
pass,  visit  a  dance  hall  where  they  meet  Jane  Frazee 
and  Joan  Woodbury,  taxi-dancers.  Scott  gives  Lloyd 
$100  and  allows  him  to  pose  as  a  millionaire's  son  to 
impress  Jane.  Knowing  that  Jane  was  trying  to  raise 
$500  to  help  a  sick  friend,  John  Calvert,  the  dance 
hall  proprietor,  suggests  to  her  that  she  become  friend- 
ly with  Lloyd  so  that  he  (Calvert)  could  lure  him 
into  a  crooked  dice  game,  the  winnings  to  be  turned 
over  to  her  sick  friend.  Jane  agrees,  and  together  with 
Joan  and  Scott,  goes  out  for  a  gay  time  with  Lloyd. 
Both  fall  in  love  with  each  other,  and  she  confesses  to 
him  that  her  intentions  toward  him  at  first  were  not 
honorable.  He  in  turn  tells  her  about  his  subterfuge, 
and  proposes  marriage.  Jane  accepts,  then  tells  Cal- 
vert. Believing  that  she  had  double-crossed  him  to  take 
advantage  of  the  "millionaire"  herself,  Calvert  has 
one  of  his  henchmen  hold  her  prisoner  while  he  in' 
forms  Lloyd  that  she  had  changed  her  mind  about 
marrying  him.  Lloyd,  peeved,  accepts  Calvert's  invi' 
tation  to  "a  little  game."  Meanwhile  Jane  escapes  and, 
to  break  up  the  game,  starts  a  riot  on  the  dance  floor. 
Lloyd,  who  had  been  permitted  to  win  the  first  few 
games,  grabs  his  winnings  and  dashes  to  the  street, 
where  Joan  tells  him  of  what  Jane  had  done.  He 
rushes  back  into  the  dance  hall  in  time  to  save  her 
from  Calvert's  wrath.  His  thirty-six-hour  pass  at  an 
end,  Lloyd  gives  Jane  his  winnings  for  her  sick  friend 
and  heads  back  to  camp  with  Scott,  both  promising 
to  resume  their  romances  after  the  war. 

Morton  Grant  wrote  the  screen  play,  Michel  Kraike 
produced  it,  and  Will  Jason  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes George  McKay  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"A  Guy,  a  Gal  and  a  Pal"  with  Lynn  Merrick 
and  Ross  Hunter 

{Columbia,  March  8;  time,  61  min.) 
Just  a  mildly  entertaining  romantic  comedy,  the 
sort  that  should  serve  its  purpose  as  the  lower-half  of 
a  mid-week  double  bill  in  secondary  theatres.  It  has 
been  given  an  unpretentious  production,  and  there  is 
not  one  new  twist  to  the  time-worn,  implausible  story, 
which  revolves  around  a  young  couple  who  pose  as 
man  and  wife  when  the  young  lady  finds  herself  in 
need  of  assistance.  Several  of  the  situations  are  amus- 
ing, but  for  the  most  part  the  farcical  complications 
that  occur  are  quite  familiar.  It  may,  however,  give 


satisfaction  to  those  who  are  not  too  particular  about 
story  material : — 

Accompanied  by  Ted  Donaldson,  her  nephew,  Lynn 
Merrick  goes  to  the  Los  Angeles  depot  to  board  a 
train  for  Washington,  D.  C,  where  she  intended  to 
marry  George  Meeker,  a  wealthy  socialite.  She  learns 
to  her  dismay  that  her  tickets  had  not  been  reserved, 
and  she  permits  Ross  Hunter,  a  Marine,  to  obtain 
reservations  for  her  by  agreeing  to  pose  as  his  wife. 
En  route,  Lynn  learns  that  Hunter  was  a  war  hero, 
and  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Washington  to  receive 
the  Congressional  Medal  of  Honor  from  the  Presi- 
dent. Complications  arise  when  a  General  traveling 
on  the  train  recognizes  Hunter  and  insists  that  he  and 
his  "wife"  spend  the  night  in  his  drawing  room.  On 
the  following  morning,  Lynn,  Hunter  and  Ted  get 
off  the  train  at  a  small  stop  to  stretch  their  legs,  only 
to  find  themselves  stranded  when  the  train  pulls  out 
without  them.  To  get  to  Washington  for  their  re- 
spective appointments,  they  buy  an  old  car,  but  it 
soon  breaks  down  and  they  lose  their  way.  They 
eventually  reach  a  small  town,  where  the  Mayor, 
recGgnizing  Hunter,  arranges  for  them  to  fly  to  Wash- 
ington. Arriving  there,  Hunter  discovers  that  he  was 
expected  to  bring  his  "wife"  with  him  to  the  Presi- 
dent. Meanwhile  Lynn  has  a  quarrel  with  Meeker 
who,  through  newspaper  publicity,  had  learned  of 
her  trip  with  Hunter  and  misunderstood  the  circum- 
stances. Peeved  at  Meeker's  insinuations  and  realiz- 
ing that  her  heart  was  with  Hunter,  Lynn  breaks  her 
engagement  and  rushes  to  Hunter's  hotel  suite.  Both 
are  married  in  time  for  them  to  get  to  the  White 
House  for  the  presentation. 

Monte  Brice  wrote  the  screen  play,  Wallace  Mac- 
Donald  produced  it,  and  Oscar  Boetticher,  Jr.,  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Jack  Norton,  Russell 
Hicks  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

BOX-OFFICE  PERFORMANCES 

(Continued  from  last  page) 
Paramount 

"Hail  the  Conquering  Hero":  Good 

"Take  it  Big":  Fair 

"Henry  Aldrich's  Little  Secret":  Fair 

"I  Love  a  Soldier":  Fair 

"Sign  of  the  Cross"  (reissue):  Fair 

"Rainbow  Island":  Good-Fair 

"Till  We  Meet  Again" :  Fair 

"National  Barn  Dance":  Fair 

"Our  Hearts  Were  Young  and  Gay":  Good-Fair 

;"Dark  Mountain":  Poor 

"And  Now  Tomorrow":  Very  Good-Good 

"The  Man  in  Half  Moon  Street":  Fair-Poor 

"Frenchman's  Creek":  Good 

"One  Body  Too  Many":  Fair-Poor 

"Ministry  of  Fear":  Fair 

"Here  Come  the  Waves":  Very  Good 

"Dangerous  Passage":  Fair-Poor 

"Practically  Yours" :  Fair 

"Double  Exposure" :  Fair 

"Bring  on  the  Girls":  Good 

"The  Unseen":  Fair 

"Salty  O'Rourke" :  Very  Good 

"High  Powered":  Fair-Poor 

Twenty-three  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  follow- 
ing results: 

Very  Good,  2;  Very  Good-Good,  1;  Good,  3;  Good-Fair, 
2;  Fair,  10;  Fair-Poor,  4;  Poor,  1. 


May  12,  1945 


75 


RKO 

"Gildersleeve's  Ghost":  Fair 
"Marine  Raiders" :  Good-Fair 
"A  Night  of  Adventure":  Fair 
"Step  Lively":  Good-Fair 
"Youth  Runs  Wild":  Poor 

"Snow  White  6?  the  7  Dwarfs"  (reissue)  :  Good 

"The  Falcon  in  Mexico" :  Fair 

"Music  in  Manhattan":  Fair 

"Mme.  Fifi":  Fair-Poor 

"Bride  By  Mistake":  Good 

"Heavenly  Days":  Good-Fair 

"None  but  the  Lonely  Heart":  Fair 

"The  Master  Race":  Fair 

"Tall  in  the  Saddle":  Good 

"Goin'  to  Town":  Poor 

"My  Pal,  Wolf":  Fair 

"The  Girl  Rush" :  Fair 

"The  Falcon  in  Hollywood" :  Fair 

"Murder  My  Sweet":  Good 

"Nevada":  Fair 

"Experiment  Perilous":  Good-Fair 
"The  Princess  and  the  Pirate" :  Good 
"Casanova  Brown" :  Good 
"Woman  in  the  Window" :  Very  Good-Good 
"Belle  of  the  Yukon":  Fair 
"It's  a  Pleasure"  :  Good 
"The  Three  Caballeros" :  Fair 
"What  a  Blonde":  Fair 
"Betrayal  from  the  East" :  Fair 
"Pan  Americana":  Fair 
"Having  a  Wonderful  Crime":  Fair 
"The  Enchanted  Cottage":  Very  Good-Good 
Thirty-two  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  follow- 
ing results: 

Very  Good-Good,  2;  Good,  7;  Good-Fair,  4;  Fair,  16; 
Fair-Poor,  1;  Poor,  2. 

20th  Century-Fox 

"Roger  Touhy,  Gangster":  Fair-Poor 
"Candlelight  in  Algeria"  :  Fair 
"Home  in  Indiana":  Very  Good 
"Take  it  or  Leave  it":  Good-Fair 
"Wing  and  a  Prayer":  Good 
"Sweet  and  Lowdown":  Fair 
"Dangerous  Journey" :  Fair 
"Greenwich  Village":  Good 
"Wilson" :  Good 

"In  the  Meantime,  Darling" :  Fair 
"Irish  Eyes  are  Smiling" :  Very  Good 
"Laura":  Good 

"Something  for  the  Boys" :  Good 
"Winged  Victory":  Very  Good 
"Sunday  Dinner  for  a  Soldier":  Fair 
"Keys  of  the  Kingdom":  Very  Good-Good 
"The  Fighting  Lady" :  Very  Good-Good 
"Hangover  Square":  Fair 
"A  Tree  Grows  in  Brooklyn":  Very  Good 
"Thunderhead — Son  of  Flicka" :  Very  Good 
"Circumstantial  Evidence":  Fair-Poor 
"The  Song  of  Bernadette":  Good 
"A  Royal  Scandal" :  Good-Fair 
"Molly  and  Me":  Fair 

Twenty-four  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  follow- 
ing results: 

Very  Good,  5;  Very  Good-Good,  2;  Good,  6;  Good-Fair, 
2;  Fair,  7;  Fair-Poor,  2. 

United  Artists 

"Sensations  of  1945":  Fair 

"Summer  Storm" :  Fair 

"Abroad  with  Two  Yanks":  Good-Fair 


"Since  You  Went  Away" :  Very  Good 
"Dark  Waters":  Fair 
"3  Is  a  Family":  Fair 
"Guest  in  the  House":  Fair 
"Tomorrow  the  World"  :  Fair 
"I'll  be  Seeing  You":  Very  Good 
"Mr.  Emmanuel" :  Fair-Poor 
"Delightfully  Dangerous":  Fair 
"Brewster's  Millions" :  Fair 

Twelve  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results: 

Very  Good,  2;  Good-Fair,  1;  Fair,  8;  Fair-Poor,  1. 

Universal 
"South  of  Dixie":  Poor 
"Christmas  Holiday" :  Good 
"Jungle  Woman":  Fair-Poor 
"The  Mummy's  Ghost":  Fair-Poor 
"Twilight  on  the  Prairie":  Fair-Poor 
"Allergic  to  Love" :  Fair-Poor 
"In  Society":  Good 
"Gypsy  Wildcat":  Good-Fair 
"Moonlight  and  Cactus" :  Fair 
"The  Merry  Monahans" :  Good-Fair 
"The  Pearl  of  Death" :  Fair 
"San  Diego,  I  Love  You" :  Good-Fair 
"The  Singing  Sheriff":  Fair 
"Babes  on  Swing  Street":  Fair 
"The  Climax":  Fair 
"Bowery  to  Broadway" :  Fair 
"Dead  Man's  Eyes":  Fair-Poor 
"Reckless  Age":  Fair 
"Enter  Arsene  Lupin":  Good-Fair 
"Murder  in  the  Blue  Room":  Fair 
"Hi'  Beautiful":  Fair 
"My  Gal  Loves  Music" :  Fair 
"Destiny" :  Fair 

"Can't  Help  Singing".  Very  Good-Good 

"Night  Club  Girl" :  Fair 

"She  Gets  Her  Man" :  Fair 

"Under  Western  Skies":  Fair-Poor 

"The  Suspect":  Good 

"Here  Come  the  Co-Eds":  Good 

"Her  Lucky  Night" :  Fair 

"House  of  Frankenstein":  Fair 

"The  Mummy's  Curse" :  Fair 

"Frisco  Sal":  Good-Fair 

"Sudan":  Fair 

Thirty-four  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  follow- 
ing-results: 

Very  Good,  1;  Good,  4;  Good-Fair,  5;  Fair,  17;  Fair- 
Poor,  6;  Poor,  1. 

Warner  Brothers 

"The  Mask  of  Dimitrios" :  Good-Fair 
"The  Adventures  of  Mark  Twain":  Fair 
"Mr.  Skeffington":  Very  Good-Good 
"Janie":  Very  Good-Good 
"Crime  by  Night":  Fair-Poor 
"Arsenic  and  Old  Lace":  Very  Good 
"The  Last  Ride":  Fair-Poor 
"The  Conspirators" :  Fair 
"The  Very  Thought  of  You":  Good 
"The  Doughgirls" :  Good-Fair 
"Hollywood  Canteen":  Very  Good 
"To  Have  and  Have  Not" :  Very  Good 
"Objective  Burma":  Very  Good-Good 
"Roughly  Speaking":  Good 
"Hotel  Berlin":  Good 
"God  is  My  Co-Pilot";  Very  Good-Good 
Sixteen  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results : 

Very  Good,  3;  Very  Good-Good,  4;  Good,  3;  Good-Fair, 
2;  Fair,  2;  Fair-Poor,  2. 


76 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  12,  1945 


and  its  attitude  is  bound  to  result  in  a  lack  of  confi- 
dence  in  the  company  on  the  part  of,  not  only  the 
exhibitors  who  bought  the  picture,  but  also  others. 

As  Allied  has  stated,  the  presence  of  a  Clark  Gable 
reissue  in  any  group  of  pictures  was  undoubtedly  an 
incentive  for  the  exhibitor  to  sign  for  the  group,  and 
we  might  add  that,  in  a  good  many  cases,  it  probably 
was  a  controlling  factor  in  inducing  the  exhibitor  to 
agree  to  the  terms  asked  for  the  other  pictures  in  the 
group.  Many  exhibitors,  before  concluding  deals,  con- 
sider  the  box-office  worth  of  the  group  as  a  whole.  By 
omitting  "Call  of  the  Wild"  from  the  approved  con- 
tracts, it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury-Fox caused  the  box-office  worth  of  a  particular 
group  to  lessen,  perhaps  to  the  extent  that  lower 
rental  terms  might  have  been  agreed  upon  for  the 
remainig  pictures  of  the  group.  Accordingly,  Har- 
rison's Reports  believes  that  any  exhibitor  who 
signed  for  the  entire  group,  and  was  denied  "Call  of 
the  Wild"  has  good  cause  to  ask  for  an  adjustment, 
provided  that  the  deal  he  made  was  in  any  way  af- 
fected by  the  withholding  of  this  reissue.  And  unless 
Twentieth  Century-Fox  can  satisfactorily  explain  its 
action,  such  adjustments  should  be  granted. 

*       *  * 

While  Twentieth  Century-Fox  owes  an  explana- 
tion to  the  exhibitors  who  bought  "Call  of  the  Wild," 
it  owes  an  explanation  also  to  every  other  exhibitor, 
for  its  use  of  the  raw  stock  that  has  gone  into  the 
making  of  the  prints,  which,  in  the  midst  of  the  great- 
est shortage  of  feature  prints  the  industry  has  ever 
experienced,  are  reposing  and  gathering  dust  on  the 
shelves  of  the  exchanges. 

This  paper  has  many  times  stated  that  the  War 
Production  Board  should  formulate  rules  and  regula- 
tions to  control  the  disposition  of  raw  stock  allocated 
to  the  producer-distributors.  We  maintained  (and 
still  do)  that  the  exhibitors  have  an  equity  in  the 
available  raw  stock  during  these  crtical  times,  and 
that  the  producer-distributors'  stranglehold  on  exhi- 
bition would  be  tightened  unless  steps  were  taken  to 
protect  that  equity. 

But  Mr.  Stanley  Adams,  chief  of  the  Consumers 
Durable  Goods  Division  of  the  WPB,  under  whose 
supervision  raw  stock  is  allocated  to  the  industry,  has 
done  nothing  to  recognize  the  exhibitors'  stake  in  raw 
stock,  despite  his  promise  that  his  division  would  pro- 
tect the  equities  of  exhibition. 

What  better  proof  does  Mr.  Adams  need  of  the 
fallacy  of  his  Division's  method  of  raw  stock  control 
than  the  present  instance  of  Twentieth  Century- 
Fox's  use  of  thousands  of  feet  of  this  valuable  stock 
for  prints  of  a  reissue,  which  remain  on  shelves  while 
the  available  print  supply  on  new  features  is  scarcely 
enough  to  meet  the  exhibitors'  needs? 

And  what  about  the  fact  that  the  indiscriminate 
use  of  raw  stock  for  prints  of  reissues,  which  many 
exhibitors  may  not  care  to  re-book,  because  of  exces- 
sive rental  demands,  deprives  them  of  badly  needed 
prints  on  new  features? 

Yes,  Mr.  Adams.  What  about  it? 


BOX-OFFICE  PERFORMANCES 

(The  previous  box-office  performances  were  printed  in 
the  August  19,  1944  issue: 

Columbia 

"They  Live  in  Fear":  Fair-Poor 

"She's  a  Soldier,  Too":  Fair-Poor 

"Louisiana  Hayride":  Fair 

"Secret  Command":  Fair 

"U-Boat  Prisoner":  Fair-Poor 

"Mr.  Winkle  Goes  to  War":  Good-Fair 

"Cry  of  the  Werewolf":  Poor 

"Soul  of  a  Monster":  Poor 

"Kansas  City  Kitty":  Fair 

"The  Impatient  Years":  Good-Fair 

"Ever  Since  Venus":  Fair 

"One  Mysterious  Night":  Fair-Poor 

"Carolina  Blues" :  Poor 

"Strange  Affair":  Fair 

"Meet  Miss  Bobby  Socks":  Poor 

"Shadows  in  the  Night":  Fair-Poor 

"The  Unwritten  Code":  Poor 

"Mark  of  the  Whistler":  Fair 

"Sergeant  Mike":  Fair-Poor 

"The  Missing  Juror":  Fair-Poor 

"She's  a  Sweetheart":  Fair-Poor 

"Dancing  in  Manhattan":  Fair-Poor 

"Together  Again":  Good-Fair 

"Tahiti  Nights" :  Fair-Poor 

"Let's  Go  Steady":  Poor 

"Youth  on  Trial":  Poor 

"Eadie  Was  a  Lady" :  Fair 

"I  Love  a  Mystery":  Fair-Poor 

"Tonight  and  Every  Night":  Good 

"Leave  it  to  Blondie":  Fair 

"Crime  Doctor's  Courage" :  Fair 

"A  Guy,  A  Gal,  and  a  Pal":  Fair-Poor 

"A  Song  to  Remember":  Very  good-Good 

"Rough,  Tough  and  Ready":  Fair 

Thirty-four  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  follow- 
ing results: 

Very  Good-Good,  Ij  Good,  1;  Good-Fair,  3;  Fair,  10; 
Fair-Poor,  12;  Poor,  7. 

Metro-Gold  wyn-Mayer 

"Bathing  Beauty":  Good 

"The  Canterville  Ghost":  Good 

"The  White  Cliffs  of  Dover":  Very  Good 

"The  Seventh  Cross" :  Good 

"Barbary  Coast  Gent":  Good-Fair 

"Waterloo  Bridge"  (reissue):  Fair 

"Maisie  Goes  to  Reno"  :  Good-Fair 

"Marriage  is  a  Private  Affair":  Good-Fair 

"Kismet":  Good 

"Mrs.  Parkington":  Very  Good 

"Naughty  Marietta"  (reissue) :  Good 

"Lost  in  a  Harem" :  Good-Fair 

"Dragon  Seed":  Very  Good-Good 

"An  American  Romance":  Fair 

"The  Thin  Man  Goes  Home":  Good-Fair 

"Main  Street  After  Dark"  :  Fair 

"Music  for  Millions":  Good 

"Blonde  Fever" :  Fair-Poor 

"This  Man's  Navy";  Fair 

"Between  Two  Women":  Good 

"Nothing  but  Trouble"  :  Fair 

"Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo":  Excellent-Very  Good 
"Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis":  Excellent 
"Keep  Your  Powder  Dry"  :  Good 
"National  Velvet" :  Very  Good 

Twenty-five  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  follow- 
ing results : 

Excellent,  1;  Excellent-Very  Good,  1;  Very  Good,  3:  Very 
Good-Good,  I;  Good,  8;  Good-Fair,  5;  Fair,  5;  Fair-Poor  1. 
(Continued  on  page  74) 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  187S. 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  MAY  19,  1945  No.  20 


A  CHANGE  IS  AT  HAND 

Now  that  the  European  phase  of  the  war  is  over, 
the  time  has  come  for  every  one  of  you  to  do  some 
rational  thinking  and  to  take  stock  of  the  present  and 
future  economic  state  of  the  nation;  some  careful 
thought  now  may  save  you  many  a  headache  after' 
wards. 

While  the  war  still  to  be  fought  in  the  Pacific  will 
undoubtedly  maintain  business  revenues  at  a  level 
high  above  normal,  the  defeat  of  Germany  has  re- 
duced  sharply  the  requirements  for  implements  of 
war,  and  it  should  be  expected  that,  from  now  on, 
income  payments  to  individuals  will  decline  steadily 
as  a  result  of  contract  cutbacks,  elimination  of  over- 
time work,  and  the  general  shift  of  labor  to  industries 
paying  lower  wages.  There  is  also  the  matter  of  un- 
employment  during  the  period  of  industrial  reconver- 
sion. Moreover,  the  early  collapse  of  Japan,  because 
of  the  overwhelming  power  now  bearing  down  on 
her,  is  quite  within  the  realm  of  possibility  and, 
should  this  come  about,  its  suddenness  may  serve  to 
create  vast  areas  of  unemployment,  which  peace- 
time industries,  pending  reconversion,  may  not  be 
able  to  absorb  for  many  months. 

The  situation  is  summed  up  well  by  Mr.  Harvey  E. 
Runner,  Business  News  Editor  of  the  ?^ew  Tor\ 
Herald  Tribune,  who  had  this  to  say  in  the  Sunday, 
May  13  issue  of  that  paper: 

"Now  that  we  are  in  the  transition  period  between 
two  great  wars,  the  plan  of  reshaping  our  national 
economy  to  a  whole  set  of  new  conditions  is  upon  us. 
The  period  just  ahead,  in  so  far  as  it  affects  industry, 
will  be  one  of  half  peace,  half  war.  It  will  compare 
with  no  like  period  in  the  nation's  history  and,  there- 
fore, the  path  to  be  followed  will  be  uncharted.  .  .  . 

"While  supplies  for  civilians  may  be  at  a  low  e'bb 
today,  war  needs  right  along  held  the  national  econ- 
omy at  high  levels.  They  boosted  industrial  activity, 
employment,  income  payments  to  individuals,  con- 
sumer expenditures,  savings  of  individuals  and  many 
other  factors  in  our  economy  to  new  all-time  peaks. 

"But  now  a  change  is  at  hand.  The  statistical  peaks 
have  been  passed  and  the  new  trend  is  downward. 
Industrial  production  is  under  its  high  point  and  a 
further  sliding  off  is  seen  through  the  summer.  Em- 
ployment likewise  is  expected  to  fall,  as  cutbacks  on 
war  orders  take  their  toll.  It  naturally  follows  that 
income  payments  to  individuals  will  drop  and  that  the 
rate  of  gain  in  savings  will  decline  and  perhaps  cease. 
Consumer  expenditures  cannot  help  being  affected 
by  such  developments.  .  .  . 

"Business  cannot  convert  from  war  to  peace  and 
hold  at  present  levels.  .  .  .  What  is  about  to  happen 
represents  an  inevitable  recession  from  the  abnormal 
peaks  reached  under  the  war-time  stimulation  of  our 
economy." 


The  transition  from  a  war  economy  to  a  peace 
economy,  without  even  considering  the  possibility  of 
a  sudden  collapse  of  Japan,  may  result  in  an  unem- 
ployment figure  of  two  and  one-half  million  by  the 
end  of  twelve  months,  according  to  a  report  by  Fred 
M.  Vinson,  Director  of  War  Mobilize  (-inn  and  P  e  • 
conversion.  This  figure  seems  conservative  when  one 
considers  that,  within  the  twelve-month  period,  more 
than  two  million  men  will  receive  discharges  from  the 
armed  forces.  And  you  might  add  to  this  number 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  civilian  employees  in  Gov- 
ernment service  whose  dismissal  will  be  gradual.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  National  Civil  Service  League,  in 
a  report  made  public  last  week,  has  recommended 
that  one  and  one-half  million  civilian  Government 
workers  be  dismissed  after  the  war  in  a  reorganization 
of  the  public  services. 

Although  the  officials  in  Washington  will  un- 
doubtedly make  every  effort  to  bring  about  this  transi- 
tion with  the  least  possible  disruption  to  the  national 
economy,  a  business  decline  cannot  be  escaped.  For 
this  reason,  it  is  necessary  for  every  one  of  you  to 
exercise  the  greatest  of  care  as  to  the  prices  you  pay 
for  film  rental.  The  producer-distributors,  realizing 
that  a  recession  is  on,  may  try  to  excite  you  into  buy- 
ing their  pictures  early.  And  if  you  rush  to  do  so,  you 
may  agree  to  deals  that  will  compel  you  later  to  dip 
into  your  bank  reserve,  if  you  have  one,  to  meet  your 
film  bills. 

Despite  the  many  statements  to  the  contrary,  the 
quality  of  pictures  this  season  has  been  generally  poor, 
and  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  during  the  com- 
ing season  there  will  be  an  improvement.  You  cannot, 
of  course,  tell  the  producers  that  the  quality  of  their 
pictures  is  poor,  because,  in  their  usual  short-sighted 
manner,  they  will  refute  your  claim  by  pointing  to  the 
abnormal  grosses.  But  the  sensible  exhibitor  knows 
that  this  is  a  fallacious  answer,  for,  in  most  instances, 
the  abnormal  grosses  attained  by  poor  quality  pic- 
tures must  be  attributed  to  a  free-spending,  pent-up 
public,  whose  crave  for  relaxation,  with  little  time  to 
enjoy  it,  has  made  them  not-too-choosey.  With  the 
return  of  normalcy,  however,  and  with  the  public's 
pocketbook  comparatively  deflated,  and  with  more 
leisure  time  to  spare,  picture-going  patrons  will  once 
again  become  discriminating  about  their  screen  enter- 
tainment and,  consequently,  the  mediocre  pictures 
will  earn  only  their  worth. 

Make  up  your  mind  that  the  business  prospect  for 
the  future,  though  not  black,  is  far  from  the  glowing 
war-time  prosperity  of  today;  unemployment  will  in- 
crease, and  overtime  earnings  will  be  cut.  And 
though  there  may  be  some  reduction  in  the  tax  rates, 
it  will  not  compensate  for  the  lowered  learning  power 
of  the  public.  As  a  result  of  these  conditions,  the 
picture-going  ranks  are  bound  to  be  thinned. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


78 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  19,  1945 


"That's  the  Spirit"  with  Jack  Oakie 
and  Peggy  Ryan 

(Universal,  June  15;  time,  92  min.) 

This  is  a  pleasant  blend  of  comedy,  fantasy,  senti- 
ment  and  music,  which,  despite  a  number  of  slow 
spots,  should  satisfy  most  picture-goers  pretty  well. 
The  theme  of  a  person  dying  and  then  returning  to 
earth  to  mingle  with  mortals  who  cannot  see  him  is 
not  novel,  but  it  has  been  handled  well  and,  with  the 
aid  of  expert  trick  photography,  has  some  unusually 
good  comedy  situations.  Moreover,  the  music  is  tune- 
ful and  pleasing  to  the  ear,  and  the  dancing,  particu- 
larly as  executed  by  Johnny  Coy,  a  newcomer,  is  out- 
standing. Most  of  the  comedy  is  provoked  by  Jack 
Oakie,  as  the  affable  spirit,  who,  using  a  magic  flute, 
influences  those  who  cannot  see  or  hear  him  to  do  his 
bidding.  The  scenes  in  which  he  makes  his  pompous 
father-in-law  behave  in  a  ridiculous  manner  should 
draw  howls  of  laughter: — 

Gene  Lockhart,  a  Victorian-minded,  influential 
banker,  completely  dominates  his  wife  (Edith  Bar- 
rett) and  his  daughter  (June  Vincent).  Rebelling 
against  his  tyranny  and  stuffiness,  June  meets  and 
falls  in  love  with  Oakie,  a  vaudevillian,  whose  pro- 
fession Lockhart  despised.  Lockhart  tries  to  break  up 
their  love,  but  June,  leading  him  to  believe  that  she 
had  been  compromised,  tricks  him  into  compelling 
Oakie  to  marry  her.  On  the  day  June  gives  birth  to  a 
daughter,  a  strange,  beautiful  woman  accosts  Oakie 
and  compels  him  to  follow  her.  Immediately  after,  he 
is  killed  in  an  accident,  and  his  spirit  is  taken  to  heaven 
by  the  strange  woman.  Oakie  goes  to  the  Complaint 
Department,  headed  by  Buster  Keaton,  and  requests 
to  be  returned  to  the  Earth  so  that  he  could  explain 
to  his  wife  that  he  did  not  run  off  with  another 
woman.  Keaton  refuses  his  request,  but  after  eighteen 
years,  when  he  learns  that  Lockhart  was  dominating 
Peggy  Ryan,  Oakie's  daughter,  he  grants  Oakie  per- 
mission to  spend  a  week  on  Earth.  Arriving,  Oakie 
remains  invisible  to  all  but  Peggv,  who  was  able  to 
see  him  because  of  her  blood  tie.  He  induces  Peggy  to 
keep  his  presence  a  secret,  and  influences  her  to  be- 
come a  dancer  in  a  theatre  owned  by  Andy  Devine, 
his  former  partner.  Lockhart,  furious,  determines  to 
halt  her  career,  and  he  uses  his  financial  power  to 
close  the  show.  But  Oakie,  by  using  his  magic  flute, 
influences  Lockhart's  wife  to  defy  her  husband  and 
to  finance  the  show.  Meanwhile  Oakie's  wife,  who 
had  been  ill,  is  visited  by  the  beautiful  messenger  of 
death.  Her  spirit  joins  Oakie 's  spirit,  and  together 
they  watch  their  daughter  score  a  huge  success  on 
opening  night. 

Michael  Fessier  and  Ernest  Pagano  wrote  the  screen 
play  and  produced  it,  and  Charles  Lamont  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Arthur  Treacher,  Irene  Ryan,  Vic- 
toria Home  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Honeymoon  Ahead"  with  Allan  Jones 
and  Grace  McDonald 

(Universal,  May  11;  time,  59  min.) 
A  moderately  entertaining  romantic  comedy,  with 
music.  The  performances  are  superior  to  the  story, 
which  is  thin  and  somewhat  silly.  A  few  situations 
here  and  there  are  amusing  enough  to  provoke  laughs, 
but  the  plot  developments  are  routine  and  obvious, 
causing  one  to  lose  interest  in  the  outcome.  The  brisk 


action,  however,  and  the  pleasant  song  numbers,  are 
compensating  factors,  and  they  should  help  the  pic- 
ture to  get  by  as  the  lower  half  of  a  double  bill 
wherever  audiences  are  not  too  concerned  about  story 
material : — 

Allan  Jones,  unjustly  sentenced  for  a  bank  robbery, 
is  pardoned.  His  release  from  jail  upsets  the  prison 
choir,  which  he  led;  the  members  plot  to  get  him  back 
with  the  aid  of  Jack  Overman,  an  ex-convict.  Hitch- 
hiking home,  Jones  is  given  a  lift  by  Raymond  Wal- 
burn,  head  of  a  struggling  stock  company,  who  offers 
him  a  job  with  the  troupe.  Jones  promises  to  join  him 
after  spending  a  few  days  in  Oaks  Corners,  his  home 
town.  That  night,  two  of  Overman's  henchmen  rob 
the  Oaks  Corners  National  Bank  of  $10,000  and 
manage  to  conceal  the  money  in  the  lining  of  Jones' 
suitcase.  The  following  morning,  after  Jones'  sudden 
departure,  the  robbery  is  discovered,  placing  him 
under  suspicion.  Overman,  learning  what  his  hench- 
men had  done,  orders  them  to  get  back  the  money 
lest  Jones  be  caught  and  sent  to  the  wrong  jail.  Mean- 
while Jones  joins  the  troupe  and  falls  in  love  with 
Grace  McDonald,  Walburn's  daughter.  Grace  learns 
of  his  past  and  has  a  misunderstanding  with  him,  but 
she  soon  becomes  convinced  of  his  innocence.  Jones 
first  learns  that  he  was  suspected  of  the  bank  robbery 
when  he  receives  word  that  two  bank  detectives  were 
on  their  way  to  arrest  him.  Lest  they  arrest  him  be- 
fore he  can  clear  himself,  Jones  dons  a  disguise  on 
the  stage.  Both  the  detectives  and  the  gangsters  ar- 
rive at  the  theatre  at  the  same  time  and,  in  a  series  of 
incidents  in  which  Jones  loses  his  disguise  and  is  kid- 
napped by  the  thieves,  he  manages  to  gain  the  upper 
hand,  capturing  them,  recovering  the  money,  and 
clearing  his  name. 

Val  Burton  and  Elwood  Ullman  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Will  Cowan  produced  it,  and  Reginald  Le  Borg 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Vivian  Austin,  Murray 
Alper,  Eddie  Acuff,  John  Abbott  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Penthouse  Rhythm"  with  Kirby  Grant, 
Lois  Collier  and  Judy  Clark 

(Universal,  June  22;  time,  60  min.) 

Just  passable.  Like  the  majority  of  Universal's  pro- 
gram comedies  with  music,  this  one  will  serve  to  round 
out  a  double  bill  without  making  too  much  of  an 
impression  on  the  audience.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
action  is  fast-moving,  it  is  difficult  for  one  to  remain 
interested  in  the  proceedings,  for  the  story  is  hack- 
neyed, silly,  and  tiresome.  It  has  a  few  musical  inter- 
ludes, of  the  "jive"  variety,  which  should  please  the 
"jitterbug"  set.  The  routine  romance  is  of  little  help 
to  the  picture : — • 

Desiring  a  stage  career,  Judy  Clark  and  her  three 
brothers  quit  their  jobs  when  they  learn  that  Lois 
Collier,  their  friend  and  secretary  to  Edward  Norris, 
a  theatrical  producer,  had  arranged  for  him  to  audi- 
tion their  act.  Norris,  however,  leaves  town  without 
seeing  them;  he  had  become  involved  in  a  law  suit 
with  Marion  Martin,  a  chorus  girl,  and  Kirby  Grant, 
his  attorney,  had  advised  him  to  leave  town  until  he 
could  arrange  a  settlement  with  Donald  McBride, 
Marion's  attorney.  Lois,  to  help  Judy  and  her  broth- 
ers, moves  them  into  Norris'  swank  apartment  so  that 
they  might  put  up  a  "front"  and  meet  the  right  people 
in  show  business.  When  Grant  unexpectedly  visits 


I 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  79 


May  19, 1945 

«■ 

the  apartment  and  finds  Judy  there,  Lois,  to  explain 
Judy's  presence,  introduces  her  as  "Marion."  Grant, 
seizing  an  opportunity  to  settle  Norris'  legal  mess, 
talks  Judy  into  dropping  the  suit,  provided  he  takes 
care  of  her  theatrical  ambitions.  He  decides  to  give  a 
party  at  Noras'  apartment  in  Judy's  honor  as  a 
means  of  introducing  her  to  the  right  people.  When 
McBride  visits  him  to  arrange  a  settlement,  Grant 
informs  him  of  his  deal  with  "Marion."  McBride, 
puzzled,  confronts  Marion,  and  for  the  first  time  both 
learn  that  Judy  was  impersonating  her;  they  decide 
to  attend  the  party  to  expose  her.  Norris  adds  to  the 
confusion  by  returning  to  town  unexpectedly.  All 
meet  at  the  party,  where  Marion,  calling  Judy  an 
imposter,  starts  a  free-for-all  fight.  The  police  take 
every  one  to  jail,  where  Grant,  employing  his  legal 
tactics,  accuses  Marion  of  blackmail  and  compels  her 
to  drop  the  suit.  It  all  ends  with  Norris  growing  ro- 
mantic over  Judy,  and  with  his  launching  her  and  her 
brothers  on  a  theatrical  career. 

Stanley  Roberts  and  Howard  Dimisdale  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Frank  Gross  produced  it,  and  Edward 
Cline  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ed  Brophy, 
Henry  Armetta,  Eric  Blore  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Trouble  Chasers"  with  Billy  Gilbert, 
Shemp  Howard  and  Maxie  Rosenbloom 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  63  min.) 

A  switch  of  the  title  to  "Audience  Chaser"  would 
be  more  appropriate  for  this  program  comedy;  it  is 
incredibly  poor.  Some  stories,  though  nonsensical, 
manage  to  be  humorous,  but  this  one  is  so  inane,  and 
what  passes  for  comedy  is  so  forced,  that  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  even  the  most  ardent  picture-goer  will  have  the 
patience  to  sit  through  to  the  end.  This  is  the  third 
picture  in  which  Billy  Gilbert,  Shemp  Howard  and 
Maxie  Rosenbloom  have  been  featured  as  a  comedy 
trio  and,  in  the  opinion  of  this  reviewer,  the  quality 
of  the  series  has  gone  from  bad  to  worse.  The  pity  of 
it  is  that  the  performers,  who  are  capable  of  handling 
comedy  material,  are  wasted;  as  hard  as  they  try,  they 
cannot  overcome  the  silliness  of  the  story : — 

Under  the  pen  name  of  "Black  Panther,"  Billy  Gil- 
bert, publicity  man  for  Maxie  Rosenbloom,  a  down- 
and-out  prizefighter  managed  by  Shemp  Howard, 
writes  a  fictitious  account  of  a  $50,000  jewel  theft, 
based  on  the  experiences  of  Carlyle  Blackwell,  Jr.,  a 
young  taxi  driver  who,  though  innocent,  had  served 
a  prison  term  because  a  paste  duplicate  of  the  jewels 
had  been  found  in  his  cab.  I.  Stanford  Jolly  and 
Wheeler  Oakman,  members  of  the  gang  that  had 
committed  the  theft,  read  Gilbert's  story  and  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  he  knew  who  had  the  real  jewels. 
Gilbert,  frightened  by  their  threats,  pacifies  them  by 
promising  to  produce  the  real  jewels.  The  gangsters 
become  a  constant  threat  to  Gilbert,  Howard  and 
Rosenbloom  by  moving  into  their  boarding  house  to 
make  sure  that  Gilbert  fulfills  his  promise.  Complica- 
tions arise  when  Barbara  Pepper,  another  member  of 
the  gang,  who  had  the  jewels  in  her  possession,  gives 
them  to  Gilbert  for  safekeeping  lest  her  confederates 
discover  her  secret  and  kill  her.  Gilbert,  fearing  for 
his  own  safety,  tries  desperately  to  get  rid  of  the 
jewels.  The  gangsters,  impatient  with  Gilbert,  finally 
corner  him  in  a  night  club  and  take  the  gems.  But  the 
police,  led  by  an  insurance  detective  who  had  been 


masquerading  as  a  boarder,  arrive  in  time  to  capture 
the  thieves,  thus  clearing  Blackwell's  name. 

George  Plympton  and  Ande  Lamb  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Sam  Katzman  and  Jack  Dietz  produced  it,  and 
Lew  Landers  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Gloria 
Marlen,  Emmett  Lynn,  Patsy  Moran  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  omorally. 

"Pillow  to  Post"  with  Ida  Lupino, 
William  Prince  and  Sydney  Greenstreet 

(Warner  Bros.,  June  9;  time,  92  min.) 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  lacks  a  substantial  plot, 
this  comedy-farce  is,  for  the  most  part,  fairly  amus- 
ing, mainly  because  of  the  performances  by  the  com- 
petent cast.  Adapted  from  the  stage  play,  "Pillar  to 
Post,"  the  story  deals  with  the  complications  a  pretty 
travelling  saleswoman  and  a  young  army  lieutenant 
get  themselves  into  when  she  persuades  the  young 
man,  a  total  stranger,  to  pose  as  her  husband  so  that 
she  could  obtain  sleeping  quarters  in  a  crowded  town. 
The  farcical  situations  that  result  are  familiar  but 
the  events  leading  up  to  them  are  laugh-provoking 
and,  since  the  action  is  breezy  all  the  way  through, 
one's  interest  is  held  pretty  well.  Ida  Lupino,  as  the 
heroine,  shows  a  good  flair  for  comedy : — 

Learning  that  her  father,  owner  of  an  oil  well  sup- 
ply company,  was  short  of  salesmen,  Ida  persuades 
him  to  let  her  represent  the  firm  on  some  important 
deals.  She  goes  to  a  booming  California  town,  near  a 
large  army  base,  only  to  find  that  living  quarters  were 
unavailable.  Ruth  Donnelly,  manager  of  an  auto 
court,  mistakes  her  for  an  army  bride  and  offers  to 
rent  her  a  bungalow.  Desperate  for  a  place  to  sleep, 
Ida  indicates  that  she  was  married  and  sets  out  to 
pick  up  an  officer  so  that  she  could  register.  She  meets 
Lieut.  William  Prince,  who  reluctantly  agrees  to  help 
her.  Complications  set  in  when  the  "newlyweds"  run 
into  Colonel  Sydney  Greenstreet,  Prince's  command- 
ing officer,  who  lived  at  the  auto  court  with  his  wife 
(Barbara  Brown) .  Prince,  confused,  is  compelled  to 
introduce  Ida  as  his  wife  or  face  the  consequences  of 
a  court  martial  for  conduct  unbecoming  an  officer. 
Greenstreet,  pleased  with  the  "marriage,"  caters  to 
the  young  couple  and  unwittingly  compels  them  to 
spend  the  night  together  in  the  bungalow.  Additional 
complications  ensue  when  Johnny  Mitchell,  manager 
of  an  oil  company,  from  which  Ida  sought  to  obtain 
an  order,  insists  that  Ida  accompany  him  on  a  date 
before  signing  the  order;  the  other  army  wives  at  the 
auto  court  suspect  her  of  being  unfaithful  to  Prince. 
The  young  couple  determine  to  get  out  of  their  pre- 
dicament by  staging  a  quarrel  and  pretending  to  get 
a  "divorce,"  but  Greenstreet  interferes  and  virtually 
orders  Prince  to  make  up  with  his  "wife."  Mean- 
while both  had  fallen  in  love.  More  complications 
ensue  when  Ida,  invited  to  dinner  at  the  Colonel's 
home,  becomes  intoxicated  and  reveals  the  truth. 
Greenstreet,  astounded,  threatens  to  court  martial 
Prince,  but  when  he  becomes  convinced  that  nothing 
wrong  had  happened,  he  gives  the  young  couple  his 
blessing  as  they  drive  off  to  make  their  marriage  legal. 

Charles  Hoffman  wrote  the  screen  play,  Alex  Gott- 
lieb produced  it,  and  Vincent  Sherman  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Stuart  Erwin,  Willie  Best,  Paul 
Harvey,  Louis  Armstrong  and  his  Orchestra  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


80 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  19,  1945 


To  cite  one  example  of  why  you  should  exercise 
care  now  in  your  picture-buying,  let  me  remind  you 
of  the  depression  in  the  early  1930's  when  the  large 
circuits  cut  down  their  admission  prices  to  increase 
their  falling  patronage.  This  move,  of  course,  hurt 
the  independent  exhibitors,  for  when  they  signed 
their  contracts  they  figured  the  prices  they  would  pay 
for  film  in  accordance  with  the  admission  prices  that 
they  and  their  competitors  were  charging.  When  their 
competitors  reduced  admission  prices,  the  independ- 
ents were  compelled  to  carry  a  burden  they  had  not 
foreseen.  They  found  that,  if  they  did  not  lower  their 
prices,  they  lost  patronage,  and  if  they  did  lower  the 
prices,  the  reduced  box-office  receipts  were  much 
too  low  in  comparison  with  the  prices  they  had  paid 
for  the  film.  This  example  points  out  but  one  of  the 
possibilities  you  must  now  take  into  consideration. 

Lest  some  of  you  gain  the  impression  that  I  am  pre- 
dicting another  depression  in  the  near  future,  let  me 
hasten  to  assure  you  that  such  is  not  my  intent.  I 
firmly  believe  that  prosperity  will  be  with  us  for  some 
time  to  come,  but  not  at  the  level  we  are  enjoying  pres- 
ently. That  is  why  I  am  urging  you  to  watch  your 
film  buying  and  to  seek  rental  reductions  proportion- 
ate with  the  future  drop  in  box-office  receipts. 

Buy  your  pictures  carefully.  Don't  rush!  Give  your- 
self a  few  days  to  study  the  contract  before  you  sign 
it.  A  little  thought  and  patience  now  may  save  you, 
as  already  said,  many  headaches  afterwards. 

THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  THEATRE 
CONSTRUCTION 

According  to  a  statement  issued  last  week  by  the 
War  Production  Board's  Office  of  Civilian  Require- 
ments, there  is  little  prospect  of  new  theatre  construc- 
tion in  the  immediate  future. 

The  OCR  stated  that  "no  available  facilities  exist 
for  the  manufacture  of  theatre  seats  and  textile  cover- 
ings, or  motion  picture  equipment  for  commercial 
use."  It  added  that  "former  manufacturers  of  chairs 
and  seats  are  now  occupied  with  war  work,  and  al- 
though production  of  projection  and  sound  equip- 
ment is  at  its  highest  peak  since  1941,  it  is  sufficient 
only  to  meet  requirements  of  the  Armed  Forces. 

"With  a  partial  replacement  of  civilian  theatre 
equipment  damaged  or  destroyed  by  fire,  no  reservoir 
of  production  or  supply  exists  from  which  new  civilian 
theatres  can  be  equipped." 

It  was  explained  also  that  critical  shortages  in  cer- 
tain building  materials,  and  lack  of  manpower  in 
many  areas,  were  additional  factors  that  now  prevent 
the  WPB  from  authorizing  new  theatre  construction. 

The  purpose  of  the  statement  was  to  stop  the  in- 
creasing number  of  applications  for  permission  to 
build  new  theatres  from  persons  who  are  under  the 
impression  that  the  relaxation  of  certain  WPB  con- 
trols makes  it  possible  for  them  to  put  their  building 
plans  into  operation  at  once. 

Although  new  theatre  building  may  be  barred  for 
the  immediate  future,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  it  will  not  be  for  long.  Perhaps  a  few  months. 
The  wheels  are  already  in  motion  for  a  changeover 
from  a  war-time  economy  to  a  peacetime  economy, 
and  it  should  be  expected  that  building  materials  now 
on  the  critical  list  will  soon  be  available  for  civilian 
needs.  The  WPB  has  already  relaxed  restrictions  on 
the  use  of  steel,  copper  and  aluminum,  and  the  War 
Manpower  Commission  has  announced  that,  begin- 
ning July  1,  regulations  covering  workers  who  were 


"frozen"  to  their  jobs  will  be  lifted  in  many  areas 
throughout  the  country,  leaving  them  free  to  seek 
other  employment.  The  relaxation  of  these  war-time 
controls  will,  of  course,  hasten  the  theatre  building 
program. 

As  pointed  out  in  an  editorial  that  appeared  in  the 
November  11,  1944  issue  of  this  paper,  the  time  to 
control  theatre  building  is  now.  The  prosperity  that 
people  of  this  country  have  enjoyed  during  the  last 
few  years  has  enabled  many  of  them  to  accumulate 
sizeable  bank  accounts  and,  now  that  the  trend  is 
back  to  normalcy,  many  individuals  are  shopping 
around  for  enterprises  that  will  give  them  post-war 
security. 

The  motion  picture  theatre,  to  those  who  are  un- 
acquainted with  show  business  operations,  seems  to 
be  a  lucrative  business.  And  one  can  hardly  blame 
them  for  being  impressed,  because  the  fantastic  sal- 
aries paid  to  picture  people  in  Hollywood,  and  the 
tremendous  dollar  grosses  that  are  publicized  in  both 
the  daily  and  trade  papers,  are  enough  to  make  any 
one's  head  swim.  If  one  could  only  convince  these 
people  of  the  pitfalls  in  our  business,  and  of  the  mono- 
polistic conditions  under  which  independent  exhibi- 
tors are  compelled  to  operate,  they  might  think  twice 
before  investing  their  money.  But  in  most  cases  such 
an  approach  by  an  exhibitor  to  a  prospective  exhibitor 
would  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion;  he  might  feel 
that  he  was  being  talked  out  of  a  "good  thing." 

Yet  the  fact  remains  that  a  surge  of  indiscriminate 
theatre  building  on  the  part  of,  not  only  newcomers, 
but  also  those  in  the  business,  without  regard  for  a 
community's  ability  to  support  more  than  a  given 
number  of  theatres,  threatens  to  undermine  the 
orderly  conduct  of  the  exhibition  business.  Compe- 
tition can  often  be  beneficial,  but  "over-seating"  is 
usually  disastrous  to  all  concerned. 

Established  exhibitors  seeking  some  measure  of 
protection  can  do  something  about  this  impending 
condition  before  it  is  too  late. 

In  the  aforementioned  November  1 1  issue,  I  repro- 
duced an  ordinance  adopted  by  the  City  Council  of 
Winchester,  Kentucky,  on  February  19,  1937,  regu- 
lating the  operation  of  motion  picture  theatres  and 
other  similar  places  of  public  entertainment  within 
the  city  limits.  This  ordinance  was  modeled  after  a 
proposed  ordinance  drafted  by  my  attorney  a  number 
of  years  ago,  prescribing  the  conditions  under  which 
new  theatres  might  be  built,  and  it  is  designed  to  pro- 
tect the  established  exhibitor.  It  is  an  effective  ordi- 
nance because,  unlike  others,  which  limit  the  number 
of  theatres  in  accordance  with  the  number  of  inhabi- 
tants, thus  leaving  their  constitutionality  doubtful, 
this  one  is  predicated  on  the  police  powers  of  the  local 
governing  body,  and  would  thus  have  a  better  chance 
of  being  upheld  if  challenged  in  the  courts. 

Those  who  have  copies  of  the  November  11,  1944 
issue  of  Harrison's  Reports  may  extract  that  ordi- 
nance and  present  it  to  the  city  councils  for  action; 
those  who  have  misplaced  their  copies  may  apply  to 
this  office  for  another  copy. 

Now  is  the  time  for  action,  before  the  reckless  surge 
of  theatre  building  gets  under  way.  You  must  not 
permit  yourself  to  become  complacent  merely  because 
building  operations  are  still  under  strict  control.  The 
restrictions  may  be  lifted  momentarily.  Then  it  will 
be  too  late  for  preventative  measures.  Remember  that 
you  cannot  build  a  dam  while  the  flood  waters  are 
rushing  in. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVII 

NEW  YORK,  SATURDAY,  MAY  19,  1945 

No.  20 

(Partial  Index  No.  3 — Pages  54  to  76  Incl.) 

Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Bells  of  Rosarita — Republic  (68  min.)  not  reviewed 

Blood  on  the  Sun — United  Artists  (94  min.)   67 

Boston  Blackie  Booked  on  Suspicion — Columbia 

67  min.)    62 

Brighton  Strangler,  The— RKO  (67  min.)   70 

Bullfighters,  The — 20th  Century-Fox  (61  min.)   60 

China  Sky— RKO  (78  min.)   62 

China's  Little  Devils — Monogram  (74  min.)   55 

Corpus  Christi  Bandits — Republic  (55  min.)  .  .not  reviewed 

Counter-Attack — Columbia  (90  min.)   56 

Diamond  Horseshoe — 20th  Century -Fox  (104  min.) ...  59 

Escape  in  the  Desert — Warner  Bros.  (79  min.)   66 

Fighting  Guardsman,  The — Columbia  (84  min.)   70 

Flame  of  the  Barbary  Coast — Republic  (91  min.)   63 

Guy,  a  Gal  and  a  Pal,  A — Columbia  (61  min.)   74 

Hitchhike  to  Happiness — Republic  (72  min.)   67 

Horn  Blows  at  Midnight,  The — Warner  Bros. 

(78  min.)    56 

Identity  Unknown— Republic  (71  min.)   55 

I'll  Remember  April — Universal  (63  min.)   58 

In  Old  New  Mexico — Monogram  (62  min.) .  .not  reviewed 

Lady  Confesses,  The— PRC  (65  min.)   56 

Medal  for  Benny,  A — Paramount  (77  min.)   59 

Missing  Corpse,  The— PRC  (62  min.)   71 

Muggs  Rides  Again — Monogram  (64  min.)   66 

Murder,  He  Says — Paramount  (91  min.)   60 

Patrick  the  Great — Universal  (88  min.)   64 

Phantom  of  42nd  Street— PRC  (58  min.)   54 

Phantom  Speaks,  The — Republic  (68  min.)   64 

Salome,  Where  She  Danced- — Universal  (90  min.) ....  59 

Scared  Stiff — Paramount  (63  min.)   60 

Scarlet  Clue,  The — Monogram  (64  min.)   55 

Silver  Fleet,  The— PRC  (77  min.)  .'   54 

Song  of  the  Sarong — Universal  (63  min.)   58 

Son  of  Lassie — MGM  (100  min.)   63 

Southerner,  The — United  Artists  (91  min.)   71 

Swing  Out,  Sister — Universal  (60  min.)   70 

Ten  Cents  a  Dance — Columbia  (60  min.)   74 

Those  Endearing  Young  Charms — RKO  (82  min.)  ....  62 

Two  O'Clock  Courage— RKO  (66  min.)   54 

Valley  of  Decision,  The— MGM  (118  min.)   58 

Vampire's  Ghost,  The — Republic  (59  min.)   64 

Wonder  Man— RKO  (96  min.)   66 

Zombies  on  Broadway — RKO  (67  min.)   63 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 

Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

6039  Let's  Go  Steady — Parrish-Moran  Jan.  4 

6041  Youth  on  Trial — Collins-Reed  Jan.  11 

6014  Eadie  Was  a  Lady — Miller-Besser  Jan.  18 

6024  I  Love  a  Mystery — Bannon-Foch  Jan.  25 

6204  Sage  Brush  Heroes — Starrett  (54  m.)  Feb.  1 

6221  Sing  Me  a  Song  of  Texas — Lane  (66  m.) .  . . . Feb.  8 
6002  Tonight  and  Every  Night — Hayworth- 

Bowman   Feb.  22 

6019  Leave  it  to  Blondie — Lake-Singleton  Feb.  22 

6017  Crime  Doctor's  Courage — Baxter-Crane  Feb.  27 

6034  A  Guy,  A  Gal  and  a  Pal — Hunter-Merrick.  .Mar.  8 

6205  Rough  Ridin'  Justice— Starrett  (58  m.)  (re.). Mar.  15 


6018 

6037 
6026 
6222 
6023 
6206 

6031 


Rough,  Tough  and  Ready — McLaglen- 

Morris   Mar.  22 

Escape  in  the  Fog — Foch-Wright  Apr.  5 

Eve  Knew  Her  Apples — Miller- Wright  Apr.  12 

Rockin'  in  the  Rockies — Stooges-Hughes.  .  .  .Apr.  17 

Power  of  the  Whistler — Dix-Carter  Apr.  19 

Return  of  the  Durango  Kid — Starrett  Apr.  19 

Counter-Attack — Muni-Chapman  Apr.  26 

Boston  Blackie  Booked  on  Suspicion — Morris. May  10 
Both  Barrels  Blazing — Charles  Starrett 

(57  m.)  May  17 

The  Fighting  Guardsman — Parker- Louise  . .  .May  24 

Ten  Cents  a  Dance — Frazee-Lloyd  June  7 

Rhythm  Round-Up — Western  musical  June  7 

Blonde  from  Brooklyn — Stanton-Merrick. .  .June  21 
Special 

A  Song  to  Remember — Muni-Oberon  Mar.  1 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 
Block  10 

513  The  Thin  Man  Goes  Home — Powell-Loy  January 

514  Main  Street  After  Dark — Arnold  January 

515  Music  for  Millions — O'Brien-Allyson  February 

516  Blonde  Fever — Astor-Dorn  February 

517  This  Man's  Navy — Beery-Drake  February 

518  Between  Two  Women — Johnson-Barrymore. .  .March 

519  Nothing  But  Trouble — Laurel  (f  Hardy  March 

520  Keep  Your  Powder  Dry — Peters-Turner-Day.  .March 

Block  11 

522  Without  Love — Hepburn-Tracy  May 

523  Gentle  Annie — Craig-Reed  May 

524  The  Clock— Garland- Walker  May 

525  The  Picture  of  Dorian  Gray — 

Sanders-Hatfield   June 

526  Son  of  Lassie — Lawford-Crisp  June 

Specials 

500  Dragon  Seed — Hepburn-Huston   August 

511  Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo — Tracy-Johnson . .  January 

512  Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis — Garland-O'Brien  January 

521  National  Velvet — Rooney-Taylor  April 

527  Valley  of  Decision — Garson-Peck   June 


Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 

455  Navajo  Trail — J.  M.  Brown  (55  m.)  Jan.  5 

414  Army  Wives — Knox-Rambeau  Jan.  12 

420  Adventures  of  Kitty  O'Day — Parker-Cookson. Jan.  19 

417  The  Jade  Mask — Sidney  Toler  Jan.  26 

401  Forever  Yours — Storm-Brown  (re)  Jan.  26 

429  The  Cisco  Kid  Returns — Renaldo 

(64  m.)  (re.)   Feb.  9 

454  Gun  Smoke — J.  M.  Brown  (59  m.)  Feb.  16 

422  There  Goes  Kelly- — Moran-McKay  (re.)  Feb.  16 

402  Dillinger — Tierney-Lowe  Mar.  2 

423  Fashion  Model — Lowery-Weaver  (re.)  Mar.  2 

410  Docks  of  New  York — East  Side  Kids  (re.) .  .  .Mar.  9 
406  G.  I.  Honeymoon — Storm-Cookson  (re.)  .  .  .  .  Apr.  6 

418  The  Scarlet  Clue — Sidney  Toler  (re.)  May  5 

405  China's  Little  Devils — Carey-Kelly  May  12 

In  Old  New  Mexico — Renaldo  (62  m.)  May  19 

Flame  of  the  West — Brown-Woodbury  May  26 

Divorce — Francis-Cabot  June  1 

Muggs  Rides  Again — East  Side  Kids  June  8 

456  Stranger  from  Sante  Fe — J.  M.  Brown(53  m.).June  15 


May  19,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


4411 
4412 
4413 
4414 
441? 

4416 
4417 
4418 
4419 

4421 
4422 
4423 
4424 

4432 


Paramount  Features 

(HOI  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  18,  H-  T.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  3 

Here  Come  the  Waves — Crosby-Hutton  

Dangerous  Passage — Lowery-Brooks  

For  Whom  the  Bell  Tolls — Cooper-Bergman. 

Practically  Yours — Colbert-MacMurray  

Double  Exposure — Morris-Kelly  

Block  4 

Bring  on  the  Girls — Tufts-Bracken-Lake.  ..  . 

The  Unseen — McCrea-Russell  

Salty  O'Rourke — Ladd-Russell   

High  Powered — Lowery-Brooks  

Block  5 

The  Affairs  of  Susan — Fontaine-Brent  

Murder,  He  Says — MacMurray- Walker  

Scared  Stiff — Haley-Savage  

A  Medal  for  Benny — Lamour-DcCordova. . . 
Special 

Sign  of  the  Cross — Reissue  


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave..  Hew  York  22,  H-  T.) 
557  His  Brother's  Ghost — Buster  Crabbe  (56  m.) .  .Feb.  3 

516  The  Kid  Sister— Pryor-Clark  Feb.  6 

554  Marked  for  Murder — Texas  Rangers  ( 58  m.) .. Feb.  8 

523  The  Spell  of  Amy  Nugent — English  cast  Feb.  10 

508  Fog  Island— Atwill-Zucco   Feb.  15 

507  The  Man  Who  Walked  Alone— O'Brien- 

Aldridge  Mar. 

517  Out  of  the  Night — Lydon-William  (Formerly 
"Strange  Illusion")  Mar. 

Crime,  Inc. — Tilton-Neal  Apr. 

Shadows  of  Death — Buster  Crabbe  (56  m.).Apr. 

Hollywood  y  Vine — Ellison-McKay  Apr. 

Phantom  of  42nd  St. — O'Brien-Aldridge  May 

Enemy  of  the  Law — Texas  Rangers  (56  m.).  .May 

The  Lady  Confesses — Hughes-Beaumont  May  16 

The  Missing  Corpse — Bromberg-Jenks  June  1 

Gangsters'  Den — Buster  Crabbe  (55  m.)  June  14 

The  Silver  Fleet — English  cast  June  15 

Three  in  the  Saddle — Texas  Rangers  June  29 


502 
558 
515 


559 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

409  Grissley's  Millions — Kelly-Grey  Jan.  16 

410  The  Big  Show-Off— Lake-Dale  Jan.  22 

464  The  Topeka  Terror — Lane-Stirling  (55  m.) .  .Jan.  26 

3317  Great  Stage  Coach  Robbery— Elliott  (56  m.)  .Feb.  15 

411  A  Song  for  Miss  Julie — Dolin-Markova  Feb.  19 

454  Sheriff  of  Cimarron — Carson-Stirling  (55m.) .  .Feb.  28 

441  Utah — Roy  Rogers  (78  m.)  Mar.  21 

412  The  Great  Flamarion — Von  Stroheim-Hughes.Mar.  30 

414  Identity  Unknown — Arlen-Walker  Apr.  2 

413  Earl  Carroll  Vanities — O'Keefe-Moore  Apr.  5 

465  Corpus  Christi  Bandits — Lane-Watts  (55  m.).Apr.  20 

433  The  Phantom  Speaks — Arlen-Ridges  May  10 

434  The  Vampire's  Ghost — Abbott-Stewart  May  21 

416  Three's  a  Crowd — Blake-Gordon  May  23 

415  Flame  of  the  Barbary  Coast — Wayne-Dvorak. May  28 

442  Bells  of  Rosarita— Roy  Rogers  (68  m.)  June  19 

417  The  Chicago  Kid — Barry-Roberts  June  29 

419  Hitchhike  to  Happiness — Pearce-Evans  July  16 

418  Steppin'  in  Society — Horton-George  July  29 


RK.O  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  20,  H-  T.) 
Block  3 

511  What  a  Blonde— Errol-Borg  

512  Betrayal  from  the  East — Tracy- Kelly  

513  Pan  Americana — Terry- Arden  

514  Having  a  Wonderful  Crime — O'Brien-Landis. . . 

515  The  Enchanted  Cottage — Young-McGuire  

Block  4 

516  Zombies  on  Broadway — Brown-Carney. ...... 

517  The  Body  Snatcher — Karloff-Daniel  

518  Tarzan  and  the  Amazons — Weissmuller  

519  China  Sky— Scott-Warrick   

520  Those  Endearing  Young  Charms — Young-Day. 

Block  5 

The  Brighton  Strangler — Loder-Duprez  

Two  O'Clock  Courage — Conway-Rutherford  .  . 

Back  to  Bataan — Wayne-Quinn  

West  of  the  Pecos — Mitchum-Hale  

George  White's  Scandals — Haley-Davis  


Specials 

551  The  Princess  and  the  Pirate — Bob  Hope  

581  Casanova  Brown — Cooper- Wright   

582  Woman  in  the  Window — Bennett-Robinson. 

Belle  of  the  Yukon — Scott-Lee  

It's  a  Pleasure — Henie-O'Shea  

The  Three  Caballeros — Disney  


583 
584 
591 


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St.,  Hew  York  19,  H-  T.) 
(Note:  Beginning  with  January,  the  practice  of  desig- 
nating  releases  by  blocks  has  been  discontinued.) 

514  Keys  of  the  Kingdom — Peck-Mitchell  January 

515  The  Fighting  Lady — Documentary  January 

516  Hangover  Square — Cregar-Darnell  February 

517  A  Tree  Grows  in  Brooklyn — McGuire-Dunn. February 

518  Thunderhcad — Son  of  Flicka — McDowall  March 

519  Circumstantial  Evidence — Nolan-O'Shea  March 

520  The  Song  of  Bernadctte — Jennifer  Jones  April 

521  A  Royal  Scandal — Bankhead-Eythe  April 

522  Molly  and  Me— Woolley-Fields  April 

524  Diamond  Horseshoe — Grable-Haymes  May 

525  The  Bullfighters— Laurel  &  Hardy  May 

526  Where  Do  We  Go  from  Here — 

MacMurray-Leslie   June 

527  Don  Juan  Quilligan — Bendix-Blondell  June 

(Note:  The  Clark  Gable  reissue.  "Call  of  the  Wild," 

scheduled  for  April  release,  has  been  withdrawn.) 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  York  19,  H-  T.) 

Dark  Waters — Oberon-Tone   Nov.  10 

3  Is  a  Family — Ruggles-Brodcrick  Nov.  23 

Guest  in  the  House — Baxter-Bellamy  Dec.  8 

Tomorrow,  the  World — March-Field  Dec.  29 

I'll  Be  Seeing  You — Rogers-Cotten-Temple  Jan.  J 

Mr.  Emmanuel — English-made  Jan.  19 

Delightfully  Dangerous — Powell-Moore  Mar.  31 

Brewster's  Millions — O'Keefc-Walker  Apr.  7 

It's  in  the  Bag — Fred  Allen  Apr.  21 

Colonel  Blimp — English  cast  May  4 

Hold  Autumn  in  Your  Hand — Scott-Field  May  18 

The  Great  John  L. — McClure-Darnell  May  25 


9035 
9020 
9039 
9010 
9002 
9021 
9013 
9036 
9012 
9006 
9025 
9027 
9040 
9073 


9028 
9033 
9016 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  T.) 

Night  Club  Girl — Austin-Norris  Jan.  5 

She  Gets  Her  Man — Davis-Errol  Jan.  12 

Under  Western  Skies — O'Driscoll-Beery,  Jr. .Jan.  19 

The  Suspect — Laughton-Raines  Jan.  26 

Here  Come  the  Co-Eds — Abbott-Costello.  .  .  .Feb.  2 

Her  Lucky  Night — Andrews  Sisters  Feb.  9 

House  of  Frankenstein — Karloff-Chaney  Feb.  16 

The  Mummy's  Curse — Lon  Chaney  Feb.  16 

Frisco  Sal — Bey-Fostcr-Curtis  Feb.  23 

Sudan — Montez-Bey-Hall   Mar.  2 

The  House  of  Fear — Rathbone-Bruce  Mar.  16 

I'll  Remember  April — Jean-Grant  Apr.  13 

Song  of  the  Sarong — Gargan-Kelly  Apr.  20 

Salome — Where  She  Danced — DeCarlo- 

Bruce  Apr.  27 

Patrick  the  Great — O'Connor-Ryan  May  4 

Honeymoon  Ahead — Jones-McDonald  May  11 

Swing  out  Sister — Cameron-Treacher  May  18 

See  My  Lawyer — Olsen  (i  Johnson  May  25 

That's  the  Spirit — Oakie-Ryan  (re.)  June  1 

I'll  Tell  the  World — Tracy-Preisser  June  8 

Blonde  Ransom — Grey-Cook  (re.)   June  15 

Penthouse  Rhythm — Collier-Grant  June  22 

The  Frozen  Ghost — Chaney-Ankers  June  29 

Jungle  Captive — Kruger-Ward  June  29 

The  Naughty  Nineties — Abbott  &  Costello .  .  July  6 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  Tor\  18,  H-  T.) 

410  To  Have  and  Have  Not — Bogart-Bacall  Jan.  20 

411  Objective  Burma — Errol  Flynn  Feb.  17 

412  Roughly  Speaking — Russell-Carson   Mar.  3 

413  Hotel  Berlin — Emerson -Dantine  Mar.  17 

414  God  is  My  Co-Pilot — Morgan-Massey  Apr.  7 

415  The  Horn  Blows  at  Midnight — Jack  Benny.  .  .Apr.  28 

416  Escape  in  the  Desert — Dorn-Dantine  May  19 

417  Pillow  to  Post — Lupino-Prince  June  9 

418  Conflict — Bogart-Smith  June  30 


Page  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index       .         May  19,  1945 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 

Columbia — One  Reel 

6655  Community  Sings  No.  5  (9  m.)  Jan.  1 

6501  Dog,  Cat  &  Canary— Col.  Rhap.  (6  m.)  Jan.  5 

6856  Screen  Snapshots  No.  6  (9  m.)  Jan.  26 

6805  Kings  of  the  Fairway — Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  2 

6954  Korn  Kobblers— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.)  Feb.  2 

6656  Community  Sings  No.  6  (10  m.)  Feb.  9 

6602  Kickapoo  Juice — Li'l  Abner  (7  m.)  Feb.  23 

6857  Screen  Snapshots  No.  7  (9  m.)  Feb.  25 

6806  Rough  and  Tumble — Sports  (9  m.)  Mar.  2 

6657  Community  Sings  No.  7  (11  m.)  Mar.  15 

6858  Screen  Snapshots  No.  8  (10  m.)  Mar.  29 

6703  Goofy  News  Views — Phantasy  (7  m.)  Apr.  27 

6807  The  Iron  Master— Sports  (9J/2  m.)  Apr.  27 

6658  Community  Sings  No.  8  (9  m.)  Apr.  27 

6752  The  Egg  Yegg— Fox  &  Crow  (7J/2  m.)  (re.)  .May  4 

6663  Victory  Reel  (V-E  Day)  May  8 

695  5  Lowe,  Hite  &  Stanley— Film  Vodvil  (11m.)  .May  11 

6859  Screen  Snapshots  No.  9  (9\Z2  m.)  May  17 

6901  A  Harbor  Goes  to  France — Panoramic 

(10  m.)  May  18 

6659  Community  Sings  No.  9  (10  m.)  May  25 

6502  Rippling  Romance — Col.  Rhap.  (8  m.)  (re.)  .June  21 

6660  Community  Sings  No.  10  June  29 

6808  Hi  Ho  Rodeo — Sports  (re.)  July  6 

6704  Booby  Socks — Phantasy  July  12 

6503  Fiesta  Time— Col.  Rhapsody  (re.)   July  12 

6753  Kukunuts— Fox  fe?  Crow  (re.)  (6]/2  m.)  July  26 

6860  Screen  Snapshots  No.  10  July  27 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

6410  Woo,  Woo! — Hugh  Herbert  (16  m.)  Jan.  5 

6403  Three  Pests  in  a  Mess — Stooges  (15  m.) . . .  .Jan.  19 

6140  Brenda  Starr,  Reporter  (13  episodes)  Jan.  26 

6430  Snooper  Service — Brendel  ( 14J/2  m-)  Feb.  2 

6431  Off  Again,  On  Again— Howard  (16  m.)  Feb.  16 

6404  Booby  Dupes — Stooges  (17  m.)  Mar.  17 

6432  Two  Local  Yokels— Clyde  (re.)  (17l/2  m.).Mar.  23 
6160  The  Monster  &  the  Ape  (15  episodes)  Apr.  20 

6433  Pistol  Packin' Nitwits — Brendel  (  17  m.)  May  4 

6411  Wife  Decoy — Hugh  Herbert  ( 17  m.)  June  1 

6423  The  Jury  Goes  Round  'N  Round — Vera  Vague 

(18  m.)  June  15 

6405  Idiots  Deluxe — Stooges  ( 17</2  m.)  July  20 


Metro-Gold wyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

1943-  44 

W-543  Screwy  Truant — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Jan.  13 

W-544  The  Unwelcome  Guest — Cartoon  (7  m.).  .Feb.  17 
W-545  Shooting  of  Dan  McGoo — Cartoon  (7m.). Mar.  3 

M-590  Little  White  Lie — Miniature  (11  m.)  Mar.  3 

K-575  It  Looks  Like  Rain— Pass.  Par.  (9m.)  Mar.  3 

S-559  Track  &  Field  Quiz— Pete  Smith  (9  m.)  Mar.  3 

W-546  Jerkey  Turkey — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Apr.  7 

S-560  Hollywood  Scout— Pete  Smith  (8m.)  Apr.  14 

K-576  The  Seasaw  and  the  Shoes — Pass.  Par. 

(10  m.)   .May  5 

(More  to  come) 

1944-  45 

T-611  Shrines  of  Yucatan— Traveltalk  (9  m.)  Feb.  24 

T-612  See  El  Salvador— Traveltalk  (10  m.)  Mar.  31 

Metro-Gold  wyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 
1943-44 

A-501  Dark  Shadows— Special  (22  m.)  Dec.  16 

A-502  Fall  Guy— Special  (W/2  m.)  Apr.  14 

A-503  The  Last  Installment  (18  m.)   May  5 

(More  to  come) 

Paramount — One  Reel 

U4-3  Hot  Lip  Jasper — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

L4-2  Unusual  Occupations  No.  2  (10  m.)  Jan.  12 

Y4'2  Who's  Who  in  Animal  Land — Speaking  of 

Animals  (9  m.)   Jan.  19 

R4-4  Out  Fishin' — Sportlight  (9  m.)  Jan.  26 

E4-2  Pop-Pie- Ala-Mode— Popeye  (7m.)  Jan.  26 

P4-3  When  G.  I.  Johnny  Comes  Home — 

Noveltoon  (8m.)  Feb.  2 

J4-3  Popular  Science  No.  3  (10  m.)  Feb.  16 

R4-5  Blue  Winners — Sportlight  (9  m.)  Feb.  23 

D4-3  Magicalulu — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  Mar.  2 

L4-3  Unusual  Occupations  No.  3  (10  m.)  Mar.  9 

Y4-3  In  the  Public  Eye — Speak,  of  Animals  (8m)  .Mar.  16 
E4-3  Tops  in  the  Big  Top — Popeye  (6  m.)  Mar.  16 


U4-4  Jasper  Tell — Puppetoon  (8  m.)  Mar.  23 

R4-6  Game  Bag— Sportlight  (9  m.)  Mar.  30 

P4-4  Scrappily  Married — Noveltoon  (8  m.)  Mar.  30 

J4-4  Popular  Science  No.  4  (10  m.)  Apr.  6 

D4-4  Beau  Ties— Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  Apr.  20 

E4-4  Shape  Ahoy — Popeye   Apr.  27 

R4-7  White  Rhapsody — Sportlight  (9  m.)  May  4 

L4-4  Unusual  Occupations  No.  4  (10  m.)  May  11 

Y4-4  Talk  of  the  Town — Speak,  of  Animals 

(9  m.)  May  18 

U4-5  Jasper's  Minstrels — Puppetoon  (9  m.)  May  25 

D4-5  Slap  Happy— Little  Lulu  May  25 

J4-5  Popular  Science  No.  5  June  1 

E4-5  For  Better  or  Nurse — Popeye  June  8 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF4-2  Star  Bright— Musical  Parade  (20  m.)  Dec.  15 

FF4-3  Bombalera— Musical  Parade  (20  m.)  Feb.  9 

FF4-4  Isle  of  Tabu — Musical  Parade  (17  m.)  Apr.  13 

FF4-5  Boogie  Woogie — Musical  Parade  (17  m.)..June  15 

Republic — Two  Reels 

481  Zorro's  Black  Whip — Lewis-Stirling 

(12  episodes)   Dec.  16 

482  Manhunt  of  Mystery  Island — Bailey-Stirling 

(15  episodes)  Mar.  17 

483  Federal  Operator  99  (12  episodes)  July  7 

RKO — One  Reel 

54106  Tiger  Trouble— Disney  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

54204  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  4  (9  m.)  Jan.  19 

54107  The  Clock  Watcher— Disney  (8  m.)  Jan.  26 

54306  Court  Craft — Sportscope  (8  m.)   Jan.  26 

54307  Ski  Gulls— Sportscope  (7  m.)  Feb.  23 

54205  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  5  (9  m.)  Mar.  2 

54308  Athlete  of  the  Year — Sportscope  (8  m.)  . .  .Mar.  23 

54109  The  Eyes  Have  It— Disney  (7  m.)  Mar.  30 

54206  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  6  (8  m.)  Apr.  13 

54309  Timber  Doodles — Sportscope  (8  m.)   Apr.  20 

54110  African  Diary — Disney  (7  m.)  Apr.  20 

54111  Donald's  Crime — Disney  (7  m.)  May  11 

RKO — Two  Reels 

53402  Ali  Baba— Edgar  Kennedy  (18  m.)  Jan.  5 

53103  Power  Unlimited — This  is  America  (17  m.).Jan.  19 

53104  On  Guard— This  is  America  (17  m.)  Feb.  9 

53703  Birthday  Blues— Leon  Errol  (17  m.)  Feb.  16 

53403  Sleepless  Tuesday— Edgar  Kennedy  (18m.)  .Feb.  23 

53105  Honorable  Discharge — This  is  America 

(17  m.)  Mar.  9 

53204  Swing  Fever — Headliners  (19  m.)  Mar.  16 

53106  Guam-Salvaged  Island — This  is  America 

(17  min.)   Apr.  13 

53107  Dress  Parade — This  Is  America  (16  m.)  .  .  .May  4 

53704  Let's  Go  Stepping — Leon  Errol  ( 17  m.)  ....May  4 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

5509  Mighty  Mouse  6?  the  Pirate — Terry.  (6m.).  .Jan.  12 

5257  Canyons  of  the  Sun — Adventure  (8  m.)  (re.).  Jan.  19 
5302  Steppin'  Pretty — Sports.  (8  m.)  Jan.  19 

5510  Port  of  Missing  Mice — Terrytoon  (6]/2  m.)  .  .Feb.  2 

5353  Nova  Scotia— Sports  (8  m.)  Feb.  9 

5511  Ants  in  Your  Pantry — Terrytoon  (6m.)  . .  .Feb.  16 

5255  City  of  Paradox — Adventure  (8  m.)  Mar.  2 

5512  Raiding  the  Raiders — Terrytoon  (7  m.) .  .  .  .Mar.  9 

5256  Alaskan  Grandeur — Adventure  (8  m.)  Mar.  16 

5513  Post  War  Inventions — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  .  .  .Mar.  23 

5258  Land  of  10,000  Lakes— Adventure 

(8  m.)  (re.)  Mar.  30 

5514  Fisherman's  Luck — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  (re.).. Apr.  6 

5260  Sikhs  of  Patiala — Adventure  (8  m.)   Apr.  13 

5515  Mighty  Mouse  &  the  Kilkenny  Cats — 

Terrytoon  (7  m.)  (re.)  Apr.  27 

5259  Isle  of  Romance- — Adventure  (8  m.)  (re.).. May  4 

5516  Mother  Goose  Nightmare — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)  (re.)   May  11 

5517  Smoky  Joe — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  May  25 

5354  Down  the  Fairway — Sports  (8m.)  June  1 

5518  The  Silver  Streak — Terrytoon  (7  min.)  ...  .June  8 
5902  Do  You  Remember? — Lew  Lahr  (8  m.) 

(formerly  "Good  Old  Days".)  June  22 

5519  Aesops  Fable — The  Mosquito — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   June  29 

5201  Modeling  for  Money — Adventure  (8  m.)  ...July  6 
Mighty  Mouse  &  the  Wolf — Terrytoon 

(7m.)   July  20 

5261  The  Empire  State— Adventure  (8  m.)  July  27 


May  19,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  11  No.  6 — Report  on  Italy — March  of 

Time  (17  m.)   Jan.  26 

Vol.  1 1  No.  7 — The  West  Coast  Question — March  of 

Time  (16  m.)   Feb.  23 

Vol.  1 1  No.  8 — Memo  from  Britain — March  of 

Time  (16  m.)  Mar.  23 

Vol.11  No.  9 — The  Returning  Veteran — March  of 

Time  (18  min.)   Apr.  20 

Universal — One  Reel 

9234  Pied  Piper  of  Basin  St. — Cartune  (7  m.)  Jan.  II 

9373  ABC  Pin-up— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Jan.  15 

9374  Pigtail  Pilot— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Jan.  22 

9354  White  Treasure— Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Jan.  29 

9236  Chew  Chew  Baby— Cartune  (7  m.)  Feb.  5 

9237  Sliphorn  King  of  Polaroo — Cartune  (7  m.) .  .Mar.  19 

9238  Woody  Dines  Out — Cartune  (7  m.)  May  14 

9375  Author  in  Babyland— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  May  14 

Universal — Two  Reels 

9124  Jive  Busters — Musical  (15  m.)  Jan.  17 

9581  Invitation  to  Death — Jungle  Queen  No.  I 

(17  m.)   Jan.  23 

9582  Jungle  Sacrifice — Jungle  Queen  No.  2  (17m) .Jan.  30 

9583  The  Flaming  Mountain — Jungle  Queen  No.  3 

(17  m.)  Feb.  6 

9584  Wild  Cats  Stampede — Jungle  Queen  No.  4 

(17  m.)  Feb.  13 

9125  Melody  Parade— Musical  (15  m.)  Feb.  14 

9585  The  Burning  Jungle — Jungle  Queen  No.  5 

(17  m.)   Feb.  20 

9586  Danger  Ship — Jungle  Queen  No.  6  (17  m.).Fcb.  27 

9126  Swing  Serenade — Musical  (15  m.)  Feb.  28 

9587  Trip  Wire  Murder — Jungle  Queen  No.  7 

(17  m.)   Mar.  6 

9588  The  Mortar  Bomhi — Jungle  Queen  No.  8 

(17  m.)   Mar.  13 

9589  Death  Watch— Jungle  Queen  No.  9  (17  m.). Mar.  20 

9590  Execution  Chamber — Jungle  Queen  No.  10 

(17  m.)   Mar.  27 

9591  The  Trail  to  Doom — Jungle  Queen  No.  11 

(17  m.)   Apr.  3 

9592  Dragged  Under — Jungle  Queen  No.  12 

(17  m.)   Apr.  10 

9593  The  Secret  of  the  Sword — Jungle  Queen  No.  13 

(17  m.)   Apr.  17 

9881  The  Master  Key— Stone  Wiley  (13 

episodes)  Apr.  24 

9127  Rockabyc  Rhythm — Musical  (15  m.)  June  20 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

1721  Herr  Meets  Hare — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Jan.  13 

1503  Glamour  in  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  Jan.  13 

1306  Fella  with  a  Fiddle— Hit.  Par.  (7  m.)  Jan.  20 

1606  Rhythm  of  the  Rhumba — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.).Jan.  27 

1701  Draftee  Daffy — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Jan.  27 

1504  Bikes  and  Skis— Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  10 

1722  Unruly  Hare— Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Feb.  10 

1307  When  I  Yoo  Hoo— Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Feb.  24 

1702  Trap  Happy  Porky — Dooney  Tune  (7  m.)..  .Feb.  24 

1505  Cuba  Calling— Sports  (10  m.)  Mar.  10 

1404  Overseas  Roundup — Varieties  (10  m.)  Mar.  17 

1308  I  Only  Have  Eyes  for  You— Hit  Par.  (7  m.)  .Mar.  17 

1607  Musical  Mexico — Merrie  Melody  (7  m.)...  .Mar.  24 

1703  Life  with  Feathers — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  Mar.  24 

1506  Swimcapades — Sports  (10  m.)  Apr.  7 

1704  Behind  the  Meat  Ball — Looney  Tune  (7  m.) .  Apr.  7 

1309  Ain't  We  Got  Fun— Hit  Par.  (7  m.)  Apr.  21 

1723  Hare  Trigger- — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  (re.) .  .  .  .May  5 

1608  Circus  Band— Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  (re.)  May  5 

1507  Water  Babies— Sports  (10  m.)  (re.)   May  19 

1705  Ain't  that  Ducky — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  (re.)  .May  19 

1706  Gruesome  Twosome — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  (re.). May  26 

1405  Overseas  Roundup  No.  2 — Varieties  (10  m.)  .May  26 

1508  Mexican  Sea  Sports- — Sports  (10  m.)  (re.).. June  2 

1509  Bahama  Sea  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  June  19 

1609  Bands  Across  the  Sea — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  .  .June  23 

1510  Flivver  Flying— Sports  (10  m.)  June  30 

1707  Tale  of  Two  Mice — Looney  Tune  (7  m.) .  .  .  .June  30 


Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

1002  Beachhead  to  Berlin— Special  (20  m.)  Jan.  6 

1106  Congo — Featurette  (20  m.)  Feb.  17 

1003  Pledge  to  Bataan— Special  (20  m.)  Feb.  3 

1107  Navy  Nurse — Featurette  (20  m.)  Mar.  3 

1109  Are  Animals  Actors? — Featurette  (20  m.)..Mar.  31 

1 1 10  Law  of  the  Badlands — Featurette  (20  m.) . .  .Apr.  14 

1108  It  Happened  in  Springfield — Featurette 

(20  m.)  Apr.  28 

1111  Plantation  Models — Featurette  (20  m.).... May  12 

1004  Coney  Island  Honeymoon — Special  (re.) 

(20  m.)  June  9 


NEWSWEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 

55177  Sat.  (O)  .  .  .May  19 
55278  Wed.  (E) 
55179  Sat.  (O)  . 
55280  Wed.  (E) 

55181  Sat.  (O)  . 

55282  Wed.  (E) 

55182  Sat.  (O)  . 

55283  Wed.  (E) 
55184  Sat.  (O)  . 
55285  Wed.  (E) 
55186  Sat.  (O)  . 
55287  Wed.  (E) 
55188  Sat.  (O)  . 
55289  Wed.  (E) 
55190  Sat.  (O)  . 


Universal 


.  .May  23 
.  .May  26 
.  .May  30 
.June  2 
.June  6 
.June  9 
.June  13 
.June  16 
.June  20 
.June  23 
.June  27 
.June  30 
..July  4 
..July  7 


Metrotone  News 


272 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .May  17 

273 

Tues.  (O) . . 

.  .  May  22 

274 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .  May  24 

275 

Tues.  (O) . . 

.  .May  29 

276 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .May  31 

277 

Tues.  (O). . 

. .June  5 

278 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

..June  7 

279 

Tues.  (O) .  . 

. .June  12 

280 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .June  14 

281 

Tues.  (O).. 

.  .June  19 

282 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .June  21 

283 

Tues.  (O). . 

. .June  26 

284 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .June  28 

285 

Tups.  (O)  . . 

..July  3 

286 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

..July  5 

Paramount  News 


74 

Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

.  .May  17 

75 

Sunday  (O)  . 

.  .May  20 

76 

Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

.  .May  24 

77 

Sunday  (O)  . 

..May  27 

78 

Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

..May  31 

79 

Sunday  (O)  . 

. .June  3 

SO 

Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

..June  7 

81 

Sunday  (O)  . 

.  .June  10 

82 

Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

. .June  14 

8  3 

Sunday  (O)  . 

.  June  17 

84 

Thurs.  (E)  . . 

. .June  21 

85 

Sunday  (O)  . 

. .June  24 

86 

Thurs.  (E)  . . 

.  .June  28 

87 

Sunday  (O)  . 

..July  1 

88 

Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

..July  5 

398  Thurs.  (E) 

399  Tues.  (O). 

400  Thurs.  (E) 

401  Tues.  (O). 

402  Thurs.  (E) 

403  Tues.  (O) . 

404  Thurs.  (E) 

405  Tues.  (O) . 

406  Thurs.  (E) 

407  Tues.  (O). 

408  Thurs.  (E)  , 

409  Tues.  (O) . 

410  Thurs.  (E)  . 

411  Tues.  (O)  . 

412  Thurs.  (E) . 


.May  17 
.May  22 
.  May  24 
.May  29 
.May  31 
.June  5 
.June  7 
.June  12 
.June  14 
.June  19 
.June  21 
.June  26 
.June  28 
..July  3 
..July  5 


Fox  Movietone 

74  Thurs.  (E)  May  17 

75  Tues.  (O)  May  22 

76  Thurs.  (E)  May  24 

77  Tues.  (O)  May  29 

78  Thurs.  (E)  May  31 

79  Tues.  (O)  June  5 

80  Thurs.  (E)  June  7 

81  Tues.  (O)  June  12 

82  Thurs.  (E)  June  14 

83  Tues.  (O)  June  19 

84  Thurs.  (E)  June  21 

85  Tues.  (O)  June  26 

86  Thurs.  (E)  June  28 

87  Tues.  (O)  July  3 

88  Thurs.  (E)  July  5 


All  American  News 

134  Friday  May  18 

135  Friday  May  25 

136  Friday  June  1 

137  Friday  June  8 

138  Friday  June  15 

139  Friday  June  22 

140  Friday  June  29 

141  Friday  July  6 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879, 


Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH   AVENUE  Published     Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  Knnm  1  «1  9  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  i\oora  ioi^  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Great  Britain'  ^Pa'n 15  75  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New  Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia....  17.50  _.                     ,.           _    , .      _  .     „  .  , 

ik      r>    v  ts  Edltorial  Policy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

ii>c  a  copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 


A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  MAY  26,  1945  No.  21 


REISSUES  RUNNING  RAMPANT 

In  the  May  17  issue  of  Motion  Picture  Daily,  there 
appeared  an  item  in  which  that  paper  claimed  to 
have  learned  authoritatively  that  Universal  Pictures 
was  curtailing  its  production  of  "B"  product  as  a 
result  of  the  raw  stock  shortage.  According  to  the 
Daily,  "the  company  had  planned  to  release  54  pic 
tures  during  the  1944-45  selling  season  and  will  be 
able  to  deliver  only  about  45  including  four  from  in- 
dependents.11  It  was  claimed  that,  because  of  the  raw 
stock  shortage,  Universal  had  been  compelled  to  delay 
the  release  of  several  films  earlier  in  the  season,  and 
it  was  expected  that  also  several  more  films  set  for 
release  between  now  and  the  end  of  the  season  will 
have  to  be  delayed. 

Having  recalled  that  Universal  had  announced  a 
few  weeks  ago  that  it  would  reissue  "Destry  Rides 
Again,11  starring  Marlene  Dietrich,  Harrison's  Re- 
ports could  not  understand  why  the  company,  on 
the  one  hand,  had  insufficient  raw  film  stock  to  take 
care  of  promised  1944-45  pictures,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  had  sufficient  raw  stock  to  take  care  of  new 
prints  on  a  reissue. 

A  telephone  call  to  one  of  the  Universal  officials 
brought  forth  the  response  that  the  raw  stock  shortage 
was  interfering  with  the  delivery  of  his  company's 
pictures,  and  that,  unless  the  raw  stock  situation  im- 
proved, fewer  pictures  would  be  released  than  had 
been  planned. 

This  executive  was  then  asked  how  Universal  could 
reissue  "Destry  Rides  Again11  when  the  raw  stock  on 
hand  was  insufficient  to  meet  the  needs  of  prints  on 
new  features,  let  alone  a  reissue?  He  replied  that  plans 
to  reissue  "Destry  Rides  Again"  had  been  dropped, 
but  that  the  company  was  preparing  instead  to  reissue 
"Imitation  of  Life,11  starring  Claudette  Colbert,  and 
"East  Side  of  Heaven,11  starring  Bing  Crosby.  He 
stated  that  new  prints  of  these  two  reissues  were 
being  made,  but  he  did  not  explain  how  the  company 
could  find  sufficient  raw  stock  for  prints  of  reissues 
but  not  enough  for  prints  of  new  features. 

What  reasonable  explanation,  if  any,  can  Uni- 
versal have? 

It  cannot  get  away  from  the  fact  that  its  use  of 
critical  raw  stock  to  reissue  two  old  features,  thus  re- 
ducing the  number  of  new  features  it  promised  to  its 
1944-45  contract-holders,  is  a  flagrant  abuse  of  the 
faith  that  those  contract-holders  had  in  the  company 
when  they  signed  for  the  season's  product. 

Universal,  however,  does  not  stand  alone  as  an 
injudicious  user  of  raw  stock;  other  companies  are 
equally  guilty  in  the  matter  of  reissuing  old  pictures 
at  a  time  and  in  a  manner  that  least  serves  the  interests 
of  the  exhibitors. 

For  instance,  there  is  Paramount,  which  has  just 
announced  that  it  will  reissue  within  the  next  two  or 
three  months  Cecil  B.  DeMille's  "Northwest  Mount- 
ed Police,11  starring  Gary  Cooper  and  Madeline  Car- 


roll, and  "This  Gun  for  Hire,11  starring  Alan  Ladd. 
The  "Sign  of  the  Cross,11  another  reissue,  is  presently 
making  the  rounds. 

Unlike  Universal,  which  sells  its  pictures  under  the 
block-booking  system,  Paramount  does  not  owe  its 
customers  a  specific  number  of  pictures  and  has  made 
them  no  promises.  Its  contractual  obligations  to  the 
exhibitors  are  limited  to  the  number  of  pictures  sold 
in  a  block  after  tradeshowing.  In  these  times,  how- 
ever, the  judicious  use  of  raw  film  stock  is  a  moral 
obligation  that  it  owes  to  every  exhibitor,  whose  equity 
in  this  commodity  is,  as  has  been  said  in  these  columns 
many  times,  undeniable.  Yet  this  company,  which  has 
the  largest  backlog  of  product  in  the  industry,  retains 
its  finished  pictures  in  its  vaults,  thereby  aggravating 
further  the  artificial  picture  shortage,  and  then  seeks 
to  cash  in  on  this  condition  by  using  rationed  raw 
stock  to  reissue  old  pictures,  which  many  exhibitors 
will  not  book,  and  which  other  exhibitors  are  com- 
pelled to  book  merely  in  order  to  keep  their  theatres 
open. 

In  the  same  category  with  Paramount  are  the  fol- 
lowing distributors:  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,  which 
has  reissued  "Waterloo  Bridge,11  with  Robert  Taylor 
and  Vivian  Leigh,  and  "Naughty  Marietta,11  with 
Jeanette  MacDonald  and  Nelson  Eddy;  Twentieth 
Century-Fox,  which  is  reissuing  "Call  of  the  Wild,11 
with  Clark  Gable;  and  Warner  Brothers,  which, 
although  it  has  made  only  a  small  number  of  new 
prints  of  "Torrid  Zone,11  with  James  Cagney  and 
Ann  Sheridan,  in  order  to  release  the  picture  "un- 
officially11 on  a  territorial  scale  rather  than  on  a  na- 
tional scale,  is  guilty  of  having  reissued  on  a  national 
scale,  during  the  1943-44  selling  season,  a  total  of  fif- 
teen pictures,  which  is  more  than  the  reissues  of  all 
the  other  companies  combined. 

Although  most  of  the  companies  make  their  old 
pictures  available  to  the  exhibitors,  these  are  limited 
to  spot  bookings — that  is,  they  are  made  available 
if  the  exchange  has  an  old  print  on  hand.  There  is 
nothing  wrong  with  this  practice,  since  no  raw  stock 
is  used  to  make  new  prints.  The  condition  complained 
of  is  where  pictures  are  reissued  on  a  national  scale, 
with  the  result  that  new  product  is  withheld  and 
the  product-shortage  is  aggravated  under  the  pretext 
of  a  raw  stock  shortage. 

This  reissue  "racket"  has  gotten  out  of  hand.  The 
subsequent-run  exhibitor  is,  of  course,  the  goat.  The 
extended  runs  in  the  key  theatres  have  created  a 
product  jam,  blocking  the  normal  flow  of  pictures  to 
such  an  extent  that  in  some  territories,  as  for  ex- 
ample Minneapolis,  a  number  of  exhibitors  are  plan- 
ning to  curtail  their  operations,  some  opening  on 
week-ends  only.  Many  of  these  exhibitors,  regardless 
of  their  own  wishes,  must  either  book  reissues  or  shut 
down.  The  distributors,  aware  of  this  predicament, 
have  turned  the  reissue  market  into  one  of  their  most  • 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


82 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  26,  1945 


"Thrill  of  a  Romance"  with  Van  Johnson, 
Esther  Williams  nd  Lauritz  Melchoir 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  102  min.) 

There  is  no  question  that  this  romantic  picture  will 
do  exceptional  business.  Van  Johnson  is  one  of  the 
most  popular  stars  today,  and  the  picture  has  been 
photographed  in  enchanting  Technicolor  photogra- 
phy. But  the  story  is  trite;  it  deals  with  the  romance 
of  a  young  aviator  on  furlough  who  falls  in  love  with 
a  young  woman,  just  married  to  a  materialistic  busi- 
ness man,  and  who  is  left  alone  when  her  husband,  on 
their  first  day  of  marriage,  takes  a  business  trip.  This 
theme  has  been  done  to  death.  Individual  scenes,  how- 
ever, and  good  acting  as  well  as  good  music  redeem  it. 
The  romantic  scenes  have  been  handled  with  good 
taste;  the  actors  show  restraint,  and  the  music  makes 
them  so  romantically  sentimental  that  the  spectator 
wishes  that  there  had  been  no  obstacle  to  their  love. 
The  music  is  effective  particularly  in  the  scenes  where 
it  accompanies  the  rhythmical  movements  of  the  swim- 
ming principals  in  a  pool.  Esther  Williams  is  a  beau- 
tiful girl,  and  Van  Johnson  is  as  charming  as  ever; 
they  make  a  good  romantic  pair.  Lauritz  Melchior, 
the  famous  tenor,  sings  several  classical  pieces  and 
some  popular.  He  has  a  magnetic  personality  and  adds 
to  the  picture's  entertaining  qualities.  In  some  situ- 
ations he  acts  as  a  chapcrone  to  the  two  young  folk, 
hopelessly  in  love  with  each  other,  but  seemingly 
hopelessly  separated.  Mr.  Melchior 's  encouragement 
of  a  young  colored  boy,  a  singer,  helps  him  win  a 
greater  share  of  the  audience's  sympathy.  In  the 
opening  scenes,  one  gets  the  impression  that  the  pic- 
ture would  be  a  daring  advertisement  for  Fortune 
Magazine,  for  it  is  boldly  displayed  and  spoken  about. 
Fortune  could  not  have  bought  this  plugging  for  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars: — 

On  the  day  of  their  honeymoon,  Carleton  Young, 
a  young  business  tycoon,  who  had  swept  Esther  Wil- 
liams off  her  feet,  leaves  her  at  a  resort  and  goes  to 
Washington  on  an  important  business  trip.  While  he 
is  away,  Esther  becomes  acquainted  with  Johnson,  and 
the  two  fall  madly  in  love  with  each  other.  On  the 
morning  that  Young  returns,  Esther  and  Johnson  are 
shown  returning  from  the  woods,  where  they  had 
been  lost  overnight.  His  suspicions  aroused,  Young 
orders  his  lawyers  to  bring  annulment  proceedings. 
His  action  pleases,  not  only  the  two  young  folk,  but 
also  their  friends  at  the  resort.  Melchior,  happy  that 
matters  had  turned  out  so  well,  assembles  an  orchestra 
to  serenade  the  young  couple,  and  he  sings  a  romantic 
song. 

Richard  Connell  and  Gladys  Lehman  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Joe  Pasternak  produced  it,  and  Richard 
Thorpe  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Tommy  Dorsey 
and  his  Orchestra,  Frances  Gifford,  Henry  Travers, 
Spring  Byington  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Where  Do  We  Go  from  Here?"  with  Fred 
MacMurray,  Joan  Leslie  and  June  Haver 

(20th  Century'Fox,  June;  time,  77  mm.) 
Very  entertaining.  Those  of  you  who  have  been 
waiting  for  a  musical  that  is  "different"  will  find  that 
this  one  fits  the  bill;  it  should  go  over  pretty  well  with 
all  types  of  audiences,  for  it  has  some  excellent  and 
original  comedy  situations,  good  Technicolor  photog- 
raphy, and  singing,  dancing  and  music  that  should 
appeal  to  different  tastes.  Moreover,  it  has  been  given 
an  imaginative  treatment.  For  the  most  part,  the  story 
is  an  historical  fantasy,  revolving  around  the  adven- 


tures of  Fred  MacMurray,  a  "4-F"  with  a  burning 
desire  to  enter  any  branch  of  the  armed  services.  With 
the  aid  of  a  genie  from  an  Aladdin-like  lamp,  he  finds 
himself  whisked  back  hundreds  of  years,  first  appear- 
ing as  a  soldier  with  Washington's  army  at  Valley 
Forge,  secondly,  as  a  sailor  on  Christopher  Columbus' 
flagship,  the  Santa  Maria,  and  finally  as  a  Dutchman 
in  the  New  Amsterdam  era.  In  each  of  these  episodes 
the  comedy  is  provoked  in  the  main  by  the  fact  that 
MacMurray,  remembering  his  history,  knows  just 
what  events  will  take  place  and  guides  himself  ac- 
cordingly. While  each  episode  is  well  done  and  is 
rich  in  satirical  humor,  the  one  dealing  with  Colum- 
bus' discovery  of  America,  which  is  done  in  the  "Gil- 
bert and  Sullivan"  manner,  is  by  far  the  best.  Mac- 
Murray  is  excellent,  and  he  is  given  able  support  by 
the  other  members  of  the  cast: — 

MacMurray,  in  love  with  June  Haver,  a  flighty 
girl,  but  blind  to  Joan  Leslie's  love  for  him,  collects 
scrap  metal  to  aid  the  war  effort.  Finding  an  old  lamp 
and  rubbing  it,  MacMurray  is  astounded  when  a 
genie  (Gene  Sheldon)  appears  and  informs  him  that 
he  had  the  power  to  grant  him  three  wishes.  He  ex- 
presses a  desire  to  join  the  army  and  soon  finds  him- 
self with  Washington  (Alan  Mowbray)  at  Valley 
Forge.  His  efforts  to  help  Washington  capture  the 
Hessians  ends  in  his  own  capture,  causing  him  to  wish 
that  he  joined  the  navy.  The  genie  obliges  by  whisking 
him  onto  the  Santa  Maria,  where  he  helps  put  down 
a  mutiny  against  Columbus  (Fortunio  Bononova). 
When  Columbus  stops  at  Cuba,  MacMurray  con- 
tinues to  America,  where  he  becomes  involved  in  a 
badger  game  with  an  Indian  and  his  squaw  (Anthony 
Qumn  and  June  Haver),  who  sell  him  Manhattan 
Island  for  twenty-four  dollars.  Recalling  his  history, 
MacMurray  wishes  he  could  sell  the  island  to  the 
Dutch  settlers.  The  genie  obliges  him  once  again,  and 
MacMurray  finds  himself  in  New  Amsterdam,  where 
the  crafty  Dutchmen  cheat  him  out  of  his  property 
and  jail  him  for  non-payment  of  taxes.  Though  all 
seems  lost,  the  genie  grants  MacMurray  an  extra 
wish  and,  through  his  magic  powers,  brings  him  back 
to  the  present  day  and  arranges  for  his  induction  into 
the  Marines  despite  his  "4-F"  status. 

Morrie  Ryskind  wrote  the  screen  play,  William 
Perlberg  produced  it,  and  Gregory  Ratoff  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Carlos  Ramirez,  Herman  Bing, 
Howard  Freeman  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Blonde  from  Brooklyn"  with  Robert 
Stanton  and  Lynn  Merrick 

(Columbia,  June  21;  time,  65  min.) 
Just  a  minor  program  comedy,  with  music.  When- 
ever the  principals  sing,  the  picture  manages  to  be 
fairly  entertaining,  but  as  soon  as  they  go  back  to  the 
story  it  become  tiresome,  for  it  is  all  talk  and  no  action. 
Moreover,  the  plot  developments  are  trite  and  obvi- 
ous, the  dialogue  uninteresting,  and  the  comedy  for 
the  most  part  ineffective.  Robert  Stanton,  the  hero, 
was  formerly  known  as  Bob  Haymes.  He  is  a  Colum- 
bia contract  player,  and  has  appeared  in  a  number  of 
their  minor  pictures.  The  production  values  are  mod- 
est:— 

Released  from  the  army,  Stanton,  a  former  song- 
and-dance  man,  makes  the  acquaintance  of  Lynn  Mer- 
rick, a  juke-box  girl,  who  hoped  to  become  a  radio 
singer.  When  they  take  part  in  an  impromptu  song 
routine  at  a  night  club,  the  young  couple  are  ap- 
proached by  Thurston  Hall,  a  Southern  Colonel  of 


May  26,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


83 


questionable  repute,  who  persuades  them  to  appoint 
him  their  manager.  Hall  coaches  the  pair  to  talk  and 
act  like  Southerners,  in  preparation  for  an  audition 
on  a  radio  program  that  specialised  in  Southern  at- 
mosphere, and  he  gives  Lynn  the  name  of  an  esteemed 
but  extinct  Southern  family.  The  young  folk  win  a 
place  on  the  program,  and  get  so  much  publicity  that 
Lynn  is  "discovered'1  to  be  the  long  lost  heiress  to  the 
Southern  family's  estate.  To  stop  Lynn  from  confess- 
ing  her  duplicity,  Hall,  seeking  to  get  his  hands  on  the 
fortune,  arranges  with  Matt  Willis,  a  confederate, 
to  pose  as  another  lost  heir  and  to  claim  a  share  in 
the  estate.  They  learn,  however,  that  only  a  woman 
can  inherit  the  estate.  Stanton,  unaware  that  Willis 
was  a  fake  relative,  suggests  that  Lynn  marry  him 
to  collect  the  money  and  avoid  unfavorable  publicity, 
then  divorce  him.  Meanwhile  the  real  heir  to  the 
estate  is  found  and  Willis  is  exposed  as  a  fake.  Ang- 
ered because  Stanton  had  suggested  she  marry  Willis, 
Lynn,  suspecting  his  motive,  leaves  him  on  the  eve  of 
their  radio  debut.  Stanton  locates  her  and,  after  con- 
vincing her  that  he,  too,  had  been  victimised  by  Hall, 
induces  her  to  rejoin  him.  Their  radio  debut  is  a  huge 
success. 

Erna  Lasurus  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ted  Richmond 
produced  it,  and  Del  Lord  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Mary  Treen,  Byron  Foulger  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Frozen  Ghost"  with  Lon  Chaney 
and  Evelyn  Ankers 

(Universal,  June  29;  time,  61  ruin.) 
The  followers  of  psychological  murder  melodramas 
should  find  this  program  picture  to  their  liking.  The 
action,  which  revolves  around  a  professional  hypnotist 
who  becomes  obsessed  with  the  idea  that  he  is  a 
murderer,  unfolds  in  a  fairly  interesting  manner  and, 
though  the  story  is  far-fetched,  it  is  mystifying  and 
has  considerable  suspense.  Much  of  the  action  takes 
place  in  a  wax  museum,  giving  the  picture  an  effective 
eerie  atmosphere.  The  mood  of  the  story  is  one  of 
brooding  terror,  with  no  comedy  to  relieve  the  ten- 
sion : — 

Lon  Chaney  and  Evelyn  Ankers,  his  fiancee,  are 
teamed  in  a  radio  act  in  which  she,  through  hynotic 
treatment  from  him,  reads  the  minds  of  members  in 
the  studio  audience.  When  a  drunkard  in  the  audi- 
ence questions  Chaney 's  hypnotic  powers,  Chaney 
agrees  to  put  him  in  a  trance.  The  man  drops  dead 
just  as  Chaney  starts  to  work  on  him.  Although  a 
coroner's  jury  finds  that  the  man  had  died  of  a  heart 
condition,  Chaney  believes  that  he  had  caused  the 
death.  Brooding,  he  disbands  the  act  and  breaks  his 
engagement  to  Evelyn.  Through  Milburn  Stone,  his 
manager,  Chaney  obtains  employment  in  a  wax  mu- 
seum owned  by  Tala  Birell,  hoping  the  work  will  help 
him  to  rehabilitate  himself.  Martin  Kosleck,  Tala's 
eccentric  assistant,  a  doctor  in  disrepute,  hates  Chaney 
because  of  a  belief  that  he  was  in  love  with  Elena 
Verdugo,  Tala's  niece.  When  both  Tala  and  her 
niece  disappear,  Chaney,  who  had  been  suffering 
lapses  of  memory,  fears  that  he  might  have  killed 
them.  Douglas  Dumbrille,  a  detective,  suspects  Chan- 
ey because  of  his  inability  to  account  for  his  move- 
ments. In  desperation,  Chaney  goes  to  Evelyn  for 
help.  He  puts  her  in  a  trance  and,  through  her  psychic 
powers,  learns  that  Kosleck  and  Stone  were  plotting 
to  declare  him  insane  in  order  to  gain  control  of  his 
fortune.  To  this  end,  they  had  planned  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  two  women,  and  were  trying  to  pin  the 


guilt  on  him.  Tala  had  been  murdered,  but  Elena 
was  still  alive.  On  Evelyn's  direction,  and  with  the 
help  of  Dumbrille,  Chaney  manages  to  save  Elena  just 
as  Kosleck  prepares  to  burn  her  alive.  Kosleck  dies  in 
the  flaming  furnace  himself,  and  Stone  is  apprehended 
by  the  police.  His  obsession  gone,  Chaney  reunites 
with  Evelyn. 

Bernard  Schubert  and  Luci  Ward  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Will  Cowan  produced  it,  and  Harold  Young 
directed  it. 

Rather  horrifying  for  children. 

CANCEL  A  CONFUSING 

SHORT  SUBJECT 

"Two  Down  and  One  to  Go,"  the  War  Depart- 
ment short  subject  dealing  with  the  point  system 
under  which  soldiers  will  be  released  from  the  army, 
is  being  criticized  severely  by  newspapers,  exhibitors, 
and  the  general  public  throughout  the  country,  on 
the  grounds  that  it  is  spreading  confusion  among  rela- 
tives of  soldiers  who,  guided  by  the  information  con- 
tained in  the  picture,  cannot  figure  out  whether  or 
not  their  loved  ones  are  eligible  for  discharge  from 
the  army. 

The  trouble  with  the  picture  is  that  it  was  pro- 
duced many  months  before  V-E  Day,  and  the  demobi- 
lisation system  as  then  planned  has  since  been  changed. 
Consequently,  those  viewing  the  picture  come  out  of 
the  theatre  utterly  confused  by  what  they  have  seen 
and  heard. 

Criticism  of  the  picture  has  been  so  pronounced 
that  Bob  O'Donnell,  general  manager  of  the  Inter- 
state Circuit  in  Texas,  cancelled  all  showings  of  the 
picture,  following  a  conference  with  War  Depart- 
ment heads  who  unofficially  expressed  their  disap- 
pointment in  the  picture  and  agreed  that  it  was  not 
suitable  for  public  consumption. 

Meanwhile  many  exhibitors  have  taken  steps  to 
cancel  their  bookings  of  the  picture.  For  instance,  Pete 
Wood,  secretary  of  the  ITO  of  Ohio,  issued  a  bulletin 
last  week  urging  the  members  of  his  organisation  not 
to  play  the  short  subject  "because  the  antiquated 
point  system  will  prove  confusing  to  your  patrons." 

This  paper  has  learned  from  an  official  of  the  War 
Activities  Committee  that  the  War  Department,  al- 
though informed  .that  the  picture  is  being  criticized 
as  obsolete,  and  that  many  exhibitors  are  cancelling 
bookings,  has  made  no  move  to  withdraw  the  picture 
from  public  exhibition. 

Harrison's  Reports  suggests  that  you  do  not  wait 
for  the  picture  to  be  withdrawn  officially.  If  you  have 
not  yet  played  "One  Down  and  Two  to  Go,"  you 
should  not  hesitate  to  cancel  your  booking  at  once. 
While  all  of  you  realise  that  the  exhibition  of  Gov- 
ernment information  shorts  is  a  patriotic  duty,  you 
must  consider  that,  in  this  particular  case,  the  exhibi- 
tion of  this  short  subject  will  serve,  not  to  enlighten 
your  patrons,  but  to  confuse  them. 

A  new  two-reel  subject  titled,  "On  To  Tokyo,"  has 
just  been  rushed  to  completion  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment, and  the  War  Activities  Committee  has  an- 
nounced that  the  new  picture  will  serve  to  supple- 
ment "One  Down  and  Two  to  Go,"  in  that  die  in- 
formation it  contains  about  the  demobilization  and 
redeployment  of  troops  is  up  to  date  and  accurate. 
The  picture  will  be  released  on  May  31  through  the 
Universal  exchanges. 

You  will  do  your  patrons  a  service  by  booking  "On 
to  Tokyo"  rather  than  "One  Down  and  Two  to  Go." 


84 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  26,  1945 


profitable  sidelines  by  demanding  fantastic  rental 
terms,  in  some  cases  better  than  the  terms  demanded 
when  the  pictures  were  originally  released.  And  when 
one  takes  into  consideration  the  fact  that  these  re' 
issues  have  already  earned  back  their  original  invest- 
ment plus  profit,  and  that  the  only  expense  to  the 
distributors  now  is  the  cost  of  prints  and  advertising, 
it  becomes  evident  that  the  profits  they  are  realizing 
probably  exceed  the  profits  made  on  many  a  new  film. 

This  paper  has  been  in  touch  with  a  number  of 
exhibitors  to  learn  their  reactions  to  reissues,  and 
a  consensus  of  their  opinions  is  as  follows: 

(a)  Some  will  not  book  reissues  under  any  circunv 
stances  lest  their  theatres  lose  prestige. 

(b)  In  double  feature  situations,  many  find  that 
the  use  of  a  reissue  in  support  of  a  new  feature  causes 
a  decline  in  attendance.  If  they  cannot  obtain  a  new 
"B"  picture  as  the  supporting  picture,  and  they  run 
only  a  single  feature,  a  large  percentage  of  their 
patrons  stay  away. 

(c)  All  agreed  that  rental  terms  for  reissues  are 
way  out  of  line,  but  most  of  them  admitted  that  spot 
bookings  could  be  had  at  fairly  reasonable  terms. 

(d)  All  agreed  that  a  large  percentage  of  their 
patrons  were  tiring  of  "oldies." 

(e)  Many  felt  that  the  distributors  were  juggling 
their  raw  stock  allocations  and  releases  in  a  manner 
aimed  at  perpetuating  a  "seller's  market"  through 
the  maintainence  of  an  artificial  product  shortage,  thus 
leaving  them  in  a  position  to  dictate  their  own  terms. 

The  root  of  the  abuses  the  exhibitors  are  undergoing 
today  lies  in  the  tailure  of  the  War  Production  Board 
to  regulate  the  producer-distributors'  use  of  raw 
stock.  Under  proper  control,  Universal  would  not  be 
permitted  to  cut  down  arbitrarily  the  delivery  of  new 
pictures,  an  act  that  serves  to  tighten  further  the 
product  shortage,  and  to  set  the  stage  for  the  sale  of  the 
reissues,  the  prints  of  which  will  come  from  raw 
stock  that  could  have  been  used  for  prints  of  new 
features.  And  Paramount  and  some  of  the  other  com- 
panies would  not  be  permitted  to  produce  a  limitless 
number  of  pictures  with  rationed  raw  stock  only  to 
hoard  them  in  their  vaults,  marking  time  while  the 
reissues  make  the  rounds.  Moreover,  none  of  the  com- 
panies would  be  permitted  to  use  its  raw  stock  allo- 
cation to  further  its  own  interests  in  foreign  markets 
while  the  American  exhibitors  go  hungry  for  pictures. 

The  motion  picture  industry  is  a  competitive  busi- 
ness, a  sort  of  "survival  of  the  fittest,"  but  without 
raw  film  stock  there  would  be  no  industry,  for  every 
phase  of  the  business  depends  upon  its  availability. 
When  the  Government  undertakes  to  control  the 
amount  of  raw  stock  the  industry  should  receive,  it 
automatically  places  restrictions  and  limitations  on 
free  and  open  competition.  It,  therefore,  assumes  at 
once  the  responsibility  to  see  that  all  parties  con- 
cerned either  benefit  or  suffer  proportionately.  Under 
the  present  set-up,  the  producer-distributors  and  the 
key-run  theatres  are  having  the  time  of  their  lives, 
while  the  subsequent-run  exhibitor  has  to  stand  by 
d.nd  lick  his  wounds. 

An  immediate  remedy  is  needed.  The  situation  is 
too  far  gone  for  long  drawn-out  industry- Govern- 
ment conferences  to  find  a  solution.  The  Government, 
through  its  Department  of  Justice,  is  well  acquainted 
with  industry  practices  and  abuses,  and  it  could  easily 
determine  how  seriously  the  producer-distributors1 
uncontrolled  disposition  of  raw  stock  is  affecting  the 
smaller  fellow  in  the  business.  This  is  war-time,  and 
the  Government,  through  its  rationing  of  raw  stock 
and  its  restrictions  on  other  commodities  and  man- 


power used  in  the  functions  of  the  business,  is  already 
in  partial  control  of  the  industry.  It  is  apparent  that 
this  control  is  either  insufficient  in  extent  or  injudici- 
ous in  its  exercise.  An  overhauling  is  necessary  so  long 
as  we  continue  to  operate  under  war-time  conditions. 

Mr.  Stanley  Adams,  head  of  the  WPB's  Con- 
sumers Durable  Goods  Division,  has  been  informed 
by  numerous  exhibitor  organizations  of  the  abuses 
suffered  by  the  subsequent-run  exhibitors  under  the 
present  system  of  raw  stock  allocation,  and  he  has 
stated  that  the  distribution  of  prints  must  be  on  a 
fair  and  equal  basis  for  all  or  the  WPB  will  bring 
immediate  action  for  relief.  He  made  that  statement 
months  ago,  but  he  has  never  gone  beyond  the  talking 
stage.  His  laxity  has  thus  far  proved  harmful,  and, 
based  on  his  performance  to  date,  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  under  him  conditions  will  grow  worse. 

Take  the  matter  up  with  your  Congressional  repre- 
sentatives. Perhaps  they  will  help  you  find  some  way 
of  getting  Mr.  Adams  to  match  his  words  with  actions. 


"CALL  OF  THE  WILD"  TO  BE  MADE 
AVAILABLE  ON  JUNE  15 

In  the  issues  of  May  5  and  May  12,  this  paper 
complained  vehemently  about  the  failure  of  Twenti- 
eth Century- Fox  to  deliver  to  numerous  exhibitors 
the  Clark  Gable  reissue,  "Call  of  the  Wild."  And, 
as  it  is  evident  from  a  reading  of  those  issues,  this 
paper  carried  directly  to  both  Twentieth  Century- 
Fox  and  MGM,  its  campaign  to  have  the  picture 
made  available  to  the  Fox  customers. 

The  controversy  came  to  a  close  last  week  when 
Tom  Connors,  the  Twentieth  Century-Fox  Vice 
President  in  charge  of  world-wide  distribution,  issued 
the  following  statement : 

"  'Call  of  the  Wild'  will  be  made  available  for 
bookings  beginnings  June  1 5  th.  The  picture  was  with- 
drawn from  release  sometime  ago  because  of  legal 
complications.  Clark  Gable's  services  for  the  picture 
had  been  loaned  by  Metro  and  it  was  claimed  that 
certain  restrictive  provisions  in  the  agreement  for  the 
loan  of  that  star's  services  had  been  violated.  These 
difficulties  have  now  been  ironed  out,  thereby  clear- 
ing the  way  for  the  picture's  release." 

Although  this  explanation  is  somewhat  ambiguous, 
it  would  serve  no  useful  purpose  to  delve  deeper  into 
the  causes  that  impelled  Twentieth  Century-Fox  to 
withhold  the  picture.  The  important  thing  is  that  the 
picture  will  now  be  made  available,  and  that  the  valu- 
able and  critical  raw  stock  that  had  gone  into  the 
processing  of  new  prints  will  be  put  to  proper  use. 

Mr.  Connors'  statement,  however,  made  no  men- 
tion of  what  procedure  will  be  followed  in  making 
the  picture  available  to  those  exhibitors  who  bought 
it  as  part  of  a  group,  only  to  find  it  omitted  from  the 
approved  contracts. 

These  exhibitors  should  be  given  the  picture  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  terms  originally  agreed  upon  be- 
tween themselves  and  the  company's  sales  representa- 
tives. Only  then  will  Twentieth  Century-Fox  be  able 
to  write  finis  satisfactorily  to  an  issue  that  should 
never  have  been  permitted  to  arise. 

Harrison's  Reports  wishes  to  acknowledge  that 
it  first  learned  about  the  "Call  of  the  Wild"  situation 
from  the  communications  sent  out  by  Abram  F. 
Myers,  general  counsel  of  National  Allied  and  Pete 
Wood  of  the  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Ohio. 

Exhibitors  everywhere  owe  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
these  men  for  starting  the  campaign  that  resulted  in 
the  picture's  release. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  187?. 


Harrison's  Reports 

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PrAat  Rritn'n                     Till  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia ^   New' Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

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i5c  a  copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  JUNE  2,  1945  No.  22 


THE  RECESSION  IS  ON 

The  transition  from  a  war  economy  to  a  peace 
economy  is  actually  under  way,  and  with  such  rapidity 
that  the  predictions  about  a  general  business  decline, 
made  only  a  few  weeks  ago  by  business  experts,  have 
already  come  to  pass. 

From  areas  throughout  the  country  we  hear  of  sharp 
contract  cutbacks,  with  the  resulting  jump  in  unem' 
ployment,  and  with  reduced  earnings  to  those  still 
employed.  The  vast  Willow  Run  airplane  plant  near 
Detroit  is  scheduled  to  close  down  within  four  weeks, 
adding  thousands  to  the  unemployed  ranks  in  that 
area.  Many  more  thousands  of  war  workers  will  be 
discharged  within  a  few  weeks  as  the  result  of  the 
drastic  curtailment  in  aircraft  production  in  manu- 
facturing centers  located  at  Buffalo,  St.  Louis,  Los 
Angeles,  Long  Beach  and  other  areas. 

Early  last  week,  J.  A.  Krug,  chairman  of  the  War 
Production  Board,  revealed  that  cutbacks  already  in- 
stituted have  slashed  some  seven  billion  dollars  from 
the  munitions  program  for  1945,  and  he  stated  that 
"the  military  services  are  now  reviewing  their  re- 
quirements and  within  a  few  weeks  it  is  expected  that 
another  large  step-down  will  be  ordered." 

Mr.  Krug  estimated  that,  three  months  from  now, 
the  war  machine  will  need  2,900,000  fewer  workers, 
boosting  the  ranks  of  the  unemployed  from  the  cur- 
rent 800,000  to  1,900,000.  Six  months  from  now,  he 
said,  the  number  of  persons  no  longer  needed  for  war 
activities  will  amount  to  4,800,000,  including  one 
million  discharged  servicemen. 

Civilian  production  will,  of  course,  to  a  large  ex- 
tent, absorb  many  war  workers  and  reduce  the  over- 
all unemployment  considerably,  but  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  short  period  lay-offs  and  decreased 
individual  incomes  will  definitely  result  in  a  general 
business  decline. 

The  different  distributing  companies  are  bringing 
their  1944-45  selling  seasons  to  a  close,  and  a  number 
of  them  are  already  laying  the  groundwork  to  launch 
their  selling  campaigns  for  the  1945-46  season's  prod- 
uct. You  may  be  sure  that  they  are  planning  to  get 
as  much  rental  this  year  as  they  received  last  year. 

For  the  past  few  years  money  has  been  plentiful 
and  one  dime  more  or  less  for  a  moving  picture  ticket, 
or  attending  the  movies  more  frequently  each  week 
than  normally,  did  not  make  much  difference  to  the 
majority  of  picture-goers.  But  conditions  are  already 
beginning  to  change.  Reduced  earnings  and  the 
thought  of  possible  lay-offs  are  making  people  thrifty, 
and  they  are  starting  to  stint  themselves  on  extra 
luxuries.  Many  who  have  been  attending  picture 
shows  two  and  three  times  a  week  will  now  attend 
on  week-ends  only. 


Before  signing  up  for  the  new  season's  pictures,  you 
should  bear  in  mind  that  from  now  on,  with  each 
passing  month,  business  receipts  will  decline  steadily 
because  of  reduced  incomes.  Even  if  our  country  is 
destined  to  enjoy  the  greatest  peace-time  prosperity 
in  its  history,  you  may  be  sure  that  for  the  next  year, 
during  the  period  of  reconversion,  the  public's  pocket- 
book  will  not  be  bulging  with  extra  dollars.  Some 
industryites  feel  that  reduced  incomes  will  draw 
patronage  away  from  the  higher-priced  theatres  to 
the  subsequent-runs  and  neighborhoods,  thus  bene- 
fitting the  smaller  fellow.  While  this  reasoning  is 
logical,  you  should  not  expect  the  first-run  theatres 
to  sit  back  and  do  nothing  about  such  a  condition.  In 
all  probability  they  will  reduce  admission  prices  and 
offer  extra  entertainment  to  lure  their  patrons  back. 
They  have  done  this  before,  and  you  may  expect 
them  to  do  it  again. 

You  should,  therefore,  use  extreme  caution  in  esti- 
mating the  amount  of  film  rental  your  theatre  can 
afford  to  pay  in  accordance  with  coming  conditions. 
Take  into  consideration  the  possibility  of  large-scale 
unemployment  in  your  community,  the  exodus  from 
your  town  of  transient  war-time  workers,  and  the  gen- 
eral downward  trend  of  individual  incomes,  which 
will  undoubtedly  affect  the  lush  box-office  receipts  of 
the  last  few  years.  Consider  every  factor  carefully, 
for  it  is  better  to  take  precautions  now  than  to  find 
yourself  later,  hat  in  hand,  seeking  adjustments. 


EVEN  IN  CRITICISM  LET  US  BE  FAIR 

The  strong  criticism  fiom  the  press  and  the  eA- 
hibitors  regarding  the  confusion  caused  by  the  short 
subject,  "Two  Down  and  One  to  Go,"  has  resulted  in 
an  order  from  the  War  Department  withdrawing  the 
picture  from  public  exhibition. 

Pete  Wood,  secretary  of  the  ITO  of  Ohio,  who, 
among  others,  was  highly  critical  of  this  subject,  states 
in  a  recent  organisation  bulletin  that  "all  of  the  agi- 
tation in  connection  with  this  subject  would  have 
been  avoided  if  the  War  Activities  Committee  and 
Loew's,  Inc.,  had  given  more  consideration  to  our 
theatre  patrons  than  to  the  desires  of  a  few  high 
Washington  officials."  Wood  chides  Loew's  for  not 
expending  half  as  much  time  and  energy  in  convincing 
the  War  Department  to  withdraw  the  picture  as  it 
spent  in  distributing  it.  And  he  adds  the  hope  that 
the  future  will  bring  forth  some  intelligent  individual 
in  New  York  who  has  the  "intestinal  fortitude"  to 
refuse  flatly  the  wishes  of  the  Government  should  a 
similar  occasion  arise. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  Pete  Wood's  line  of 
reasoning  in  his  condemnation  of  both  the  WAC  and 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


86 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  2,  1945 


"The  Way  Ahead"  with  David  Niven 

(20t/i  CenturyFux,  January;  time,  106  mm.) 

"The  Way  Ahead"  is  a  superior  British-made  war 
melodrama,  one  of  the  best  produced  in  recent  years. 
From  a  box-office  point  of  view  ,  however,  its  chances 
are  only  fair,  for  today  American  audiences  arc  shy- 
ing away  from  most  war  pictures.  Moreover,  the 
players,  with  the  exception  of  David  Niven,  are  un- 
known in  this  country,  and  their  British  accents  are 
so  thick  that  many  patrons  may  find  some  of  the 
dialogue  unintelligible.  The  performances,  however, 
are  excellent.  Those  who  will  see  the  picture  should 
find  it  very  satisfactory,  for  it  is  a  stirring,  human 
story  about  a  group  of  British  Tommies,  depicting 
their  reactions  to  army  life  from  the  time  they  start 
as  rebellious  recruits  drafted  from  civilian  life  to  the 
time  they  become  finished  fighting  men. 

It  is  a  simple,  well-constructed  story,  told  with 
realism  and  with  a  human  touch.  It  tells  how  a  group 
of  typical  British  men,  of  different  ages  and  of  varied 
stations  in  life,  are  plucked  from  civilian  life  to  serve 
their  country  in  the  army.  Some  go  willingly  while 
others  resent  openly  the  circumstances  that  tcx>k  them 
away  from  the  comfort  of  their  homes  and  from  the 
things  they  loved.  Each  gripes  about  the  rigors  of 
army  life,  finding  fault  with  their  sergeant  and  gen- 
erally behaving  in  a  disgruntled  manner,  but  their 
commanding  officer,  understanding  human  frailties 
and  realizing  that  their  untrained  bodies  were  under- 
going unaccustomed  stress,  patiently  endures  their 
bad  tempers  and  complaints,  and  slowly  but  surely 
moulds  them  into  a  smooth-working,  cooperatvie 
fighting  team,  eager  to  uphold  the  honor  of  their 
regiment.  This  they  do  in  a  thrilling  sequence  in 
which  their  troopship,  bound  for  the  invasion  of 
North  Africa,  is  torpedoed,  and  in  a  closing  sequence, 
where  they  best  the  Nazis  in  an  exciting  Tunisian 
battle. 

The  story's  simplicity  and  straightforwardness,  the 
excellent  characterizations,  and  the  natural  dialogue 
are  the  picture's  outstanding  qualities.  It  has  con- 
siderable good  humor,  too,  and  a  number  of  heart- 
tugging  situations.  David  Niven's  portrayal  of  the 
understanding  officer  is  well  done;  his  consideration 
for  his  men  as  he  leads  them  through  their  military 
infancy  eventually  wins  him  their  unified  admiration. 

Eric  Ambler  and  Peter  Ustinov  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Norman  Walker  and  John  Sutro  produced  it, 
and  Carol  Reed  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ray- 
mond Huntley,  Billy  Hartnell,  Stanley  Holloway, 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Back  to  Bataan"  with  John  Wayne 
and  Anthony  Quinn 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  95  min.) 
Revolving  around  Filipino  resistance  against  the 
Japanese  invaders,  this  war  melodrama,  though  not 
exceptional,  is  a  fairly  good  picture  of  its  type.  Its  box- 
office  possibilities  can  best  be  judged  by  whether  or 
not  your  patrons  are  now  receptive  to  war  pictures.  It 
should  be  pointed  out,  however,  that,  since  the  story's 
locale  is  in  the  Philippines,  and  since  the  Japanese 
have  not  yet  been  cleared  from  the  islands,  the  picture 
is  timely  and  lends  itself  to  extensive  exploitation.  But 
except  for  its  locale  and  its  people,  the  story,  which  is 
supposedly  based  on  actual  facts,  differs  little  in  con- 
tent and  in  treatment  from  the  numerous  war  pictures 
that  have  been  based  on  a  similar  theme ;  nevertheless, 


the  action  is  packed  with  thrills  and  excitement,  and 
considerable  stress  is  placed  on  Jap  bestiality.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  a  few  of  the  scenes  are  too  brutal  for 
children.  Both  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  the 
picture,  the  producers  have  employed  sequences  deal- 
ing with  the  raid  on  the  Cabanatuan  Prison  Camp, 
from  which  American  prisoners  were  freed,  effective- 
ly tying  in  the  scenes  with  the  main  story,  which  covers 
the  period  from  the  fall  of  Bataan  to  the  landings  on 
Leyte: — 

With  the  fall  of  Bataan,  Colonel  John  Wayne  is 
ordered  to  the  Luzon  hills  to  organize  native  guerrilla 
bands.  In  need  of  a  patriot  around  whom  he  could 
rally  the  natives,  Wayne  rescues  from  the  Japs  Cap- 
tain Anthony  Quinn  of  the  Philippine  Scouts.  Quinn, 
embittered  because  his  sweetheart  (Fely  Franquelli) 
had  turned  collaborator,  refuses  to  lead  his  people  to 
further  slaughter,  but  when  Wayne  proves  to  him 
that  Fely  was  feigning  collaboration  and  was  actually 
aiding  the  resistance  movement  secretly,  he  takes  on 
new  courage.  Under  Wayne  s  leadership,  the  guer- 
rillas, lacking  arms,  munitions  and  food,  waylay 
Japanese  patrols  to  build  up  their  supplies.  The  Japs 
alarmed  over  the  increasing  resistance,  intensify  their 
activities  against  the  guerrillas,  but  their  brutalities 
serve  only  to  strengthen  the  determination  of  the 
Filipinos  to  set  their  country  free.  After  many  months 
of  hardship,  American  submarines  bring  weapons  and 
supplies  to  the  valiant  natives,  and  finally,  on  Leyte, 
having  received  news  of  the  proposed  American  land- 
ings, Wayne  organizes  a  surprise  attack  dn  an  enemy 
post,  holding  back  the  Jap  forces  from  counter- 
attacking until  American  troops  secure  their  beach- 
head. 

Ben  Barzman  and  Richard  Landau  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Robert  Fellows  produced  it,  and  Edward  Dmy- 
tryk  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Beulah  Bondi, 
Richard  Loo,  Philip  Ahn,  Ducky  Louie,  Lawrence 
Tierney,  Abner  Biberman,  Vladimir  Sokoloff  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Blonde  Ransom"  with  Donald  Cook 
and  Virginia  Grey 

(Universal,  June  15;  time,  68  min.) 

This  comedy  with  music  is  just  moderately  enter- 
taining program  fare.  The  story  is  feeble  and  some- 
what nonsensical,  but  it  may  appeal  to  those  who  can 
overlook  poor  story  values,  for  there  are  a  few  gags 
that  are  funny  and  at  times  the  situations,  a  few  of 
which  are  slapstick,  provoke  considerable  laughter. 
Moreover,  the  action  moves  at  a  snappy  pace.  The 
music,  though  not  exceptional,  is  tuneful.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  plot  to  direct  an  appeal  to  the  emotions 
of  sympathy : — 

After  losing  $63,000  to  gangsters  in  a  crooked 
poker  game,  Donald  Cook  is  compelled  to  give  them 
the  deed  to  his  night  club  as  security  for  the  debt, 
payable  within  one  week.  On  his  way  home,  Cook 
is  injured  in  an  automobile  collision  with  Virginia 
Grey,  a  heiress,  who  takes  him  to  her  home.  Vir- 
ginia's uncle,  George  Barbier,  anticipated  a  law  suit, 
but  Cook,  instead  of  suing,  offers  to  sell  him  a  part 
interest  in  the  night-club  for  $63,000.  Barbier  re- 
fuses. Virginia,  in  love  with  Cook,  determines  to 
help  him  out  of  his  predicament.  She  stages  her  own 
"kidnapping"  and  demands  $63,000  ransom.  Hood- 
winked by  the  ruse,  Barbier  delivers  the  money  to  a 
place  designated  by  Virginia.  The  money,  however, 


June  2,  1945 


87 


falls  into  the  hands  of  Collette  Lyofts  and  Pinky  Lee, 
entertainers  at  the  club,  who  rush  to  Cook.  They 
reach  the  club  just  as  the  gangsters  arrive,  demanding 
the  cash  Cook  owed  them  or  the  club.  Meanwhile 
Barbier,  recalling  that  Cook  had  asked  him  to  invest 
$63,000  in  the  club,  connects  him  with  the  kidnapping 
and  rushes  to  the  club  with  the  police.  There,  a  series 
of  legal  complications  arise  relative  to  the  kidnapping 
laws  and,  in  the  ensuing  confusion,  everyone,  includ- 
ing Barbier,  Cook,  and  Virginia,  are  taken  to  jail.  The 
gangsters  are  sent  to  prison  for  breaking  their  paroles, 
and  Barbier,  using  his  political  influence,  convinces 
the  judge  that  he  and  the  others  were  innocent.  He 
celebrates  their  release  from  jail  by  buying  an  interest 
in  the  night-club,  where  he  arranges  for  the  marriage 
of  Cook  and  Virginia. 

M.  Coates  Webster  wrote  the  screen  play,  Gene 
Lewis  produced  it,  and  William  Beaudine  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Jerome  Cowan,  George  Meeker, 
Ian  Wolfe,  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Twice  Blessed"  with  Preston  Foster, 
Gail  Patrick,  Lee  Wilde 
and  Lyn  Wilde 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  76  min.) 

A  very  entertaining  comedy,  of  above  average  pro- 
gram grade.  It  has  the  benefit  of  an  amusing  plot, 
breezy  action,  good  comedy  situations,  and  it  is  pleas- 
ant. The  story  revolves  around  identical  twin  sisters, 
one  a  jitterbug  and  the  other  an  intellectual,  who 
switch  identities  in  an  effort  to  reconcile  their  divorced 
parents,  each  of  whom  had  custody  of  one  of  the 
girls.  Many  laugh-provoking  entanglements  result  as 
the  girls,  to  carry  out  their  scheme,  find  it  necessary 
to  mix  with  each  other's  friends,  with  whom  they 
were  unacquainted,  and  even  to  romance  with  each 
other's  boy-friend.  Lee  and  Lyn  Wilde  look  so  alike 
that,  if  it  were  not  for  the  clearly  defined  script,  even 
the  spectator  would  have  difficulty  in  telling  them 
apart.  Several  entertaining  jitterbug  sequences  have 
been  worked  into  the  plot  to  good  effect :  — 

Raised  by  her  father  (Preston  Foster),  an  easy- 
going newspaperman,  Lee  had  grown  into  a  sixteen- 
year-old  "jitterbug."  But  her  twin  sister,  Lyn,  raised 
by  her  mother  (Gail  Patrick),  a  child  psychologist, 
had  become  a  sedate,  brilliant  student.  Gail  and 
Foster  had  agreed  to  a  divorce  because  of  their  dif- 
ferent views  on  how  to  raise  the  girls.  Returning 
from  abroad  after  an  absence  of  five  years,  Gail  brings 
Lyn  to  Foster's  apartment  for  a  visit.  Slipping  away 
into  Lee's  room,  the  youngsters  decide  to  try  on  each 
other's  clothes.  At  that  moment,  Gail,  following  a 
quarrel  with  Foster,  breaks  into  the  room  to  take  Lyn 
home,  but  unwittingly  rushes  out  with  Lee.  The  twins 
decide  to  continue  the  deception  as  a  means  of  bring- 
ing their  parents  together.  Lee,  living  luxuriously  in 
a  swank  hotel,  enjoys  life  no  end,  even  romancing  with 
Jimmy  Lydon,  Lyn's  boyfriend.  Lyn,  too,  finds  life 
different  through  her  association  with  Lee's  "jitter- 
bug" set,  particularly  Marshall  Thompson,  Lee's  boy- 
friend. Matters  become  complicated  when  Lyn  and 
Marshall  become  involved  in  a  dance-hall  brawl,  and 
Gloria  Hope,  a  newspaper  woman  who  had  matri- 
monial designs  on  Foster,  obtains  photographs  of  the 
fight  and  threatens  to  publish  them  unless  Foster 
agrees  to  marry  her.  When  the  girls  learn  of  this,  and 
also  of  their  mother's  intention  to  marry  a  politician, 
they  decide  to  act.  They  recover  the  negatives  with 


the  aid  of  the  friends,  then  march  to  a  political  meet- 
ing to  prevent  Gail  from  announcing  her  engagement 
to  the  politician.  Then,  lest  Gail  point  to  the  dance- 
hall  brawl  to  prove  that  Foster  knew  nothing  about 
raising  a  child,  the  girls  reveal  their  dual  masquerade. 
The  humor  of  the  situation  cements  their  parent's 
broken  marriage. 

Ethel  Hill  wrote  the  screen  play,  Arthur  L.  Freed 
produced  it,  and  Harry  Beaumont  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Richard  Gaines  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Nob  Hill'*  with  George  Raft, 
Joan  Bennett  and  Vivian  Blaine 

(20th  Century-Fox,  July;  time,  95  min.) 

San  Francisco's  Barbary  Coast  at  the  turn  of  the 
century  (a  favorite  locale  with  the  producers  this 
season)  serves  as  the  background  for  this  lavishly  pro- 
duced Technicolor  extravaganza;  it  should  prove  to 
be  a  most  satisfying  entertainment,  for,  despite  its 
conventional  story,  it  has  emotional  appeal  and  tender 
pathos.  Other  features  that  will  surely  please  the 
rank-and-file  are  the  beautiful  girls,  the  sparkling 
dance  numbers,  the  melodious  music,  and  the  roman- 
tic involvements  centering  around  a  two-fisted  Bar- 
bary Coast  saloon  keeper  who  becomes  infatuated 
with  a  Nob  Hill  socialite  while  ignoring  his  true  love, 
a  singer  in  his  cafe.  George  Raft  as  the  saloon  owner, 
does  well  in  a  typical  role,  the  sort  that  made  him 
popular.  Vivian  Blaine's  singing  of  sentimental  songs 
is  very  effective.  Top  acting  honors,  however,  go  to 
little  Peggy  Ann  Garner,  as  the  little  Irish  immi- 
grant befriended  by  Raft,  who  repays  his  kindness  by 
patching  up  his  broken  romance  with  Vivian : — 

Arriving  from  Ireland  to  visit  her  uncle,  whose  last 
known  address  was  Raft's  saloon,  Peggy  learns  that 
the  man  had  died.  Raft,  feeling  sorry  for  the  child, 
asks  her  to  remain  with  him.  Through  Peggy,  Raft 
becomes  acquainted  with  Joan  Bennett,  a  beautiful 
socialite,  who  had  befriended  Peggy  on  the  boat  trip 
from  Ireland.  Joan,  fascinated  by  Raft's  suave  man- 
ner, visits  his  cafe.  Both  fall  in  love.  Vivian  Blaine, 
Raft's  star  entertainer,  madly  in  love  with  him  herself, 
becomes  jealous  of  Joan  and  warns  him  that  her  only 
interest  was  to  gain  his  political  support  to  help  elect 
her  brother  as  district  attorney.  They  quarrel,  and 
Vivian  leaves  him  to  sing  in  a  rival  cafe.  Despite  the 
pleas  of  his  friends,  Raft  insists  upon  backing  Joan's 
brother  and  wins  the  election  for  him.  He  soon  be- 
comes disillusioned  when  the  new  district  attorney 
cools  toward  him,  and  when  Joan  informs  him  that 
her  love  had  been  a  passing  fancy.  Shunned  and  in- 
sulted by  those  who  had  warned  him,  Raft  shuts 
down  his  cafe  and  takes  to  drink.  He  broods  over  his 
failure  to  listen  to  Vivian  and  to  recognize  her  love. 
Peggy,  blaming  herself  for  introducing  Raft  to  Jean, 
and  feeling  responsible  for  his  troubles,  tries  vainly 
to  bring  Vivian  and  Raft  together.  Desperate,  she 
appeals  to  Joan  for  help.  Joan  visits  Vivian  and,  after 
a  hair-pulling  match  between  them,  threatens  to  win 
Raft  back  for  herself  unless  she  returned  to  him. 
Vivian,  brought  to  her  senses,  rounds  up  Raft's  friends 
and  employees,  opens  his  cafe,  and  reunites  with  him. 

Wanda  Tuchok  and  Norman  Reilly  Baine  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Andre  Daven  produced  it,  and  Henry 
Hathaway  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Alan  Reed, 
B.  S.  Pully  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


88 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  2,  1945 


Loews.  Harrison's  Reports  knows  for  a  fact  that 
both  the  WAC  and  Loew's  exerted  every  effort  to 
have  the  subject  withdrawn  when  it  became  apparent 
that  the  press  and  the  exhibitors  favored  such  action. 
The  refusal  of  the  War  Department  to  recognize 
these  protests  sooner  than  it  did  is  certainly  no  reflec- 
tion on  either  the  WAC  or  Loew's. 

According  to  Wood,  Loew's  should  have  refused 
to  distribute  the  subject  regardless  of  the  War  De- 
partment's  wishes  in  the  matter.  Harrison's  Reports 
believes  that  Loew's  acted  properly;  a  soldier  may 
question  the  wisdom  of  his  commanding  officer's 
orders,  but  he  carries  out  those  orders.  The  same  holds 
true  of  Loew's.  When  it  realized  that  its  arguments 
against  the  picture  had  little  effect  on  the  War  De- 
partment, then  like  a  good  soldier,  and  despite  its  own 
feelings  in  the  matter,  it  carried  out,  to  the  best  of 
its  ability,  the  wishes  of  General  Marshall. 

In  fairness  to  Loew's,  it  should  be  pointed  out  that, 
on  very  short  notice,  it  did  a  remarkable  job  of  dis- 
tributing "Two  Down  and  One  to  Go,"  obtaining 
more  than  800  first-run  bookings  during  the  first  week 
of  the  subject's  availability — and  with  only  400  prints. 
This  entailed  a  vast  amount  of  work  at  considerable 
expense  to  the  company. 

It  is  indeed  unfortunate  that  the  War  Department 
stubbornly  delayed  the  withdrawal  of  the  picture, 
which  should  not  have  been  released  in  the  first  place. 
But  let  us  not  condemn  either  Loew's  or  the  WAC 
as  having  had  a  hand  in  this  stubborness.  It  was  far 
better,  and  certainly  more  meaningful,  for  the  ex- 
hibitors themselves  to  take  action  and  refuse  to  book 
the  picture  than  for  Loew's  to  have  taken  it  upon 
itself  to  act  for  the  exhibitors  by  refusing  to  distribute 
the  picture.  Such  action  would  have  left  it  open  to 
criticism,  not  only  from  the  War  Department,  but 
also  from  many  exhibitors  who  may  have  had  a  desire 
to  show  the  picture. 


A  MONOPOLIST'S  DREAM  OF  HEAVEN 

At  a  recent  trade  press  luncheon  tendered  by  Lester 
Cowan,  producer  of  Ernie  Pyle's  "Story  of  G.I.  Joe," 
Cowan  stated  that  he  was  not  in  faVor  of  theatre  di- 
vorcement because  it  would  take  away  from  the  in- 
dependent producer  the  one  thing  he  can  rely  on — 
playing  time.  Cowan  revealed  that  he  was  interested 
in  a  plan  calling  for  a  proposed  circuit  of  theatres,  of 
approximately  twelve  hundred  seats  each,  catering 
to  a  particular  type  of  audience,  and  for  which  he 
would  like  to  produce  exclusively  pictures  that  could 
be  held  in  them  indefinitely.  He  said  that  he  would  be 
interested  in  investing  money  in  such  a  circuit  if  it 
could  be  developed,  but  he  added  that  the  Govern- 
ment's stand  against  producer-owned  theatres  would 
prevent  him  from  doing  so. 

Cowan's  remarks,  which  were  publicized  in  the 
trade  press,  have  drawn  the  fire  of  National  Allied, 
which  had  this  to  say,  in  part,  in  a  recent  bulletin : 

"When  a  producer  airs  his  views  in  print  it  usually 
is  ballyhoo  for  some  forthcoming  picture.  Almost  in- 
variably he  says  something  that  will  please  the  little 
band  that  controls  the  juicy  first-run  accounts.  Hence, 
when  Lester  Cowan  recently  made  the  headlines  with 
an  attack  on  theatre  divorcement,  we  were  certain 
that  he  was  about  to  release  a  picture.  And  sure 
enough,  we  found  that  he  made  his  remarks  at  a  trade 
press  luncheon  given  by  himself  and  George  Schaefer 


§ 

for  a  'discussion  of  sales  plans  for  'The  Story  of  G.I. 

Joe.' 

"But  let  us  credit  Cowan  with  a  new  angle.  He  is 
not  content  with  the  arguments  usually  advanced  by 
producers  who  dearly  love  a  ready-made  market  for 
their  products — good,  bad  and  run-of-the-mine.  He 
does  not  like  the  idea  of  theatre  divorcement  because 
it  would  stand  in  the  way  of  his  ambition  to  have  his 
own  nation-wide  circuit  of  first-run  theatres.  .  .  . 

"The  small  number  of  independent  exhibitors  who 
have  been  lured  by  producer  propaganda  into  de- 
claring against  theatre  divorcement  should  study 
Cowan's  ideas  with  the  greatest  care.  We  are  certain 
the  new  Attorney  General  will  find  them  interesting. 
For  here  is  a  monopolist's  dream  of  heaven :  A  ready- 
made  market,  no  more  competition,  no  more  selling 
expense  or  trouble,  exclusive  selling,  high  admissions, 
extended  runs,  drawing  all  patronage  into  the  circuit 
theatres.  How  do  you  like  that,  Mr.  Independent  Ex- 
hibitor? 

"Apparently  Cowan  has  heard  little  and  cares  less 
about  the  mounting  popular  prejudice  against  trusts 
and  cartels,  or  the  avowed  policy  of  the  Government 
to  encourage  and  protect  'little  business.' 

"If  as  a  result  of  his  ingratiating  declaration  against 
theatre  divorcement  Cowan  gets  'The  Story  of  G.I. 
Joe'  set  on  favorable  terms  in  the  affiliated  first-run 
theatres,  he  may  experiment  with  his  idea  on  that 
picture.  According  to  Mr.  Schaefer,  the  picture  will 
be  sold  only  on  percentage  and  double-billing  will  not 
be  permitted.  Extended  runs  will  undoubtedly  be 
demanded  an  an  effort  made  to  bleed  the  picture  in 
the  high-admission  theatres.  If  the  picture  is  as  suc- 
cessful as  its  sponsors  predict  it  will  be,  maybe  Cowan 
will  be  satisfied  with  this  first-run  revenue  and  will 
not  seek  to  sell  the  picture  to  the  subsequent-run, 
neighborhood  and  small-town  theatres. 

"That  ought  to  satisfy  everyone  except  the  thou- 
sands of  indepedent  exhibitors  who  have  supported 
Cowan's  past  efforts  and  feel  that  they  have  some 
claim  to  his  consideration,  and  the  millions  of  theatre 
patrons — mothers,  fathers,  wives,  sweethearts,  broth- 
ers and  sisters  of  G.I.  Joe — who  for  a  variety  of 
reasons  cannot  attend  the  key  city  first-run  theatres. 
If  Cowan  really  wants  to  swim  in  hot  water — and  it 
would  seem  that  he  does — here  is  his  chance!" 

I  don't  know  if  Cowan,  in  declaring  himself  against 
theatre  divorcement,  was  trying  to  woo  the  good  will 
of  the  affiliated  circuits,  but  I  do  know  that  he  could 
not  have  chosen  more  appropriate  remarks  to  alienate 
whatever  good  wiil  he  may  have  had  with  the  inde- 
pendent exhibitors.  Cowan  apparently  seems  to  forget 
that  the  independent  exhibitors  have  been  suffering 
from  the  ravages  of  big  business  for  so  long  a  time 
that  they  can  hardly  be  expected  to  feel  kindly  to- 
wards anyone  who  advocates  the  continuance  of 
monopolistic  practices.  While  Cowan  may  have 
soothed  the  feelings  of  the  "big  fellows"  in  this  busi- 
ness, I  fear  that  he  has  done  himself  a  great  harm  with 
the  "little  fellows."  And  as  an  independent  producer, 
he  can  ill  afford  to  antagonize  the  independent  exhi- 
bitors, for  it  is  through  them  that  he  may,  in  many 
instances,  be  able  to  counteract  the  "squeeze"  by 
which  some  of  the  affiliated  circuits  often  deprive  an 
independent  producer  like  himself  of  the  playing 
time  and  the  rental  terms  that  his  picture  is  entitled 
to  receive. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   ?15.00  RnnmlRI?  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  Koom  lou  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  .       ..     _.  .       _  .  .   

rre»t  Britain                     IS  75  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New 'Zealand,'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia  ... .  17.50  ,.      .,   _    ,.      _     _,.    .     ,.    ■         .  , 

ir.      r    v  ts  Edltorial  Policy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

6t>c  a  copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  JUNE  9,  1945  No.  23 


A  Three-Page  Shot  in  the  Arm 

From  all  parts  of  the  country  exhibitors  have  been  for-  twenty  top-bracket  pictures  and  twenty-four  "B's."  Before 

warding  to  this  office  copies  of  a  telegram  sent  to  them  by  we  proceed  further,  let  me  give  you  a  list  of  the  pictures 

Abe  Montague,  general  sales  manager  of  Columbia  Pic-  Columbia  has  thus  far  allocated  to  the  top-twenty  brackets, 

tures.  It  seems  that  Montague,  while  visiting  the  Columbia  They  are  as  follows: 

studios  in  Hollywood,  became  so  elated  about  his  company's  6001  Not  set 

forthcoming  productions  that  he  felt  the  exhibitors  should  6Q02  £^  ^  Night'. V.  Fe°b.  22 

share  his  enthusiasm,  and  he  forthwith  dispatched  a  three-  60Q3  Together  Again  Dec.  22 

page  telegram  to  them,  outlining  his  observations  and  in-            6004  Not  set 

forming  the  exhibitors  of  what  the  future  held  for  them  inso-  6005  '  '  Not  set 
far  as  his  company's  pictures  were  concerned.  This  is  what  60Q6  Counter- Attack  ' .' .' .' .' .' .' .' .' .' ." .' .' .' .'  .Apr.  26 
he  had  to  say,  in  part:  60Q7   Not  set 

"Since  arriving  here  few  days  ago  have  acquired  con-  6008   Not  set 

siderable  information  I  feel  you  should  like  to  know  about.  6009   Not  set 

They  tell  me  there  is  nothing  of  more  interest  to  any  theatre  6010  The  Fighting  Guardsman  May  24 

operator  than  really  good  pictures,  and  we  now  have  finished  6011   Not  set 

or  in  the  process  of  shooting  at  our  studio  the  greatest  group  6012   Not  set 

of  pictures  since  we've  been  a  producing  and  distributing  6013   Not  set 

organization.  For  the  1944-45  season,  and  I  am  referring  6014  Eadie  Was  a  Lady  Jan.  23 

only  to  top  bracket  pictures,  we  have  'A  Thousand  and  6015   Not  set 

One  Nights'  in  Technicolor  .  .  .  'Over  21*  .  .  .  Rosalind  6016  Strange  Affair  Oct.  5 

Russell  ...  in  what  we  know  will  be  an  outstanding  comedy  6017  Crime  Doctor's  Courage  Feb.  27 

entitled  'She  Had  to  Say  Yes.'  These  three  1944-45  pic-  6018  Rough,  Tough  and  Ready  Mar.  22 

tures  will  be  released  one  a  month  starting  in  July.  Also  6019  Leave  it  to  Blondie  Feb.  22 

completed  is  'Kiss  and  Tell'  taken  from  the  terrific  stage  6020   Not  set 

comedy  still  rocking  the  nation  with  laughter  Cast  includes         Lack  of  gnts  ug  frQm  ^     the  »B„ 

Shirley  Temple     .    Everyone  who  has  seen  this  outstanding  sgt  {qj.  rdease  and  allocated  t0  the  lower  bracketSj  but  the 

film  property,  which  will  be  sold  separately  and  apart  from  ,    u        .u  .    .u      c  .  .    c  ,u  j 

,  r   i         ■  •       i      -      -ii         i  record  shows  that,  thus  far,  nineteen  out  ot  the  promised 

the  1945-46  program,  is  or  the  opinion  that  it  will  stand  .       t  •  r      u       u       j  r  j 

r,  iiTf-i  twenty-four  have  been  delivered, 

out  as  one  or  the  greatest  comedies  ever  produced.  It  1  am  .  ,.  , 

wrong  about  this  picture  I  will  buy  you  and  your  friends  a  ,    The  foregoing  list  shows  that  nine  pictures  have  so  far 

wine  dinner  at  any  place  you  name.  .  .  ."  be,e,n  allocated  to  the  top  twenty  brackets.  To  these  may  be 

added  three  more —  Over  21,      A  Thousand  and  One 

Elsewhere  in  his  telegram  Montague  tells  the  exhibitors  Nights,"  and  "She  Had  to  Say  Yes"  (formerly  titled  "Some 

that  shooting  has  been  completed  on  "The  Bandit  of  Sher-  Call  it  Love"),  which  Montague  identifies  in  his  telegram 

wood  Forest,"  a  Technicolor  production  starring  Cornel  as  top  bracket  pictures  for  the  1944-45  season.  This  would 

Wilde,  and  in  the  process  of  shooting  are  "Pardon  My  Past,"  make  a  total  of  twelve.  And  of  that  number,  not  all  are  top 

with  Fred  MacMurray,  and  "The  Renegades,"  a  western  productions;  it  is  obvious  that  at  least  half  of  them,  namely 

drama  in  Technicolor.  These  three  pictures,  says  Montague,  "The  Fighting  Guardsman,"  "Eadie  Was  a  Lady,"  "Strange 

"are  the  lead-off  pictures  of  our  1945-46  program."  Affair,"  "Crime  Doctor's  Courage,"  "Rough,  Tough  and 

It  would  seem  that  Montague,  through  the  aforemen-  Ready,"  and  "Leave  it  to  Blondie"  are  strictly  low-budgeted 

tioned  telegram,  believed  that  it  would  be  good  psychology  program  pictures,  which  would  be  much  more  at  home  in 

to  bring  the  1944-45  season  to  a  close  by  delivering  a  top-  the  "B"  brackets  than  in  the  higher  film-rental  brackets, 

bracket  picture  in  each  o'f  the  last  three  months,  in  order  Nevertheless,  since  Columbia,  through  its  "elastic  thinking" 

that  the  exhibitors  be  put  in  a  good  frame  of  mind  just  prior  policy,  has  seen  fit  to  allocate  these  "B's"  to  the  top-twenty 

to  the  start  of  his  company's  selling  campaign  on  the  1945-  brackets,  in  order  to  make  up  the  total  of  twelve,  there  re- 

46  program.  What  he  did  not  realize,  however,  was  that  the  main  eight  top  pictures  still  to  come.  But  were  will  they  come 

telegram  would  insult  the  intelligence  of  every  thoughtful  from? 

exhibitor  in  this  country,  for  the  very  words  that  comprise  Abe  Montague  admits  in  his  telegram  that,  for  the  re- 

the  telegram  constitute  an  admission  that  Columbia  will  once  mainder  of  the  1944-45  season,  and  he  specifically  states  that 

again  renege  on  its  promises  to  its  customers.  The  facts  speak  he  is  referring  only  to  top  bracket  pictures,  Columbia  will 

for  themselves,  and  here  they  arc :  deliver  no  more  than  three,  which  we  have  already  included 

At  the  time  Columbia  announced  its  1944-45  program,  it  in  the  total  of  twelve.  The  only  other  pictures  tentatively 

promised  a  total  of  forty-four  features,  exclusive  of  westerns,  set  for  release  this  season  are  "Boston  Blackie's  Rendezvous," 

and  stated  that  "at  least  twenty  top-flight  films — the  greatest  "You  Can't  Do  Without  Love,"  "The  Gay  Senorita,"  and 

number  ever  offered  in  a  single  year  by  Columbia — will  be  "I  Love  a  Bandleader."  All  are  of  "B"  quality,  produced 

produced,  with  a  corresponding  reduction  in  the  number  of  on  modest  budgets.  And  in  production,  other  than  the  pic- 
B  pictures."  In  other  words,  the  program  was  to  consist  of  (Continued  on  last  page) 


90 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  9,  1945 


"Out  of  this  World"  with  Eddie  Bracken, 
Veronica  Lake  and  Diana  Lynn 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  96  mm.) 

This  comedy  with  music,  which  is  a  travesty  on  "croon' 
ers,"  should  go  over  pretty  well  with  the  masses,  chiefly  be- 
cause of  one  running  gag — every  time  Eddie  Bracken  sings, 
you  hear  Bing  Crosby's  voice,  which  has  been  dubbed  in  to 
fit  Bracken's  lip  movements.  Despite  a  few  sluggish  passages, 
the  story  itself  is  an  amusing  satire,  in  many  ways  parallel- 
ing Frank  Sinatra's  early  career,  and  in  other  ways  poking 
considerable  fun  at  the  "bobby-sox"  youngsters  who  swoon 
whenever  they  hear  their  favorite  "crooner"  sing.  It  manages 
to  keep  one  chuckling-  all  the  way  through.  The  music  is 
not  outstanding  but  it  is  tuneful,  and  there  are  several 
production  numbers  and  a  few  specialties.  Outstanding 
among  these  are  two  novelty  songs  sung  by  the  bombastic 
Cass  Daly,  and  a  piano  playing  number  featuring  five  of 
the  country's  most  popular  pianists — Carmen  Cavallaro, 
Ted  Fiorita,  Ray  Noble,  Henry  King,  and  Joe  Reichman. 
One  amusing  sequence  shows  Bing  Crosby*6  four  youngsters 
making  wry  faces  and  voicing  quips  when  Bracken  sings  and 
they  hear  their  father's  voice: — 

Diana  Lynn  and  her  all-girl  band,  struggling  for  recogni- 
tion, are  playing  at  a  benefit  for  an  orphans'  home  when 
Eddie  Bracken,  a  telegraph  messenger,  is  asked  to  sing. 
His  "crooning"  so  affects  Veronica  Lake,  secretary  to  an 
important  New  York  business  executive,  that  she  swoons. 
The  incident  is  photographed,  and  the  resultant  publicity 
brings  fame  to  Bracken  and  the  band,  and  an  offer  to  appear 
on  a  radio  show  in  New  York.  Diana  signs  Bracken  to  a 
contract  at  fifty  dollars  a  week,  but,  needing  funds  to 
finance  their  trip  to  New  York,  she  sells  shares  in  the  con- 
tract, with  25%  going  to  Veronica.  Diana  discovers  too  late 
that  she  had  inadvertently  sold  125%  of  Bracken's  contract, 
and  her  efforts  to  buy  back  some  shares  are  unavailing.  Mean- 
while Bracken's  popularity  as  a  "crooner"  soars,  and  he 
demands  a  raise  in  salary.  Diana  finally  makes  a  clean 
breast  of  her  predicament  to  Bracken  and  to  the  stockholders, 
who  threaten  to  send  her  to  jail.  Bracken,  angry,  refuses  to 
sing,  and  his  radio  sponsor  threatens  to  sue  the  stockholders. 
Shrewdly  taking  advantage  of  the  confusion,  Veronica  buys 
out  the  other  stockholders.  Diana,  ignoring  her  own  troubles, 
sets  out  on  a  campaign  to  free  Bracken  from  Veronica.  She 
sees  to  it  that  Bracken  catches  cold  and  loses  his  voice  and, 
after  a  series  of  incidents  in  which  Veronica  sells  the  contract 
to  the  sponsor,  Diana  proves  that  it  was  invalid  because  she 
had  been  a  minor  when  she  made  the  deal  with  Bracken. 

Walter  DeLeon  and  Arthur  Phillips  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Sam  Coslow  produced  it,  and  Hal  Walker  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Parkyakarkus,  Donald  MacBride  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Steppin'  in  Society"  with  Edward  Everett 
Horton  and  Gladys  George 

(Republic,  July  29;  time,  72  mm.) 

A  rather  dull  program  comedy.  The  story  idea,  that  of  a 
judge  consorting  with  a  gang  of  criminals  and  pretenting 
to  be  one  himself  in  an  effort  to  reform  them,  is  not  bad, 
but  it  has  not  been  given  a  good  treatment.  Most  of  the 
comedy  situations  fall  flat.  It  has  some  laugh-provoking 
situations,  but  these  are  so  few  and  far  between  that  the 
spectator  loses  interest  in  the  proceedings  and  becomes  rest- 
less. The  players  do  as  well  as  they  can  with  the  material, 
but  they  cannot  overcome  its  deficiencies: — 

Edward  Everett  Horton,  an  austere,  uncompromising 
judge,  who,  in  the  performance  of  his  court  duties  never 
tempered  justice  with  understanding  and  sympathy,  de- 
cides to  go  on  a  vacation  with  his  wife,  Gladys  George. 
When  their  car  breaks  down  on  the  open  road,  Horton  and 
his  wife  are  obliged,  because  of  an  approaching  storm,  to 
take  shelter  in  a  roadhouse  operated  by  a  gang  of  shady 
characters.  The  gang  plans  to  rob  the  couple,  but  later, 


when  they  rifle  Horton's  brief  case  and  find  a  batch  of  papers 
concerning  a  bank  robbery,  they  misconstrue  their  meaning 
and  mistake  him  for  a  6uave,  big-time  racketeer;  the  gang 
asks  him  to  assume  their  leadership.  Seeing  an  opportunity 
to  reform  them,  Horton  does  not  correct  their  mistaken 
impression  of  his  identity,  and  agrees  to  the  proposal.  From 
there  on,  Horton  has  his  hands  full  keeping  the  gang  on  the 
straight  and  narrow  path  while  allowing  them  to  believe 
that  he  was  helping  them  with  their  crooked  schemes.  He 
even  permits  them  to  rob  his  own  home  to  keep  them  happy. 
The  gang  eventually  learns  of  his  identity  and  of  his  repu- 
tation as  a  severe  judge;  they  decide  to  give  him  a  dose  of 
his  own  medicine  by  subjecting  him  to  a  trial.  Testifying  in 
his  own  defense,  Horton  convinces  the  gang  that  he  had 
done  them  much  good  by  keeping  them  out  of  trouble,  and 
that  they  in  turn  had  helped  him  to  attain  a  more  human 
and  sympathetic  understanding  toward  people  brought  be- 
fore him  for  trial.  Accepted  by  the  gang  as  a  friend,  Horton 
loans  them  funds  to  convert  their  roadhouse  into  a  gala 
night-club,  thus  helping  them  to  earn  a  living  within  the 
law. 

Bradford  Ropes  wrote  the  screen  play,  Joseph  Bercholz 
produced  it,  and  Alexander  Esway  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Ruth  Terry,  Robert  Livingston,  Jack  LaRue.  Lola 
Lane,  Isabel  Jewell,  Frank  Jenks,  Iris  Adrian,  Paul  Hurst 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Within  these  Walls"  with  Thomas  Mitchell 

(20th  Century-Fox,  July,  time,  71  min.) 

A  fair  program  prison  melodrama;  it  should  satisfy  those 
who  enjoy  this  type  of  entertainment.  The  story  is  another 
version  of  the  crimc-docs-not-pay  theme,  revolving  around 
a  penitentiary  warden,  who  institutes  strict  rules  to  restore 
discipline  among  the  prisoners  only  to  find  himself  morally 
compelled  to  enforce  those  rules  when  his  own  son  becomes 
one  of  the  inmates.  One's  interest  is  maintained  fairly  well, 
there  is  human  interest  to  appeal  to  the  emotions,  and  there 
is  considerable  suspense  in  a  few  of  the  situations,  particu- 
larly those  in  which  the  warden  shoots  it  out  with  a  group 
of  convicts  attempting  a  jail  break,  after  they  had  cold- 
bloodedly murdered  his  son.  A  romance  between  the  war- 
den's daughter  and  a  model  convict  is  worked  into  the  plot: 

Thomas  Mitchell,  a  stern,  criminal  jurist,  is  asked  to  take 
charge  of  the  state  penitentiary  to  rid  the  institution  of 
convict  riots  and  wholesale  corruption.  Arriving  at  the 
prison  with  Mary  Anderson,  his  daughter,  and  Eddie  Ryan, 
his  seventeen-year-old  son,  Mitchell  is  greeted  by  the  prison- 
ers with  boos.  He  takes  charge  with  a  vengeance,  dismissing 
corrupt  guards,  depriving  the  unruly  inmates  of  special 
privileges  unless  earned,  and  punishing  disobedient  men 
by  placing  them  in  solitary  confinement.  Meanwhile  his  son, 
a  wayward  youngster,  who  had  gotten  himself  into  debt, 
accepts  bribes  from  the  convicts  in  return  for  special  favors. 
Learning  that  the  boy  was  instrumental  in  arranging  an  at- 
tempted prison  break,  Mitchell  berates  him  and  sends  him 
away  to  college.  But  the  boy's  association  with  the  convicts 
had  left  its  mark  on  him,  and  he  soon  leaves  college  to  lead 
a  life  of  crime.  Months  later,  he  shows  up  in  the  prison  line- 
up, sentenced  to  serve  a  ten-year  term  for  robbery.  Mitchell, 
though  heartbroken,  determines  that  the  boy  shall  be  shown 
no  special  privileges,  even  going  so  far  as  to  place  him  in 
solitary  confinement  when  he  becomes  unruly.  A  group  of 
convicts,  learning  that  Ryan  was  the  warden's  son,  involve 
him  in  an  attempted  jail  break,  during  which  the  boy,  in  an 
effort  to  save  his  father,  sacrifices  his  own  life.  Embittered, 
Mitchell  avenges  the  boy's  death  by  single-handedly  wiping 
out  the  offenders.  Mellowed  by  the  loss  of  his  son,  Mitchell 
comes  to  the  realization  that  discipline  must  be  tempered 
with  kindness  to  mould  effectively  the  characters  of  young 
men. 

Eugene  Ling  and  Wanda  Tuchock  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Ben  Silver  produced  it,  and  Bruce  Humberstone  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Mark  Stevens,  B.  S.  Pully  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


June  9,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


91 


"The  Great  John  L"  with  Greg  McClure, 
Linda  Darnell  and  Barbara  Britton 

(United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time,  96  min.) 

This  dramatization  of  the  life  of  John  L.  Sullivan,  which 
is  Bing  Crosby's  first  independent  production,  is  a  fine 
human-interest  drama,  the  sort  that  should  go  over  very 
well  with  the  rank  and  file.  It  has  all  the  ingredients  needed 
for  mass  appeal — heart-tugging  situations,  romance,  good 
comedy,  realistic  and  exciting  prizefights,  and  pleasant  music 
with  a  nostalgic  flavor.  Moreover,  it  has  expert  direction  and 
fine  performances  by  the  cast.  Greg  McClure,  as  Sullivan,  is 
a  promising  newcomer;  his  portrayal  of  the  Boston  "Strong 
Boy"  is  extraordinarily  convincing  and  sympathy-winning, 
even  though  his  actions  are  not  always  pleasant. 

The  well-written  story  takes  in  Sullivan's  early  days  as 
an  unknown  fighter,  his  rise  to  the  world's  championship, 
his  defeat  by  James  J.  Corbett,  his  decline  as  the  result  of 
drink,  and  his  eventual  reformation  in  which  he  becomes  an 
exponent  of  clean  living.  All  this  serves  as  a  colorful  back- 
ground for  the  main  story  line,  which  concerns  itself  with 
the  two  women  in  Sullivan's  life — Kathy  (Barbara  Britton), 
his  childhood  sweetheart,  who  refused  to  marry  him,  al- 
though she  loved  him,  because  of  his  boastful  attitude  and 
of  his  addiction  to  drink,  and  Anne  (Linda  Darnell),  an 
actress,  who  loved  him  dearly,  but  whom  he  married  in  a  fit 
of  temper  when  his  sweetheart,  despite  his  becoming  cham- 
pion, still  refused  to  become  his  wife.  Sullivan's  recognition 
of  Anne's  love  and  loyalty,  and  his  inability  to  forget  his 
love  for  Kathy,  result  in  his  taking  to  drink  and  his  eventual 
downfall.  Both  women  win  the  spectator's  sympathy,  because 
of  their  display  of  fine  character  and  of  their  willingness  to 
help  the  man  they  love,  despite  his  human  failings.  A  tragic 
note  is  injected  by  Anne's  death,  which  paves  the  way  for 
Sullivan  and  Kathy  to  reunite. 

Worthy  of  mention  is  an  outstanding  comedy  sequence 
in  which  Sullivan,  visiting  Paris,  is  challenged  to  a  fight  by 
a  Frenchman  half  his  size,  a  la  sarotte  (feet-fighting)  cham- 
pion. The  manner  in  which  he  befuddles  Sullivan  and  gives 
him  a  thorough  licking  is  highly  hilarious.  The  production 
values  are  very  good;  it  is  apparent  that  painstaking  care  was 
taken  to  give  the  gaslight  era  depicted  an  authentic  air.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  everything  about  the  entire  production  shows 
painstaking  care. 

James  Edward  Grant  wrote  the  screen  play  and  co- 
produced  it  with  Frank  R.  Mastroly.  Frank  Tuttle  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Otto  Kruger,  Wallace  Ford,  George 
Matthews,  Robert  Barrat,  Lee  Sullivan,  Fritz  Feld  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Divorce"  with  Kay  Francis, 
Bruce  Cabot  and  Helen  Mack 

(Monogram,  June  I;  time,  72  min.) 

Good  program  entertainment,  suitable  for  the  top  half 
of  a  double  bill  in  secondary  houses.  The  story,  which  re- 
volves around  the  efforts  of  a  wealthy,  sophisticated  divorcee 
to  break  up  the  marriage  of  her  childhood  sweetheart,  is 
not  particularly  novel  and  the  outcome  is  quite  obvious; 
however,  one's  attention  is  held  because  it  directs  some 
human  appeal  and  it  has  good  performances.  It  has  some 
unpleasantness  caused  by  the  conduct  of  Bruce  Cabot,  as 
the  erring  husband,  who  leaves  his  happy  home,  wife,  and 
two  children  for  Kay  Francis,  who  uses  her  wealth  to  hold 
his  love;  one  is  not  in  sympathy  with  Cabot  for  deserting 
his  family,  even  though  he  eventually  returns  to  it,  giving 
up  Kay.  The  most  sympathetic  character  is  Helen  Mack,  as 
the  wife,  who  sacrifices  her  happiness  for  her  children: — 

After  divorcing  her  fourth  husband,  Kay  Francis  re- 
turns to  Hillsboro,  her  home  town,  to  renew  old  friendships. 
There,  she  attends  the  wedding  anniversary  celebration  of 
Helen  Mack  and  Bruce  Cabot,  her  childhood  sweetheart. 
Her  love  for  Cabot  rekindled,  Kay  sets  out  on  a  campaign 
to  steal  him  from  Helen  and  their  two  children.  She  en- 


trenches herself  with  Cabot  by  forming  a  large  real  estate 
syndicate  and  by  making  him  her  partner,  causing  him  to 
become  one  of  the  most  important  men  in  town.  Helen 
eventually  realizes  that  Kay  was  trying  to  break  up  her 
home,  and  she  compels  Cabot  to  choose  between  them.  He 
chooses  Kay.  Despite  the  efforts  of  friends  to  avert  a  di- 
vorce, Helen  is  granted  an  interlocutory  decree.  Cabot 
embarks  on  a  gay  time  with  Kay,  neglecting  to  visit  his 
children,  who  looked  forward  to  seeing  him.  Helen  refuses 
to  accept  his  alimony  checks,  and  humiliates  him  by  working 
as  a  clerk  in  a  department  store  to  support  herself  and  the 
children.  Realizing  that  Cabot  had  become  remorseful,  and 
that  his  love  for  her  was  beginning  to  wane,  Kay  tries  to 
induce  him  to  leave  town  with  her  in  the  hope  that  he  would 
forget  his  family.  But  his  attachment  for  Helen  and  the 
children  proves  too  strong,  and  he  returns  home  to  beg  their 
forgiveness..  Kay,  defeated,  leaves  Hillsboro  alone. 

Sidney  Sutherland  and  Harvey  E.  Gates  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Jeffrey  Bernard  and  Kay  Francis  produced  it,  and 
William  Nigh  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Craig  Reynolds, 
Larry  Olsen,  Johnny  Calkins,  Jerome  Cowan,  Ruth  Lee, 
Mary  Gordon  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Don  Juan  Quilligan"  with  William  Bendix, 
Joan  Blondell  and  Phil  Silvers 

(20th  Century-Fox,  ]une;  time,  75  min.) 

Not  an  extraordinary  comedy,  but  it  offers  fairly  good 
program  entertainment  for  audiences  that  are  not  too  criti- 
cal. The  story  is  a  preposterous  affair,  revolving  around  a 
dim-witted  barge  captain,  who  gets  himself  so  involved  with 
two  girls,  each  of  whom  possessed  a  virtue  that  reminded 
him  of  his  departed  mother,  that  he  finds  himself  married 
to  both  of  them.  The  manner  in  which  he  tries  to  get  out  of 
this  predicament  only  to  find  himself  in  deeper  trouble  is 
such  a  hodge-podge  of  nonsense  that  it  leaves  one  more 
confused  than  entertained.  It  does  have  some  amusing  twists, 
and  a  few  of  the  situations  should  draw  peals  of  laughter, 
but.on  the  whole  it  has  too  many  dull  stretches.  Its  box-office 
chances  will  have  to  depend  on  the  players'  drawing  power: 

William  Bendix,  a  barge  captain,  falls  in  love  with  Joan 
Blondell,  a  New  York  girl,  because  her  voice  reminded  him 
of  his  mother,  and  with  Mary  Treen,  a  Utica  girl,  because 
her  cooking  was  like  his  mother's.  He  gets  himself  engaged 
to  both  girls,  who  were  unaware  of  each  other's  existence, 
but  delays  marrying  either  of  them.  Matters  become  compli- 
cated when  a  neighbor  of  Mary's,  visiting  a  New  York  night- 
club, sees  Bendix  with  Joan  and  accuses  him  of  being  a 
"two-timer."  Phil  Silvers,  Bendix's  pal,  comes  to  the  rescue 
by  concocting  a  story  about  Bendix  having  a  twin  brother. 
Both  girls  accept  the  story  as  true.  Bendix,  however,  soon 
finds  himself  in  a  jam  when  each  of  the  girls,  using  trickery, 
marries  him.  While  worrying  over  his  predicament,  Bendix 
finds  a  dead  man  on  his  barge,  deposited  there  by  a  gang 
of  thieves.  Silvers,  hitting  upon  a  bright  idea,  suggests  that 
they  dress  the  body  in  one  of  Bendix's  suits,  drop  it  over- 
board, and  write  a  suicide  note  to  make  it  appear  as  if 
Bendix's  "twin  brother"  had  killed  himself,  leaving  Mary 
a  widow.  The  scheme  backfires,  however,  when  the  body  is 
found  and  when  Mary  accuses  Bendix  of  murdering  her 
"husband."  Arrested  and  brought  to  trial,  Bendix,  after 
much  difficulty,  convinces  the  court  that  he  did  not  have  a 
twin  brother.  The  judge  dismisses  the  case,  but  holds  him 
on  a  bigamy  charge.  But  when  he  learns  that  Bendix  had 
been  tricked  into  the  marriages,  he  dismisses  the  charge  and 
advises  the  girls  to  seek  an  annulment  before  Bendix  entered 
the  Army,  which  had  drafted  him.  Both  women,  however, 
promise  to  wait  for  him,  and  the  picture  ends  with  Bendix 
still  in  the  same  predicament. 

Arthur  Kobcr  and  Frank  Gabriclson  wrote  the  screen  play, 
William  LcBaron  produced  it,  and  Frank  Tuttle  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Anne  Revere,  B.  S.  Pully,  Veda  Ann  Borg 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


92 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  9,  1945 


tures  mentioned  in  Montague's  telegram  as  belonging  to 
the  1945-46  season,  is  "Rusty,"  which,  too,  is  a  "B"  picture. 
Since  Columbia,  because  of  its  "elastic  thinking"  policy, 
will  not  tell  the  exhibitors  in  advance  to  which  brackets 
these  five  program  pictures  will  be  allocated,  let  us  try  to 
figure  it  out  for  ourselves. 

Briefly,  the  situation  is  this:  Twelve  pictures  may  be  con- 
sidcrcd  as  allocated  to  the  top  twenty  brackets,  leaving  a 
total  of  eight  top  bracket  pictures  still  due  to  exhibitors. 
Nineteen  "B"  pictures  have  been  allocated  to  the  lower 
brackets,  leaving  a  total  of  five  still  due  out  of  a  promised 
twenty-four.  If  Columbia  should  allocate  to  the  top-twenty 
brackets  the  five  "B"  pictures  that  have  not  yet  been  set  for 
release,  the  exhibitors'  revenue  will  not  be  commensurate 
with  the  rentals  paid;  in  fact,  the  possibility  is  that  the  pic- 
tures may  be  exhibited  at  a  loss.  On  the  other  hand,  if  these 
five  pictures  should  be  placed  in  the  lower  brackets,  where 
they  belong,  the  exhibitor  will  find  himself  in  the  position 
of  the  shopkeeper  who  agreed  to  accept  a  quantity  of  hard- 
to-sell,  inferior  quality  merchandise  for  the  privilege  of  buy- 
ing a  definite  quantity  of  saleable,  high  quality  merchan- 
dise, only  to  end  up  with  all  the  inferior  goods  but  with  only 
a  small  part  of  the  quality  merchandise.  In  other  words,  no 
matter  which  way  Columbia  allocates  the  remaining  five 
pictures,  the  exhibitor  gets  the  tail  end. 

But  Montague  is  not  satisfied  with  the  mere  non-delivery 
of  a  promised  program.  He  adds  insult  to  injury  by  boast- 
fully informing  the  exhibitors  that  "Kiss  and  Tell,"  which, 
according  to  his  statement,  has  been  acclaimed  as  a  great 
comedy,  will  be  sold  separate  and  apart  from  the  1945-46 
program.  But  he  has  forgotten  to  tell  you  that  "Kiss  and 
Tell"  was  one  of  the  properties  from  which  the  1944-45 
program  was  to  be  selected,  nor  has  he  told  you  that  the 
picture  has  been  "in  the  can"  for  over  two  months.  Why 
was  it  taken  away  from  the  1944-45  contract  holders? 

This  action  does  not  come  as  a  surprise  to  Harrison's 
Reports;  if  you  will  read  again  the  editorial  on  Columbia's 
record,  which  appeared  in  the  March  31  issue  of  this  paper, 
you  will  find  the  following  remarks: 

".  .  .  'Kiss  and  Tell'  is  the  only  top-bracket  picture  now 
in  production,  but  since  Columbia  has  made  no  announce- 
ment that  it  will  release  it  this  season,  Harrison's  Reports 
ventures  to  say  that,  on  the  basis  of  Columbia's  past  per- 
formances, it  will  probably  be  withheld  from  the  1944-45 
contract-holders,  and  offered  for  delivery  in  the  1945-46 
season.  And  if  'Kiss  and  Tell'  should  turn  out  to  be  an  out' 
standing  production,  there  is  a  possibility  that  Columbia  will 
give  it  the  'Song  to  Remember'  treatment;  that  is,  sell  the 
picture  separate  and  apart  from  any  program,  taking  it  away 
from  such  exhibitors  as  are  entitled  to  it." 

Guided  by  Columbia's  consistent  policy,  Harrison's 
Reports  ventures  to  say  now  that  the  same  treatment — the 
"Song  to  Remember"  and  "Kiss  and  Tell"  treatment — will 
probably  be  accorded  to  "Jacobowsky  and  the  Colonel," 
which  is  another  one  of  the  important  properties  from 
which  Columbia  was  supposed  to  select  its  1944-45  program, 
and  which  it  used  to  entice  the  current  season's  contract- 
holders,  and  which  it  will  undoubtedly  use  again  to  entice 
prospective  1945-46  customers  when  it  announces  the  forth- 
coming season's  product. 

The  Columbia  salesman  may  try  to  explain  away  his 
company's  failure  to  deliver  promised  pictures  by  blaming 
it  on  the  raw  stock  shortage.  If  he  does,  you  can  refute  his 
argument  by  pointing,  not  only  to  "Kiss  and  Tell,"  but  also 
to  "The  Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest,"  which,  by  Montague's 
own  admissi'on,  is  completed  but  is  being  held  for  the  1945- 
46  program.  You  can  also  point  out  that  "She  Had  to  Say 
Yes,"  a  picture  still  in  production,  will  be  delivered  during 
1944-45.  Surely,  if  raw  stick  could  be  found  for  the  prints 
of  this  picture,  it  certainly  could  be  found  for  the  prints  of 
the  other  two.  Moreover,  the  company  could  have  used  the 
raw  stock  that  went  into  the  making  of  prints  on  "B"  pic- 


tures for  the  making  of  prints  on  top  pictures,  which  is  the 
type  of  product  its  customers  were  primarily  interested  in. 

I  can  go  on  filling  column  after  column  with  more  facts 
about  Columbia's  injustices  to  the  exhibitors,  but  space  does 
not  permit.  Besides,  most  of  you  who  have  been  reading  this 
paper  are  fully  aware  of  these  injustices,  for  I  have  been 
calling  them  to  your  attention  each  time  that  they  occurred. 
And  I  shall  continue  to  call  them  to  your  attention  until 
such  a  time  as  Columbia  makes  up  its  mind  to  deal  fairly  and 
squarely  with  its  customers. 

As  it  has  already  been  said,  the  facts  speak  for  themselves. 
The  thoughtful  exhibitor  will  study  these  facts  and  weigh 
them  carefully.  He  will  not  be  blinded  by  Columbia's  usual 
tactics  of  starting  and  ending  a  season  in  a  blaze  of  glory 
in  the  hope  that  the  exhibitor  may  forget  the  injustices  that 
he  suffered  during  the  intervening  months. 

There  is  one  ray  of  hope  in  Montague's  telegram;  there  is 
hope  that  Columbia  may  change  its  tactics.  There  is  hope 
that,  in  the  future,  when  an  exhibitor  signs  a  Columbia 
contract,  he  will  get,  not  only  the  "B's"  but  also  the  "good 
pictures."  Why?  Because  Montague,  who  is  celebrating  his 
twentieth  anniversary  as  Columbia's  general  sales  manager, 
confesses  in  his  telegram  that  he  has  just  learned  about  the 
exhibitor's  point  of  view.  He  says:  "They  tell  me  there  is 
nothing  of  more  interest  to  any  theatre  operator  than  really 
good  pictures.  .  .  ." 

Perhaps  a  bit  late,  Abe,  but  now  that  you  know  it,  let's 
see  what  you  will  do  about  it. 

"West  of  the  Pecos"  with  Robert  Mitchum 
and  Barbara  Hale 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  66  min.) 
Where  western  melodramas  are  liked,  this  should  go  over 
fairly  well  as  a  supporting  feature.  It  has  interesting  outdoor 
shots,  fast  action,  exciting  gunplay,  and  good  horseback 
riding.  The  story,  based  on  the  Zane  Grey  novel,  was  pro- 
duced once  before  by  RKO  in  1934  with  Richard  Dix,  and 
this  version  remains  substantially  the  same.  It  is  not  greatly 
different  from  the  usual  story  used  in  westerns,  but  it  has 
considerable  suspense,  because  of  the  constant  danger  to  the 
hero,  and  good  comedy  touches  as  the  result  of  the  heroine's 
masquerading  as  a  young  boy.  The  romantic  interest  is 
pleasant: — 

Ordered  by  his  doctor  to  take  a  rest  from  business,  Thurs- 
ton Hall,  accompanied  by  Barbara  Hale,  his  daughter,  and 
by  Rita  Corday,  her  French  maid,  leaves  Chicago  and  heads 
for  his  ranch  in  Texas.  En  route,  their  stage  coach  is  held 
up  by  bandits,  who  shoot  the  driver.  The  wounded  man  is 
found  by  his  friends,  Robert  Mitchum  and  Richard  Martin, 
who  learn  the  name  of  the  killer  just  before  he  dies.  Mean- 
while Barbara,  arriving  in  a  town  nearby  the  ranch,  en- 
counters rough  people  and,  to  protect  herself,  she  decides 
to  dress  and  pose  as  a  young  boy.  She  is  present  when 
Mitchum  rides  into  town,  seeks  out  the  murderer,  and  kills 
him.  Harry  Woods,  leader  of  the  gang,  which  posed  as  vigi- 
lantes, determines  to  even  matters  with  Mitchum  by  blam- 
ing him  for  the  murder  of  the  coach  driver.  Later,  when 
Barbara  and  her  party  get  lost  in  the  desert  on  their  way  to 
the  ranch,  Mitchum  and  Richards  come  to  their  rescue,  and 
both  accept  her  father's  offer  of  employment.  Mitchum, 
believing  Barbara  to  be  a  boy,  treats  her  in  brotherly  fash- 
ion; she  falls  in  love  with  him.  Still  playing  her  masculine 
role,  Barbara  endures  several  embarrasmg  situations  until 
Mitchum  accidentally  discovers  her  identity.  He  falls  in 
love  with  her  and,  after  many  complications  during  which 
the  bandits  try  to  kill  him,  he  finally  proves  his  innocence  to 
the  authorities,  rounds  up  the  gang,  and  wins  Barbara  for 
his  bride. 

Norman  Houston  wrote  the  screen  play,  Herman  Schlom 
produced  it,  and  Edward  Killy  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  JUNE  16,  1945 


No.  24 


HEALTHY  COMPETITION  FROM 

ACROSS  THE  SEA 

Since  his  arrival  in  this  country  two  weeks  ago, 
Mr.  J.  Arthur  Rank,  head  of  many  major  British  film 
interests  and  president  of  the  British  Film  Producers 
Association,  has  made  some  very  significant  remarks 
regarding  his  plans  and  his  hopes  to  secure  maximum 
playing  time  from  the  American  exhibitors  for  his 
British-made  productions. 

Unlike  some  British  film  industryites  who  have  re- 
peatedly  charged  that  American  distribution  and  ex- 
hibtion  interests  are  scheming  to  keep  British  pictures 
off  the  American  screens,  Mr.  Rank,  without  whining 
and  without  charging  that  the  American  film  industry 
was  seeking  to  stifle  British  competition,  has  stated 
that  he  has  no  complaints  to  make  about  the  reception 
accorded  his  pictures  by  the  exhibitors  in  this  country. 
He  admitted  that  many  American  exhibitors  have 
shunned  British  pictures  because  too  few  of  them  have 
been  suitable  in  entertainment  value  for  American 
audiences.  For  this  condition,  the  fault  lies  not  with 
the  American  exhibitors,  but  with  the  British  pro- 
ducers.  Mr.  Rank  hopes  to  remedy  the  condition  and 
to  eliminate  all  resistance  against  British  product  by 
delivering  pictures  that  will  suit  American  tastes. 

He  admitted  frankly  that  the  British  producers 
have  a  good  deal  to  learn  about  the  tastes  of  American 
picture-goers,  and  he  added  that  British  pictures  have 
not  been  popular  in  the  United  States  because  "we 
have  not  studied  the  situation  enough." 

At  a  luncheon  tendered  to  him  by  the  Independent 
Theatre  Owners  Association  of  New  York,  Mr.  Rank 
was  told  that  the  American  exhibitors  were  eager  to 
give  British  pictures  considerable  playing  time,  pro- 
vided the  pictures  are  of  sufficient  high  calibre  to  be 
worthy  of  it.  Without  hesitation  he  replied  that  the 
quality  of  British  films  has  already  improved  so  much 
that,  in  England,  many  of  them  are  out-grossing 
American  pictures,  and  that,  before  long,  British 
pictures  may  out-gross  the  Hollywood  product  even 
in  the  United  States.  He  went  on  to  explain  that  this 
development  should  serve  the  interests  of  the  exhibi- 
tors, for  it  will  undoubtedly  create  friendly  compe- 
tition between  the  British  and  American  producers, 
who  will  vie  with  each  other  constantly  in  an  effort  to 
produce  better  pictures. 

The  policy  Mr.  Rank  proposes  to  follow  in  order 
to  secure  more  playing  time  from  the  American  ex- 


hibitors is  indeed  gratifying  to  Harrison's  Reports, 
because  for  many  years  this  paper  has  assured  the 
British  proudcers  that  the  American  exhibitors  har- 
bored no  national  prejudices  and  that  they  were  more 
than  willing  to  exhibit  British  pictures  so  long  as  their 
entertaining  qualities  and  star  values  were  such  as 
would  attract  American  picture-goers. 

Mr.  Rank  has  the  right  idea.  He  realizes  that  the 
product  he  manufactures  for  sale  must  conform  as 
nearly  as  possible  to  the  tastes  and  desires  of  his  cus- 
tomers. If  he  wants  American  exhibitors  as  customers, 
he  must  supply  them  with  product  that  will  please  and 
satisfy  their  patrons.  It  will  not  do  for  him  to  design 
that  product  merely  to  please  his  own  fancies. 

The  exhibitor,  being  in  close  contact  with  his  pa- 
trons, knows  what  they  want,  and  if  Mr.  Rank  and 
the  other  British  producers  will  satisfy  the  wants  of 
the  exhibitors,  they  will  satisfy  the  ultimate  purchas- 
ers— the  public. 

Harrison's  Reports  believes  that  Mr.  Rank  has 
made  a  fine  start  toward  securing  more  playing  time 
for  his  pictures  in  this  country,  and  it  urges  the  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  to  support  him  whenever  he  de- 
livers a  picture  worthy  of  exhibition  in  their  theatres. 
It  is  through  such  support  that  Mr.  Rank's  producing 
organizations  can  become  definite  competitive  threats 
to  the  American  producers.  And  once  the  American 
producers  find  their  supremacy  challenged,  you  may 
be  sure  that  the  independent  exhibitors  can  look  for- 
ward to  a  competitive  market  that  will  give  them,  not 
only  better  selectivity  of  pictures,  but  also  a  better 
bargaining  position. 

This  paper  wishes  to  make  one  further  suggestion 
to  Mr.  Rank,  namely,  that,  in  addition  to  studying  the 
likes  and  dislikes  of  the  American  picture-goers,  he 
study  also  the  unfair  tactics  that  the  American  pro- 
ducer-distributors have  been  and  still  are  practicing 
on  the  exhibitors  of  this  country,  tactics  that  have  re- 
sulted in  constant  strife  between  buyer  and  seller.  A 
thorough  study  of  these  tactics  should  enable  Mr. 
Rank  to  formulate  a  sales  policy  that  will  be  free  of 
unfair  and  oppressive  practices,  to  the  ultimate  benefit 
of  both  the  exhibitors  and  himself. 

The  American  exhibitors  are  ripe  for  a  square  deal, 
and  Mr.  Rank  can  gain  their  undivided  support  by 
giving  them  just  that. 

Harrison's  Reports  welcomes  the  competition 
Mr.  Rank  proposes  to  bring  to  the  American  film  in- 
dustry, and  wishes  him  every  success. 


94 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  16,  1945 


"Incendiary  Blonde"  with  Betty  Hutton, 
Arturo  de  Cordova  and  Barry  Fitzgerald 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  113  mm.) 

Very  good  mass  entertainment.  It  is  a  musical  melodrama, 
in  Technicolor,  based  on  the  life  of  Texas  Guinan,  colorful 
night-club  queen  of  the  prohibition  era.  Combining  music, 
comedy,  dancing,  romance,  gangster  warfare,  and  even  a 
Wild  West  Show,  the  story  is  a  well-knit  affair  that  allows 
Betty  Hutton,  as  Texas,  ample  opportunity  to  prove  her 
dexterity  as  an  actress;  her  performance  is  the  mainstay  of 
the  picture.  The  action  traces  Texas'  rise  as  a  Rodeo  star, 
as  a  chorus  girl,  as  a  musical  comedy  star,  as  a  movie  star, 
and  finally  as  a  reigning  night-club  queen,  whose  patrons 
delighted  to  hear  her  call  them  "suckers."  It  has  many 
exciting,  as  well  as  tender,  moments,  and  one  is  deeply 
sympathetic  towards  Texas  because  of  her  unfilled  romance 
and  of  her  awareness  that  she  had  but  a  short  time  to  live. 
Her  devotion  to  her  family  endears  her  to  the  audience.  The 
production  values  are  lavish,  the  music  lively  and  nostalgic, 
and  the  dance  ensembles  exceptionally  good: — 

When  her  improvident  father  (Barry  Fitzgerald)  loses 
his  money  in  a  poor  investment,  Texas,  a  high-spirited  girl 
of  nineteen,  decides  to  become  the  family  breadwinner.  An 
expert  horsewoman,  she  joins  a  Wild  West  show  owned  by 
Bill  Kilgannon  (Arturo  de  Cordova),  a  gambler,  and  soon 
becomes  the  show's  main  attraction.  Bill  and  Texas  fall  in 
love,  but  he  does  not  encourage  her  because  he  had  a  wife 
who  was  confined  to  a  sanitarium.  When  Bill  rejects  Her 
love,  Texas,  unaware  of  his  reasons,  leaves  the  show  in  a  huff 
and  marries  Tim  Callahan  (Bill  Goodwin),  a  press  agent. 
Tim  helps  her  reach  stardom  on  Broadway,  but  divorces  her 
when  he  realizes  that  she  still  loved  Bill.  Meanwhile  Bill  had 
become  an  impoverished  Hollywood  producer,  and  when 
Texas  learns  the  truth  about  his  wife,  who  had  died,  she 
gives  up  her  stage  career  to  join  him.  She  becomes  a  movie 
star  under  Bill's  tutelage,  helping  to  finance  the  company. 
Her  father,  however,  sells  fake  stock  in  the  company,  and 
Bill,  to  save  him  from  jail,  is  compelled  to  buy  out  Texas' 
interest  through  trickery  in  order  that  she  be  spared  the 
truth.  Texas,  misunderstanding,  returns  to  Broadway  where 
she  becomes  a  night  club  queen.  Bill  manages  to  buy  a  half 
interest  in  the  club,  and  Texas,  learning  the  truth  about 
the  fake  stock,  reconciles  with  him  and  plans  for  an  early 
wedding.  Just  before  the  ceremony,  however,  Bill  shoots 
it  out  with  two  gangsters  who  were  trying  to  "muscle  in"  on 
the  club,  killing  both  men.  He  is  sent  to  jail,  and  Texas, 
who  had  promised  to  wait  for  him,  dies  before  he  is  released. 

Claude  Binyon  and  Frank  Butler  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Joseph  Sistrom  produced  it,  and  George  Marshall  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Charles  Ruggles,  Albert  Dekker, 
Maurice  Rocco,  the  Maxellos  and  others.  Unobjectionable 
morally. 

"A  Thousand  and  One  Nights"  with 
Cornel  Wilde,  Phil  Silvers  and  Evelyn  Keyes 

(Columbia,  July  19;  time,  92  min.) 

Good.  It  is  an  Arabian  Nights  fantasy,  in  Technicolor, 
somewhat  similar  to  such  pictures  as  "Sudan,"  "Cobra 
Woman,"  and  "Ali  Baba  and  the  Forty  Thieves,"  produced 
by  Universal  in  recent  years;  but  what  makes  this  one  more 
entertaining  is  the  excellent  comedy  contributed  by  Phil 
Silvers.  As  a  pickpocket  "born  one  thousand  years  before 
his  time,"  Silvers  provokes  considerable  laughter  by  his  use 
of  modern  "jive-talk"  as  he  cavorts  about  ancient  Bagdad. 
One  of  the  really  hilarious  sequences  is  where  he  "kibitzes" 
a  gin  rummy  game  between  two  palace  guards.  Modern 
touches  have  been  injected  into  the  story,  giving  it  a  number 
of  amusing,  novel  twists.  The  production  values  are  very 
good,  and  there  are,  of  course,  harem  sequences  and  beauti- 
ful girls  to  enhance  the  usual  oriental  splendor  found  in 
pictures  of  this  type.  The  picture  will  require  considerable 
exploitation,  for  the  players  mean  little  at  the  box-office: — 

Cornel  Wilde,  the  "Frank  Sinatra"  of  his  day,  becomes  en- 
amored  of  Adele  Jergens,  the  Sultan's  daughter,  and  sneaks 
into  the  palace  to  woo  her.  He  is  discovered  and,  together 


with  his  pal,  Phil  Silvers,  is  thrown  into  jail.  Adele  arranges 
for  their  escape  into  the  desert,  where  they  meet  an  old  her- 
mit who  tells  Wilde  of  a  magic  lamp,  reposing  in  a  mountain 
cave,  which  could  grant  his  every  wish.  Their  search  for 
the  lamp  takes  Wilde  and  Silvers  through  many  dangers 
before  they  succeed  in  obtaining  it.  When  Wilde  rubs  the 
lamp,  an  alluring  Genie  (Evelyn  Keyes)  appears  and  offers 
to  do  his  bidding.  Wilde  instructs  her  to  transform  him 
into  an  Hindustan  prince  so  that  he  could  return  to  the 
palace  and  marry  the  princess.  Meanwhile,  at  the  palace, 
the  Sultan  had  been  abducted  by  his  villainous  twin  brother 
(both  played  by  Dennis  Hoey),  who  had  taken  his  place 
on  the  throne  and  had  promised  the  Princess  to  Phil  Van 
Zandt,  his  accomplice.  With  Wilde's  arrival  at  the  palace, 
there  follows  a  series  of  wild  adventures,  during  which  he 
loses  the  lamp  and  almost  loses  hi6  head,  but  he  recovers  the 
lamp  in  time  to  restore  the  throne  to  the  real  Sultan,  thus 
winning  his  approval  to  marry  the  princess. 

Wilfred  H.  Pcttitt,  Richard  English,  and  Jack  Henley 
wrote  the  screen  play,  Samuel  Bischoff  produced  it,  and 
Alfred  E.  Green  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Gus  Schilling, 
Richard  Hale,  John  Abbott  and  others. 


"Junior  Miss"  with  Peggy  Ann  Gamer 

(20th  Century-Fox,  August,  time,  94  mm.) 

This  screen  version  of  "Junior  Miss,"  which  was  a  highly 
successful  Broadway  stage  play,  is  a  thoroughly  delightful, 
heart-warming  comedy  of  family  life.  The  action  is  breezy, 
the  dialogue  bright,  and  the  production,  acting,  and  direc- 
tion, first  rate.  Although  primarily  a  comedy,  there  is  con- 
siderable human  interest  in  it,  and  at  times  it  is  quite  senti- 
mental. Most  of  the  action  revolves  around  an  imaginative 
thirteen-year-old  girl,  played  brilliantly  by  Peggy  Ann 
Garner,  whose  well-intentioned  attempts  to  arrange  other 
people's  lives  result  in  a  series  of  highly  amusing  crises  and 
misunderstandings  that  keep  one  laughing  all  the  way 
through.  Considerable  comedy  is  provoked  by  the  wrangling 
between  Peggy  and  her  elder  sixteen-year-old  sister,  and 
by  the  parade  of  the  latter's  juvenile  suitors,  who  flit  in  and 
out  of  the  family  apartment  at  the  most  inappropriate  times. 
The  story  is  lightweight,  but  much  of  it  is  so  true  to  life 
that  audiences  will  chuckle  with  delight  at  some  of  the 
situations,  comparing  them  with  events  in  their  own  lives: — 

Peggy,  daughter  of  Allyn  Joslyn  and  Sylvia  Field,  sus- 
pects her  father  of  philandering  with  his  employer's  daughter 
(Faye  Marlow),  when  she  sees  him  engage  her  in  an  in- 
timate conversation.  Peggy  hits  upon  a  plan  to  "save"  her 
happy  home  when  Michael  Dunne,  her  mother's  younger 
brother,  arrives  unexpectedly  after  a  mysterious  absence  of 
four  years,  during  which  he  had  taken  a  drinking  cure. 
Imagining  that  Dunne  had  been  in  jail,  Peggy,  to  remove  the 
"threat"  to  her  mother's  happiness,  promotes  a  match  be- 
tween him  and  Faye,  hoping  it  would  give  Dunne  a  new 
lease  on  life,  and  would  help  Faye  to  get  away  from  her 
domineering  father  (John  Alexander).  The  meeting  be- 
tween the  young  couple  culminates  in  their  elopement  just 
as  Alexander  plans  to  make  Joslyn  a  junior  partner  in  the 
firm.  Learning  from  Peggy  that  Dunne  had  a  "prison  back- 
ground," Alexander  becomes  infuriated,  disowns  Faye,  and 
discharges  Joslyn.  Peggy,  imagining  her  family  faced  with 
poverty,  is  inconsolable.  A  few  days  later,  Alexander  comes 
to  Joslyn's  apartment  and  demands  to  see  Faye.  Just  then, 
Scotty  Beckett,  'teen-aged  son  of  Alexander's  best  client, 
telephones  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  apartment  to 
escort  Peggy  to  a  party.  Hearing  the  name,  Alexander  be- 
lieves it  to  be  the  elder  Beckett,  and  assumes  that  Joslyn 
was  about  to  steal  him  as  a  client.  He  changes  his  attitude 
hastily,  granting  Joslyn  the  partnership  and  forgiving  Faye. 
He  soon  realizes  his  mistake  when  young  Beckett  arrives, 
but  by  that  time  a  good  feeling  had  been  established  and  all 
rejoice  as  Peggy,  looking  lovely  in  her  party  dress,  takes  her 
boy-friend's  arm. 

George  Seaton  wrote  the  screen  play  and  directed  it,  and 
William  Perlberg  produced  it.  The  cast  includes  Mona  Free- 
ban,  Connie  Gilchrist,  Barbara  Whiting,  Stanley  Prager 
and  others. 


June  16,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


95 


"Along  Came  Jones"  with  Gary  Cooper 
and  Loretta  Young 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  90  min.) 

A  fairly  good  western.  The  amusing  story,  the  presence 
of  Gary  Cooper,  and  the  good  direction,  raises  it  to  a  level 
high  above  the  average  western.  The  picture  suffers  from 
many  slow  spots  because  of  too  much  talk,  but  one  does  not 
mind  the  lack  of  action  since  the  dialogue  is  quite  witty. 
Cooper  enacts  the  role  of  a  mild-mannered,  roving  cowboy, 
clumsy  with  a  gun,  who  finds  himself  mistaken  for  a  no- 
torious bandit.  Most  of  the  comedy  is  provoked  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  tries  to  live  up  to  this  dubious  distinction, 
only  to  find  himself  hunted  by  an  assortment  of  characters, 
including  the  bandit  himself.  William  Demarest,  as  Cooper's 
saddle  pal,  is  responsible  for  many  laughs.  Loretta  Young, 
as  the  bandit's  girl  who  falls  in  love  with  the  awkward 
Cooper,  is  appealing  and  adds  to  the  fun.  It  has  a  fair  share 
of  excitement  and  suspense: — 

Riding  into  the  small  frontier  town  of  Paynesville,  Cooper 
and  Demarest  are  amazed  when  the  townspeople  draw  away 
from  them  and  treat  them  with  pronounced  respect.  Cooper, 
enjoying  the  fact  that  others  were  in  awe  of  him,  is  aston- 
ished when  Loretta  Young  embraces  him  suddenly  and  tells 
him  to  follow  her  out  of  town  quickly,  because  several  men 
had  guns  trained  on  him.  Cooper  and  Demarest  obey  Loret- 
ta's  instructions,  accompanying  her  to  her  ranch.  Arriving 
there,  Cooper  learns  that  he  had  been  mistaken  for  Dan 
Duryca,  a  stagecoach  bandit,  who  was  being  hunted  by  the 
Sheriff,  a  U.S.  Marshal,  an  express  company  agent,  and  a 
group  of  ranch  owners.  Loretta,  who  was  Duryea's  sweet- 
heart, intimates  that  she,  too,  believed  Cooper  was  the 
bandit,  and  she  advises  him  ride  south  quickly,  hoping  that  he 
would  draw  the  attention  of  the  man-hunters,  thus  permitting 
Duryea,  who  was  hiding  nearby,  a  chance  to  escape.  Cooper, 
however,  suspects  her  motive  and  refuses  to  leave.  Loretta, 
who  felt  obligated  morally  to  Duryea  but  did  not  love  him, 
finds  herself  falling  in  love  with  Cooper.  She  redoubles  her 
efforts  to  get  him  to  leave  the  country  but  to  no  avail. 
Cooper's  stubborness  leads  him  into  a  series  of  complica- 
tions, during  which  he  becomes  involved  in  the  murder  of 
the  express  agent,  and  rouses  Duryea's  jealousy  over  Loretta. 
Duryea,  whose  shooting  prowess  was  unbeatable,  gets  into 
a  gun  duel  with  Cooper,  a  poor  shot.  Cooper  misses  Duryea 
with  every  shot  while  the  bandit  laughingly  wounds  him  at 
will,  but  Loretta  comes  to  the  rescue  by  killing  Duryea  with 
a  well-aimed  shot.  Completely  bewildered,  Cooper  believes 
that  Loretta  meant  to  kill  him  but  had  shot  Duryea  by- mis- 
take. She  brings  him  to  his  senses  by  shooting  a  hole  through 
his  hat,  thus  convincing  him  of  her  accuracy  and  of  her  love. 

Nunnally  Johnson  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Gary 
Cooper  produced  it  for  International  Pictures.  Stuart  Heisler 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Frank  Sully,  Arthur  Loft,  Rus- 
sell Simpson,  Ray  Teal  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Bedside  Manner"  with  Ruth  Hussey, 
John  Carroll  and  Charles  Ruggles 

(United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time,  79  min.) 

Just  moderately  entertaining  program  fare.  Aside  from  a 
few  comical  situations,  there  is  not  much  to  recommend  in 
this  romantic  comedy-drama,  for  the  story  is  on  the  ludicrous 
side,  and  the  action  unfolds  at  a  liesurely  pace.  Moreover, 
the  plot  developments  are  obvious;  one  knows  from  the  be- 
ginning just  how  the  story  will  progress  and  end.  Ruth 
Hussey  and  John  Carroll  strive  to  make  something  of  their 
parts,  but  they  are  handicapped  by  the  material.  The  chief 
trouble  with  the  story  is  that  the  comedy  is  forced  to  a  point 
of  silliness,  causing  most  of  it  to  fall  flat: — - 

En  route  to  Chicago  to  work  in  a  research  laboratory, 
Ruth  Hussey,  a  woman  doctor,  stops  off  at  Blitheville,  her 
home  town,  to  visit  her  uncle  (Charles  Ruggles),  one  of  the 
town's  few  physicians,  who,  because  of  war-time  conditions 
and  the  shortage  of  doctors,  was  finding  it  difficult  to  take 
care  of  his  many  patients.  Ruggles  tries  to  induce  Ruth  to 
remain  in  town  as  his  assistant,  but  she  declines,  informing 


him  that  her  heart  was  set  on  laboratory  work  in  Chicago. 
Playing  on  her  sympathy,  Ruggles  manages  to  persuade 
Ruth  to  help  him  for  a  few  days,  but,  when  he  becomes 
convinced  that  she  had  no  intention  of  remaining,  he  plans 
a  campaign  to  keep  her  in  town.  He  asks  John  Carroll,  a  test 
pilot,  whom  Ruth  had  treated  for  minor  injuries  suffered  in 
a  crash,  to  fake  pantaphobia  (fear  of  everything),  hoping 
that  Ruth  will  stay  to  treat  him.  Carroll,  who  had  fallen  in 
love  with  her,  gladly  agrees  to  the  scheme.  Alarmed  and  feel- 
ing partly  responsible  for  his  condition.  Ruth  postpones  her 
departure  to  make  an  intense  study  of  his  "affliction."  She 
tries  numerous  methods  to  cure  him  but  to  no  avail,  finally 
determining  that  he  needed  a  love  life.  Following  her  advice, 
Carroll  pretends  to  have  fallen  in  love  with  Ann  Ruther- 
ford, and  exaggerates  to  Ruth  about  his  progress  with  the 
young  lady.  Ruth,  finding  herself  jealous,  comes  to  the 
realization  that  she  had  fallen  in  love  with  her  patient.  She 
confesses  her  predicament  to  her  uncle,  who  inadvertently 
reveals  that  she  had  been  tricked.  Ruth  avenges  herself  by 
putting  Carroll  through  a  series  of  medical  tortures,  but  the 
finish  finds  them  in  each  other's  arms. 

Frederick  Jackson  and  Malcolm  Stuart  Boylan  wrote  the 
screen  play,  and  Andrew  Stone  produced  and  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Claudia  Drake,  Esther  Dale,  Grant  Mitch- 
ell, Frank  Jenks,  Bert  Roach  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Conflict"  with  Humphrey  Bogart, 
Alexis  Smith  and  Sydney  Greenstreet 

.(Warner  Bros.,  June  30;  time,  86  min.) 
An  exceptionally  good  murder  melodrama,  revolving 
around  a  man  who  plans  carefully  every  move  connected 
with  the  murder  of  his  wife  so  that  he  could  commit  a  per- 
fect crime.  Although  the  spectator  is  let  in  on  the  killing, 
he  is  kept  intrigued  and  even  baffled  by  the  psychological 
manner  in  which  the  murderer's  resistance  is  gradually  worn 
down,  compelling  him  to  visit  the  scene  of  his  crime,  where 
he  is  caught  by  the  police.  There  is  an  undercurrent  of  ex- 
citement throughout  the  action  as  the  killer  comes  across  bits 
of  evidence  indicating  that  his  wife  still  lived,  while  other 
incidents  lead  him  to  believe  that  he  is  suffering  hallucina- 
tions. Humphrey  Bogart,  as  the  suave,  cool  murderer,  is 
cast  in  a  role  that  should  delight  his  fans,  and  Sydney  Green- 
street,  as  the  psychiatrist  who  tracks  him  down,  is  very  ef- 
fective. It  is  not  a  cheerful  entertainment,  but  it  is  in- 
triguing:— 

Bogart,  an  engineer,  and  Rose  Hobart,  his  wife,  looked 
upon  by  friends  as  a  happy  couple,  quarrel  when  she  ac- 
cuses him  of  being  in  love  with  her  younger  sister  (Alexis 
Smith).  Bogart  admits  it.  Returning  from  a  dinner  tendered 
to  them  by  Sydney  Greenstreet,  a  psychiatrist,  Bogart  suf- 
fers a  leg  injury  in  an  auto  accident.  While  convalescing, 
Bogart  conceives  a  plan  to  murder  his  wife.  He  feigns 
lameness,  though  fully  recovered,  and,  on  a  pretext,  de- 
clines to  accompany  his  wife  on  an  auto  trip  to  a  mountain 
resort.  He  follows  her  soon  after  she  leaves,  blocking  her 
car  on  a  lonely  road  and  killing  her.  He  leaves  her  body  in 
the  car,  which  he  pushes  over  a  cliff.  Returning  home,  he 
resumes  his  role  of  invalid  and  reports  his  wife  missing. 
Greenstreet,  hearing  Bogart's  description  of  his  wife  as  he 
last  saw  her,  becomes  suspicious  when  he  states  that  she 
was  wearing  a  rose;  Greenstreet  had  given  her  the  rose  after 
she  left  Bogart.  Bogart  loses  no  time  trying  to  court  Alexis, 
but  she  rejects  his  advances.  While  the  police  search  for  his 
wife,  Bogart  keeps  finding  evidence  indicating  that  she  was 
alive.  The  strain  soon  begins  to  tell  on  him  and,  when  he 
sees  a  woman  resembling  his  wife  pass  him  on  the  street, 
he  begins  to  question  his  own  sanity.  To  put  his  mind  at 
rest,  he  visits  the  murder  scene,  only  to  be  caught  by  Green- 
street and  the  police,  who  had  been  waiting  for  him.  Green- 
street reveals  that  he  had  devised  the  incidents  that  drove 
Bogart  back  to  the  scene  of  the  crime. 

Arthur  T.  Horman  and  Dwight  Taylor  wrote  the  screen 
play,  William  Jacobs  produced  it,  and  Curtis  Bernhardt  di- 
retced  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


96 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  16,  1945 


PINE  AND  THOMAS'  NEW  CONTRACT 

According  to  a  trade  paper  report,  Pine  and 
Thomas,  independent  producers  releasing  their  pic- 
tures through  Paramount,  have  signed  a  new  contract 
with  Paramount  to  produce  seven  pictures  for  the 
1945-46  season. 

Harrison's  Reports  congratulates  Pine  and 
Thomas  for  their  achievement  but  hopes  that  their 
1945-46  season's  pictures  will  be  of  a  caliber  approxi- 
mating the  quality  of  Paramount  pictures,  and  not  of 
the  quality  they  have  been  so  far  delivering,  which 
quality  has  been  on  about  a  par  with  the  old  Arrow- 
head pictures. 

Because  of  the  fact  that  the  Pine-Thomas  pictures 
arc  released  through  Paramount,  they  are  sold  as  part 
of  a  block,  with  the  result,  naturally,  that  exhibitors 
are  compelled  to  buy  them,  and  at  rentals  that  are  far 
in  excess  of  the  rentals  charged  for  pictures  of  similar 
quality  distributed  by  the  smaller  independent  com- 
panies. It  is  doubtful  if  many  exhibitors  would  buy  the 
Pine-Thomas  pictures  at  the  rentals  Paramount  is  de- 
manding if  they  were  sold  on  a  "Buy  them  if  you  like 
them"  basis. 

To  prove  this  point,  Harrison's  Reports  chal- 
lenges Mr.  Charles  Reagan,  Paramount's  general  sales 
manager,  to  sell  them  on  that  basis. 

This  paper  wishes,  of  course,  that  Pine  and 
Thomas,  whose  pictures  have  be«n  almost  of  the  same 
formula  since  they  signed  with  Paramount,  would 
improve  the  quality  of  their  next  season's  product.  In 
fairness  to  them,  however,  it  should  be  pointed  out 
that,  comparing  their  pictures  with  the  "B"  pictures 
of  other  companies,  they  have  not  done  bad  work  at 
all,  for  one-half  of  such  pictures,  of  all  companies, 
might  well  have  been  left  in  story  form  to  die  of  old 
age  on  the  shelves  of  their  editorial  departments. 

The  chief  objection  to  such  pictures  is,  not  so  much 
that  they  have  been  permitted  to  come  into  existence, 
but  that  they  are  forced  on  exhibitors  as  part  of  a 
block,  at  exorbitant  rentals. 

"Jungle  Captive"  with  Otto  Kruger, 
Jerome  Cowan  and  Amelita  Ward 

(Universal,  June  29;  time,  63  min.) 

A  gruesome  program  horror  picture,  the  sort  that 
should  easily  satisfy  the  ardent  followers  of  this  type 
of  entertainment.  Its  grusomeness,  however,  and  at 
times  its  repulsiveness,  puts  it  in  the  "not  for  children" 
class.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  many  adults,  too,  may  find 
the  proceedings  repulsive,  for  the  "ape-woman"  char- 
acter is  hideous,  as  is  the  mad  scientist's  assistant,  a 
ghoulish,  half-witted  handyman.  Like  most  horror 
stories,  this  one,  too,  is  far-fetched,  and  most  of  what 
transpires  has  been  done  many  times,  but  it  does  suc- 
ceed in  generating  considerable  suspense: — 

Otto  Kruger,  head  scientist  of  a  chemical-biological 
laboratory,  perfects  a  method  of  restoring  life  to  dead 
rabbits,  and  decides  secretly  to  experiment  with  the 
corpse  of  an  "ape-woman."  Instructed  to  steal  the 
"ape-woman's"  body  from  the  morgue,  Rondo  Hat- 
ton,  Kruger 's  ghoulish  handyman,  murders  a  morgue 
attendant  to  accomplish  his  mission.  Detective  Jerome 
Cowan  discovers  a  murder  clue  that  leads  him  to 
Kruger's  laboratory,  where  he  finds  reason  to  suspect 
Phil  Brown,  Kruger's  youthful  assistant,  of  involve- 
ment in  the  crime.  Shortly  after,  Kruger  lures  Amelita 
Ward,  his  secretary  and  Brown's  fiancee,  to  a  lonely 
farmhouse,  where  he  forces  her  to  undergo  a  blood 


transfusion  that  makes  her  deathly  ill  but  brings  the 
"ape-woman"  back  to  life  as  a  beautiful  girl.  Inspired 
by  his  success,  Kruger  plans  to  transplant  Amelita's 
brain  to  the  former  "ape-woman's"  skull.  Meanwhile 
Brown,  who  had  been  searching  for  Amelita,  finds  a 
clue  that  leads  him  to  the  farmhouse.  There,  he  is  dis- 
covered and  overpowered,  tied  to  a  chair,  and  com- 
pelled to  watch  Kruger  prepare  for  the  brain  opera- 
tion. Just  as  Kruger  starts  to  operate  on  Amelita,  the 
"ape-woman"  reverts  to  her  primitive  savage  state. 
She  breaks  the  straps  holding  her  to  the  operating 
table,  and  strangles  Kruger  to  death.  She  turns  to  kill 
Amelita,  but  the  young  girl  is  saved  by  the  timely 
arrival  of  Detective  Cowan,  who  shoots  the  savage 
creature,  killing  her. 

M.  Coatcs  Webster  and  Dwight  V.  Babcock  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Morgan  B.  Cox  produced  it,  and 
Harold  Young  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Vicky 
Lane  and  others. 


"One  Exciting  Night"  with  William  Gargan 
and  Ann  Savage 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  63  min.) 

A  tiresome  murder  melodrama,  with  comedy;  it 
will  best  serve  as  the  lower  half  of  a  mid-week  double 
bill  in  theatres  catering  to  undiscriminating  patrons. 
There  isn't  much  to  the  story,  and  what  there  is  of  it 
is  so  confusing  and  illogical  that  one  loses  interest  in 
the  action.  Not  much  can  be  said  for  the  comedy;  it 
has  a  few  amusing  situations  here  and  there,  but  the 
laughs  are  not  very  numerous,  and  these  are  not  of  the 
strong  sort.  Part  of  the  action  takes  place  in  a  wax 
museum,  giving  the  picture  a  certain  amount  of  eeri- 
ness,  and  it  has  a  few  suspensive  situations: — 

Shortly  after  George  Stone,  a  hunted  criminal,  is 
shot  by  George  Zucco,  who  takes  a  package  of  dia- 
monds from  his  pocket,  the  body  is  found  by  a  police- 
man in  an  alley  adjoining  a  wax  museum.  The  body 
disappears  while  the  policeman  reports  to  headquar- 
ters, only  to  be  found  later  by  Ann  Savage,  a  reporter, 
in  her  apartment  above  the  museum.  Seeking  to  score 
a  "scoop,"  Ann  hides  the  body  amidst  the  wax  figures 
in  the  museum,  and  telephones  her  paper  for  a  photog- 
rapher. Meanwhile  William  Gargan,  a  rival  reporter, 
whom  Ann  loved  despite  their  constant  wrangling,  ar- 
rives at  the  museum  for  a  story  on  the  missing  body. 
Ann's  photographer  arrives  at  the  same  time  and  in- 
advertently indicates  to  Gargan  that  Ann  was  hiding 
the  body.  Gargan  compels  Ann  to  share  the  story  with 
him,  but,  while  they  argue,  Charles  Halton,  owner  of 
the  museum,  and  Leo  Gorcey,  his  assistant,  discover 
the  body  and  decide  to  get  rid  of  it.  Ann  and  Gargan 
begin  a  search  for  the  corpse,  during  which  they  are 
joined  by  Zucco,  who  identifies  himself  as  an  insur- 
ance detective,  hired  by  diamond  merchants  to  recover 
the  stolen  jewels.  Zucco  explains  that  he  wanted  to 
find  the  body  and  dispose  of  it  so  that  he  could  keep 
the  jewels  for  himself.  He  offers  to  share  the  loot  with 
Ann  and  Gargan  in  return  for  their  help.  After  a 
series  of  incidents,  in  which  the  body  keeps  reappear- 
ing and  vanishing  as  all  concerned  search  for  it,  and  in 
which  Zucco  tries  to  murder  Ann  and  Gargan,  the 
young  couple  trap  Zucco,  recover  the  jewels,  share  the 
reward  and  the  story,  and  agree  to  join  forces  for  life. 

David  Lang  wrote  the  screen  play,  Pine  and 
Thomas  produced  it,  and  William  C.  Thomas  di- 
rected it. 
.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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1270  SIXTH  AVENUE 
Room  1812 
New  York  20,  N.Y. 

A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service 
Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors 


Published  Weekly  by 
Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

Publisher 
P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 


Established  July  1,  1919 


Its  Editorial  Policy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial 
Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 


Circle  7-4622 


A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  JUNE  23,  1945 


No.  25 


Three  Judges  for  the  New  York  Anti-Trust  Suit 


The  attorneys  for  the  distributor-defendants  in  the 
Government's  anti-trust  suit,  whose  legalistic  antics 
have  succeeded  in  protracting  the  case  ever  since  it 
was  filed  in  1938,  almost  did  somersaults  this  past 
week,  when  they  learned  of  the  surprise  move  made 
by  U.S.  Attorney  General  Biddle,  who,  under  the 
Expediting  Act,  filed  a  certificate  in  the  New  York 
Federal  District  Court  asking  that  a  special  three- 
judge  court  be  appointed  to  hear  the  case  when  it 
comes  to  trial,  instead  of  its  being  heard  by  Judge 
Henry  Goddard,  alone. 

Under  the  Expediting  Act,  the  Attorney  General, 
by  certifying  that  the  case  was  of  general  public  im- 
portance, made  mandatory  the  hearing  of  the  case  by 
three  judges,  of  whom  at  least  one  had  to  be  a  circuit 
judge,  that  is,  a  judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals. 

Accordingly,  within  a  few  days  after  Biddle  filed 
the  certificate,  Judge  Learned  W.  Hand,  Senior  Cir- 
cuit Judge  of  the  Federal  Court  of  the  Southern  Dis- 
trict of  New  York,  ordered  the  appointment  of  the 
three-judge  court,  naming  District  Judge  Goddard, 
who  had  been  handling  the  case  since  its  inception; 
District  Judge  John  Bright,  who  was  the  presiding 
justice  in  the  motion  picture  "extortion"  case  involv- 
ing Willie  Bioff  and  George  Browne;  and"  Circuit 
Judge  Augustus  N.  Hand,  whose  profound  legal  back- 
ground, and  whose  wide  experience,  particularly  with 
the  Government's  suit  against  the  aluminum  trust, 
mark  him  as  one  highly  qualified  to  judge  the  issues 
involved  in  the  motion  picture  anti-trust  suit. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  distributor-defendants1  at- 
torneys do  not  relish  this  latest  move  of  the  Govern- 
ment, for,  according  to  reports  in  the  daily  trade 
papers,  some  of  them  resent  the  appointment  of  a 
three-judge  court  as  a  "departure"  from  accepted 
procedure,  and  they  see  little  likelihood  of  it  resulting 
in  a  speedier  trial.  In  fact,  they  take  pains  to  point 
out  that  this  procedure  may  slow  up  the  trial,  because, 
as  they  claim,  three  judges,  not  one,  will  have  to  pass 
on  the  different  motions  that  will  be  made  during  the 
course  of  the  proceedings. 

What  seems  to  annoy  these  attorneys,  though  they 
do  not  say  it  in  so  many  words,  is  that  Judge  Goddard, 
who  thus  far  has  been  the  sole  judge  and  whose  rulings 
have  not  been  too  unfavorable  to  them,  will  be  re- 
duced sharply  in  influence,  for,  under  court  proce- 
dure, Judge  Augustus  N.  Hand,  being  a  circuit  judge, 
is  a  senior  judge,  and  he  automatically  becomes  the 
presiding  judge. 

A  concise,  yet  comprehensive  study  of  this  latest 
move  by  the  Government,  and  a  review  of  the  con- 
ditions that  brought  it  about,  are  contained  in  a  bul- 


letin issued  by  Abram  F.  Myers,  general  counsel  of 
Allied  States  Association,  who  has  this  to  say,  in  part: 

"It  is  not  difficult  for  anyone  who  has  followed  this 
case  since  it  was  filed  on  July  20,  1938,  to  understand 
why  the  Attorney  General  felt  it  was  his  duty  to  take 
this  action.  The  wonder  is  that  he  did  not  do  so  long 
ago.  Those  who  read  the  brief  as  amicus  curia  [friend 
of  the  court]  filed  in  behalf  of  the  Conference  of  In- 
dependent Exhibitors  on  the  Consent  Decree  will  re- 
call that  it  was  there  pointed  out  that  the  case  was  one 
of  the  class  which,  under  the  Act  of  Congress,  should 
be  so  expedited. 

"The  critical  comments  from  Big  Eight  ranks  are 
understandable  and  were  to  be  expected.  By  their 
extraordinary  tactics  they  have  staved  off  a  determina- 
tion of  the  suit  for  seven  long  years.  But  their  claim 
(as  reported  by  Motion  Picture  Daily)  that  the  At- 
torney General's  action  will  prolong  the  trial  will  not 
stand  the  test  ..." 

Pointing  to  the  distributor-defendants'  "appalling 
record  of  delay,"  Mr.  Myers  states  that  "for  two 
years  after  the  suit  was  filed  the  proceedings  were 
marked  by  interminable  delays.  Assistant  Attorney 
General  Thurman  Arnold,  testifying  before  a  sub- 
committee of  the  Senate  Committee  on  the  Judiciary 
on  April  22,  1940,  submitted  a  22J/2  page  memoran- 
dum containing  a  condensed  outline  of  the  legal  fenc- 
ing, demands  for  disclosure,  dilatory  proceedings  and 
accomodations  to  counsel  which  had  prevented  a  trial 
up  to  that  day. 

"When  the  case  finally  came  on  for  trial  in  June, 
1940,  but  before  any  testimony  could  be  offered  the 
proceeding  was  mysteriously  halted  and  counsel  en- 
tered  upon  protracted  negotiations  for  a  consent  de- 
cree. The  results  of  those  labors,  conducted  behind 
closed  doors,  were  finally  made  public  and  at  a  hear- 
ing before  Judge  Goddard  entry  of  the  proposed  de- 
cree was  opposed  by  every  organized  exhibitor  group 
in  the  country.  Nevertheless  Judge  Goddard  signed 
the  decree  on  November  20,  1940.  The  decree  af- 
fected only  five  of  the  eight  defendants. 

"The  defects,  imperfections,  inadequacy  and  in- 
justice of  the  consent  decree  have  been  so  many  times 
set  forth  by  Allied  and  other  exhibitor  groups,  and 
especially  by  the  Conference  of  Independent  Exhibi- 
tors on  the  Consent  Decree,  that  they  need  not  be 
rehashed  at  this  time. 

"The  decree  provided  a  three-year  test  period  which 
expired  on  November  20,  1943.  It  was  not  until  Janu- 
ary 20,  1944,  that  the  five  consenting  defendants  sub- 
mitted their  proposals  for  an  amended  and  supple- 
( Continued  on  last  page) 


98 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  23,  1945 


"Captain  Eddie"  with  Fred  MacMurray 
and  Lynn  Bari 

(20th  Century-Fox,  September;  time,  107  min.) 
Biographical  of  the  life  of  Captain  Eddie  Rickenbacker, 
this  is  a  heart-warming,  human  interest  drama,  the  sort  that 
should  go  over  well  with  most  audiences,  for  it  is  the  story 
of  a  man  whose  fine  qualities,  devotion  to  his  family  and 
friends,  faith  in  the  future,  and  courage,  should  prove  an 
inspiration  to  every  one.  The  producers  deserve  praise  for 
the  manner  in  which  they  have  handled  the  story,  for  Rick- 
enbacker's  tenacity,  perseverance,  and  determination  to  make 
good,  are  presented,  not  by  preachment,  but  by  action.  It 
has  plentiful  human  interest,  a  charming  romance  that  re- 
mains appealing  even  after  marriage,  and  good  touches  of 
comedy. 

The  story  opens  with  the  crash  of  Rickcnbacker's  plane 
in  the  Pacific  in  1942,  while  on  an  important  mission  for 
the  War  Department.  Huddled  with  his  crew  companions 
in  three  inflated  rubber  boats,  Rickenbacker,  whose  fatth  in 
their  eventual  rescue  never  wavers,  relives  his  life  during 
the  nineteen-day  ordeal  in  mid-ocean,  without  either  food 
or  water.  Through  a  series  of  flashbacks,  his  life  is  traced 
through  his  early  days  as  a  thirteen-year-old  mechanically- 
minded  boy,  whose  experiment  with  a  home-made  flying 
contraption  off  the  roof  of  the  family  barn  almost  proves 
disastrous;  as  a  boy-mechanic  in  an  auto  shop,  shortly  after 
his  father's  tragic  death,  when  he  spent  his  first  week's 
wages  for  a  ride  in  a  crude  bi-plane;  as  a  young  auto  sales- 
man, during  which  time  he  solved  some  of  the  flaws  in  the 
early  automobile,  and  at  which  time  he  romanced  with 
Adelaide,  his  wife-to-be;  as  an  outstanding  auto  racing 
driver,  whose  fame  led  to  an  appointment  as  General  Persh- 
ing's chauffeur  in  France;  and  as  America's  flying  ace  in 
World  War  I,  when  he  shot  down  twenty-six  German 
planes.  Shown  also  is  his  rise  as  a  leader  in  the  air  trans- 
portation field.  The  story  closes  with  his  rescue  in  the 
Pacific,  vindicating  his  unwavering  faith. 

Through  all  this  there  are  many  strong  dramatic  and 
emotional  situations,  holding  one's  interest  throughout.  The 
acting  of  Fred  MacMurray,  as  Rickenbacker,  is  outstanding; 
he  plays  the  part  with  ease  and  conviction.  Lynn  Bari,  as 
his  wife;  Mary  Philips,  as  his  mother;  Charles  Bickford,  as 
his  father;  Darryl  Hickman,  as  Rickenbacker  the  boy;  James 
Glcason,  as  a  pioneer  auto  salesman;  Thomas  Mitchell,  as 
an  auto  builder,  and  Lloyd  Nolan,  as  one  of  the  ill-fated 
plane's  crew,  portray  their  individual  roles  effectively.  The 
production  values  are  good. 

John  Tucker  Battle  wrote  the  screen  play,  Winfield  R. 
Shcchan  produced  it,  and  Lloyd  Bacon  directed  it.  Christy 
Walsh  was  associate  producer.  Others  in  the  cast  include 
Spring  Byington  and  Richard  Conte. 

Suitable  for  all. 


"The  Woman  in  Green"  with  Basil  Rathbone 
and  Nigel  Bruce 

(Universal,  July  27:  time,  68  min.) 

This  is  a  routine  "Sherlock  Holmes"  program  murder- 
mystery  melodrama,  no  better  and  no  worse  than  the  previ- 
ous pictures  in  the  series.  This  time  the  famed  detective 
matches  wits  with  his  arch  enemy,  "Professor  Moriarity," 
head  of  a  blackmail-murder  ring,  which  used  hypnotism  in 
the  commission  of  their  crimes.  The  story's  development 
follows  a  pattern  familiar  to  the  series;  that  is,  Scotland 
Yard  finds  itself  stumped  by  the  crimes,  "Holmes"  is  called 
in  on  the  case  and,  through  his  amazing  but  far-fetched 
powers  of  deduction,  solves  the  murders  and  captures  the 
criminals.  It  has  a  fair  share  of  suspense,  and  there  is  the 
usual  comedy  provoked  by  the  blustering  antics  of  Nigel 
Bruce,  as  "Dr.  Watson."  Basil  Rathbone,  as  "Holmes," 
gives  his  usual  competent  performance:- — 

Baffled  by  a  series  of  "finger  murders,  Scotland  Yard 
calls  upon  Holmes  to  solve  the  crimes.  Holmes,  aided  by 
Dr.  Watson,  learns  that,  in  each  case,  the  victim  was  a 
young  woman  whose  right  thumb  had  been  hacked  off.  Soon 
after,  Sir  George  Fenwick  (Paul  Cavanagh)  is  found 
murdered,  and  a  missing  thumb  is  found  on  his  person. 


Holmes,  sifting  various  clues,  somes  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  crimes  had  been  committed  by  a  blackmail  ring.  His  in- 
vestigation discloses  that  the  ring  was  headed  by  his  old 
enemy,  Professor  Moriarity  (Henry  Daniell),  and  that  one 
of  his  confederates  was  a  beautiful  young  woman,  Lydia 
Marlow  (Hillary  Brooke),  who  had  been  associated  roman- 
tically with  Fenwick.  Holmes  learns  also  that  Lydia  and  the 
Professor  hypnotized  wealthy  men,  like  Fenwick,  planted 
missing  thumbs  on  them,  and  then  convinced  them  that  they 
had  committed  murder  while  suffering  from  amnesia.  In  a 
desperate  attempt  to  rid  herself  of  Holmes,  Lydia  lures  him 
to  her  apartment  and  attempts  to  hypnotize  him.  Holmes, 
pretending  to  be  mesmerized,  follows  Morianty's  orders 
when  the  criminal  instructs  him  to  walk  along  the  parapet 
of  a  high  roof.  Just  as  he  apparently  prepares  to  step  off  into 
space.  Dr.  Watson  and  the  police  arrive  suddenly  and  seize 
the  gang.  Moriarity,  in  a  futile  attempt  to  escape,  plunges 
headlong  from  the  roof  to  his  death. 

Bertram  Millhauser  wrote  the  screen  play,  based  on  the 
characters  created  by  Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle.  Roy  Wil- 
liam Neill  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Eve 
Amber,  Mary  Gordon,  Frederic  Worlock  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Story  of  G.I.  Joe"  with  Burgess  Meredith 
and  Robert  Mitchum 

(United  Artists,  no  release  dale  set,  time,  109  min.) 

Good.  The  late  Ernie  Pyle's  "Story  of  G.I.  Joe"  comes  to 
the  screen  as  a  genuine  tribute  to  the  American  infantryman, 
without  whom  victory  could  not  be  achieved.  The  picture 
has  a  documentary-like  quality,  highlighted  by  human  in- 
terest incidents  in  the  lives  of  a  group  of  foot  soldiers,  the 
sort  that  characterized  Ernie  Pyle's  dispatches  as  a  war  cor- 
respondent. It  is  a  war  picture,  but  one  of  the  best  and,  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  Ernie  Pyle's  writings  were  probably 
the  most  widely  read  of  any  war  correspondent,  motion 
picture-goers  who  have  become  apathetic  towards  war  pic- 
tures might  feel  differently  about  this  one,  not  only  because 
of  Ernie  Pyle's  fame,  but  because  it  is  an  honest,  void-of- 
Hollywood  heroics  account  of  the  rigors,  hardships,  and 
heartaches  endured  by  the  average  soldier,  eloquently 
and  realistically  portrayed  by  an  excellent  cast. 

The  story  is  concentrated  on  the  fortunes  and  misfortunes 
of  a  group  of  infantrymen,  and  it  begins  during  the  North 
African  campaign  as  the  men  slog  through  mud  and  rain 
headed  for  their  first  taste  of  combat,  which  ends  in  defeat 
as  they  find  themselves  forced  to  retreat.  Months  later,  the 
men,  battle  veterans  by  this  time,  join  in  the  Sicilian  cam- 
paign and,  from  there,  fight  there  way  to  Cassino  where, 
after  being  halted  temporarily  by  deadly  Nazi  fire  directed 
from  a  monastery  observation  post,  they  turn  defeat  into 
victory  and  start  along  the  road  to  Rome. 

Through  all  this  Pyle,  played  superbly  by  Burgess  Mere- 
dith, lives  with  the  men  and  becomes  their  confidant,  but  at 
all  times  remains  in  the  background,  understandingly  ob- 
serving their  despair  and  hopes,  and  hating  the  war  that 
caused  them  untold  suffering.  The  story  has  its  humorous 
moments,  but  for  the  most  part  it  is  somber.  Robert  Mitch- 
um, as  the  understanding  Captain,  whose  death  saddens  his 
men,  is  exceptionally  good,  as  is  Freddie  Steele,  as  the  battle- 
hardened  sergeant,  whose  greatest  thrill  was  to  listen  to  the 
recorded  voice  of  his  baby.  There  are  numerous  other  emo- 
tional-stirring incidents,  such  as  the  wedding  of  a  Red  Cross 
nurse  to  one  of  the  men  in  a  battle-scarred  church,  and  their 
honeymoon  in  an  ambulance;  Pyle's  rustling  up  of  a  turkey 
dinner  for  the  men  on  Christmas;  the  strain  of  battle  caus- 
ing Steele  to  lose  his  mind;  and  the  personal  tragedies  when 
buddies  fail  to  return  from  patrols.  The  battle  sequences  are 
particularly  effective. 

Leopold  Atlas,  Guy  Endore,  and  Philip  Stevenson  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Lester  Cowan  produced  it,  and  William 
Wellman  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Wally  Cassell,  Jimmy 
Lloyd,  Jack  Reilly,  Bill  Murphy  and  others. 

There  are  some  sex  implications  in  one  or  two  of  the 
incidents,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  children  will  understand 
them. 


June  23, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


99 


"A  Bell  for  Adano"  with  John  Hodiak, 
Gene  Tierney  and  William  Bendix 

(20th  Century-Fox,  August;  time,  104  min.) 

As  a  novel,  John  Hershey's  "A  Bell  for  Adano"  won  the 
Pulitzer  Prize,  and  as  a  stage  production,  it  was  hailed  as 
one  of  the  finest  war  plays.  No  less  can  be  said  of  the  screen 
version,  for,  despite  its  episodic  quality  and  a  few  draggy 
sequences,  it  remains  an  absorbing  human-interest  drama,  as 
well*  as  a  meaningful  document  concerning  the  problems 
that  face  the  civil  affairs  officers  of  the  Allied  Military  Gov 
ernment  in  their  endeavors  to  restore  a  normal  way  of  life 
to  war-ravaged  communities  that  had  been  under  Fascist 
rule.  Unlike  most  war  pictures,  which  have  become  outdated 
owing  to  the  Allied  victory  in  Europe,  this  one,  because  of 
its  subject  matter,  is  timely. 

Briefly,  the  story  revolves  around  John  Hodiak,  as  "Major 
Joppolo,"  who  arrives  in  Adano,  a  war-torn  Sicilian  town, 
to  become  its  administrator  under  AMG  regulations.  Al' 
though  the  most  essential  needs  of  the  people  are  food  and 
water,  the  Major  finds  that  what  they  desired  most  was  a 
new  church  bell  to  replace  the  one  Mussolini  had  melted 
down  for  munitions.  The  Major,  realizing  that  the  bell  was 
spiritually  important  to  the  people,  promises  to  exert  his 
greatest  efforts  to  obtain  one.  He  wins  their  respect  and 
admiration  by  his  sincere  efforts  in  their  behalf,  and  amazes 
them  by  his  understanding  of  their  problems,  no  matter  how 
small,  and  by  his  democratic  way  of  solving  them.  Matters 
become  complicated  for  the  Major  when  certain  military 
orders  issued  by  his  commander  threaten  to  cut  off  the 
town's  water  supply.  Rather  than  have  the  people  suffer, 
he  countermands  the  order,  with  the  result  that  he  is  re 
called  from  his  post.  As  the  Major  departs,  firm  in  his  be- 
lief that  people  are  more  important  than  rules,  Adano's  new 
bell  begins  to  peal. 

What  gives  the  picture  its  interesting  quality  is  its  rich- 
ness in  characterizations  and  incidents,  such  as  the  Major 
convincing  the  people  that  it  was  far  better  to  humiliate 
their  former  collaborationist-mayor  than  to  lynch  him;  the 
meeting  in  the  public  square  of  the  town's  women  and  their 
returning  Italian  soldiers;  the  joy  of  the  people  when  the 
Navy,  in  cooperation  with  the  Major,  hauls  a  huge  bell  into 
town;  the  grateful  townspeople's  party  in  honor  of  the 
Major,  and  their  presentation  to  him  of  a  life-sized  portrait 
of  himself — these  and  other  incidents  give  the  story  many 
meaningful  and  emotional  moments.  It  has  considerable 
comedy  too,  provoked  by  the  excitable  nature  of  the  Italian 
peasants.  John  Hodiak,  as  the  Major,  is  militarily  proper 
but  warm  and  sincere,  and  William  Bendix,  as  his  loyal 
sergeant,  contributes  a  telling  performance.  Gene  Tierney, 
as  a  fisherman's  daughter  who  reminds  the  Major  of  his 
wife,  has  little  to  do.  Some  of  the  others  in  the  expert  cast 
include  Stanley  Prager,  Henry  Morgan,  Montague  Banks, 
Marcel  Dalio,  Fortunio  Bonanova,  Henry  Armetta,  Roman 
Bohnen,  Luis  Alberni  and  Eduardo  Ciannelli. 

Lamar  Trotti  and  Norman  R.  Raine  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Mr.  Trotti  and  Louis  D.  Lighton  produced  it,  and  Henry 
King  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Naughty  Nineties" 
with  Abbott  and  Costello 

(Universal,  July  6;  time,  76  min.) 
This  slapstick  comedy  will  have  to  depend  on  the  draw- 
ing power  of  Abbott  and  Costello;  as  entertainment,  it  is 
just  fair,  with  an  appeal  strictly  for  those  who  have  not  yet 
tired  of  this  comedy  team's  gags  and  routines,  most  of  which 
are  a  rehash  of  the  ones  used  in  their  previous  pictures.  The 
story  is  so  thin  that,  in  order  to  pad  it  out  to  a  full  length 
feature,  the  producer  had  to  use  up  some  of  the  footage  in 
the  most  stupid  type  of  slapstick  imaginable.  In  one  sequence, 
for  instance,  almost  ten  minutes  are  devoted  to  men  slap- 
ping, punching,  and  chasing  each  other;  this  is  amusing  for 
the  first  minute  or  so,  but  it  soon  becomes  tiresome.  In  its 
favor  is  the  fast  action,  as  well  as  some  tuneful  songs: — 


Henry  Travers,  Captain  of  a  Mississippi  River  showboat, 
ties  up  at  a  river  town  and,  despite  the  advice  of  Bud 
Abbott,  his  leading  man,  Lou  Costello,  his  chief  roustabout, 
and  Lois  Collier,  his  daughter,  becomes  friendly  with  three 
dubious  characters — Alan  Curtis,  a  gentleman  gambler,  Rita 
Johnson,  his  companion,  and  Joe  Sawyer,  their  formidable 
bodyguard.  All  three  had  been  ordered  by  the  local  police 
to  leave  town.  The  kind-hearted  Captain  entertains  his 
visitors  and  promises  to  be  their  guest  in  a  St.  Louis  gambling 
house  when  his  boat  docks  at  that  port.  Keeping  his  promise, 
the  Captain  visits  the  gambling  house  where  Curtis  and 
Rita,  despite  the  efforts  of  Abbott  and  Costello  to  stop 
them,  fleece  the  Captain  in  a  crooked  card  game  and  win  a 
controlling  interest  in  the  showboat.  With  a  crew  of  crooks, 
the  showboat  sets  sail  again,  much  to  the  despair  of  the 
honest  Captain,  who  is  compelled  to  stand  by  and  watch  his 
craft  operated  as  a  gambling  ship.  Abbott  and  Costello, 
however,  decide  to  take  matters  into  their  own  hands  and, 
by  resorting  to  a  series  of  slapstick  stunts,  throw  the  ship 
and  its  patrons  into  such  a  state  of  confusion  that  the 
gamblers  find  themselves  compelled  to  vacate  the  boat  and 
to  restore  its  ownership  to  the  Captain.  Curtis,  reformed  by 
his  experience,  wins  Lois'  love. 

Edmund  L.  Hartmann,  John  Grant,  Edmund  Joseph  and 
Hal  Finberg  wrote  the  screen  play.  Mr.  Hartmann  and  Mr. 
Grant  produced  it,  and  Jean  Yarbrough  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Bewitched"  with  Phyllis  Thaxter 
and  Edmund  Gwenn 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  65  min.) 

This  psychological  drama  is  off  the  beaten  path,  but  as 
entertainment  it  will  probably  have  more  of  an  appeal  to 
the  few  than  to  the  many.  Based  on  Arch  Oboler's  story, 
"Alter  Ego,"  it  is  a  character  study  of  a  young  girl  with  a 
dual  personality — one  sweet  and  kindly,  and  the  other  cruel 
and  vicious.  The  manner  in  which  she  is  plagued  by  her 
wicked  self,  and  in  which  a  psychiatrist  frees  her,  not  only 
from  her  undesirable  personality  but  also  a  murder  charge, 
is  novel  and,  of  course,  fantastic.  The  picture  has  a  somber 
mood  throughout,  and  some  parts  of  it,  particularly  where 
the  girl  commits  the  murder,  are  unpleasant.  Its  morbid 
theme,  and  the  fact  that  the  story  is  developed  mostly  by 
dialogue,  make  it  doubtful  entertainment  for  the  masses. 
The  production  values  are  modest: — 

A  voice  identifying  itself  as  "Karen,"  and  claiming  to  be 
another  personality  locked  in  her  brain,  plagues  Phyllis 
Thaxter  and  promises  never  to  bother  her  if  she  will  leave 
her  family  and  her  fiance,  Henry  H.  Daniels,  Jr.  Phyllis  flees 
to  New  York  where  she  tries  to  lead  a  happy,  normal  life. 
There  she  becomes  friendly  with  Horace  McNally,  a  young 
attorney,  who  proposes  to  her.  Before  Phyllis  can  decline 
his  offer,  "Karen's"  personality  overpowers  her  and  com- 
pels her  to  kiss  McNally  passionately.  Ashamed,  Phyllis 
rushes  to  her  rooming  house,  where  she  finds  Daniels  wait- 
ing to  take  her  back  home.  "Karen,"  desiring  McNally,  over- 
powers Phyllis  once  again  and  compels  her  to  stab  Daniels 
to  death.  Brought  to  trial  for  murder,  Phyllis  refuses  to  de- 
fend herself,  and  is  sentenced  to  die.  McNally,  as  her  at- 
torney, enlists  the  aid  ot  Edmund  Gwenn,  a  noted  psychia- 
trist, who  studies  Phyllis'  case  and  comes  to  the  conclusion 
that  she  had  a  dual  personality.  On  the  eve  of  the  execu- 
tion, Gwenn  prevails  upon  the  Governor  to  have  Phyllis 
brought  to  his  office  tor  an  examination.  There,  through 
hypnotism,  Gwenn  convinces  Phyllis  that  she  was  stronger 
than  "Karen,"  and  then,  speaking  to  "Karen,"  convinces 
her  that  she  must  die.  When  Phyllis  comes  out  of  her  trance, 
it  is  evident  that  she  had  been  cured  and  that  only  her  own 
personality  remained.  The  Governor,  satisfied  that  justice 
had  been  done,  releases  Phyllis. 

Arch  Obolcr  wrote  the  screen  play  and  directed  it,  and 
Jerry  Bresler  produced  it.  The  cast  includes  Addison  Rich- 
ards, Kathleen  Lockhart  and  others. 

The  sex  situations  and  the  murder  make  it  unsuitable  for 
children. 


100 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  23,  1945 


mental  decree.  These  were  so  grossly  unfair  and  in- 
adequate that  the  Attorney  General  undoubtedly 
would  have  rejected  them  even  if  the  CLE. CD.  and 
various  public  groups  had  not  protested  against  them. 
After  the  Attorney  General's  rejection  the  defendants 
made  no  further  move  and  the  Attorney  General  on 
August  7,  1944,  submitted  his  proposals  for  a  decree. 
At  a  hearing  before  Judge  Goddard  on  December  20, 
the  defendants  would  not  concede  law  violation  even 
to  the  extent  necessary  to  give  the  Court  jurisdiction 
to  arbitrate  the  differences  between  the  parties  as  to 
the  contents  of  the  decree. 

"The  Government  then  followed  the  only  course 
open  to  it  and  filed  a  motion  for  a  temporary  injunc- 
tion  and  also  asked  that  the  case  be  set  for  trial  on  a 
day  certain.  Judge  Goddard  consented  to  hear  these 
on  March  5,  1945.  At  the  hearing  counsel  for  the  de- 
fendants had  a  field  day,  wisecracking  at  the  expense 
of  Government  counsel  and  those  who  had  asked  leave 
to  file  briefs  as  amici  curiae.  Judge  Goddard  stated 
that  if  he  were  to  decide  the  matter  at  that  time  he 
would  deny  the  Government's  motion.  He  agreed, 
however,  to  receive  additional  briefs  but  he  had  not 
ruled  on  the  motion  up  to  the  time  the  Attorney  Gen- 
eral's expediting  certificate  was  filed.  He  granted  the 
defendants'  request  that  the  trial  go  over  until  Fall 
and  set  it  for  October  8. 

"One  year  and  seven  months  after  expiration  of 
the  test  period  and  no  action.  In  the  meantime,  the 
interminable  grind  of  motions  for  disclosure,  inter- 
rogatories, etc.,  etc.,  goes  on." 

In  a  reference  to  Judge  Goddard,  Mr.  Myers  points 
out  that  his  inclusion  in  the  specially  constituted  court 
will  reduce  his  influence  by  33^  per  cent.  "We  do 
not,"  continues  Mr.  Myers,  "impugn  Judge  Goddard's 
character  or  ability  when  we  say  that  this  will  be 
welcomed  by  independent  exhibitors  who  have  such 
a  vital  stake  in  the  proceedings  and  feel  that  they 
have  not  received  consideration  at  his  hands. . .  .  Trade 
paper  accounts  of  the  proceedings  through  the  years 
have  led  those  interested  and  observing  laymen  to 
wonder  if  the  Government  stood  a  chance  in  Judge 
Goddard's  Court. 

"The  summary  manner  in  which  the  hearing  on 
the  consent  decree  was  conducted — especially  his  ap- 
parent grudging  attitude  toward  counsel  for  large 
groups  of  exhibitors  and  the  five-minute  limitation 
imposed  upon  them — served  to  increase  their  feeling 
of  uneasiness  and  doubt. 

"But  the  main  reason  for  this  feeling  grows  out  of 
the  fact  that  a  few  years  ago  Judge  Goddard  denied 
a  motion  by  the  Government  to  compel  certain  of  the 
defendants  to  disgorge  theatres  which  they  had  ac- 
quired subsequent  to  the  decree.  It  seemed  to  many 
exhibitors  that  in  doing  so  Judge  Goddard  had,  in 
effect,  sanctioned  those  acquisitions  and  they  wond- 
ered how  he  could  fairly  sit  at  the  trial  of  a  case  in 
which  the  Government  asks  that  the  defendants  be  di- 
vested of  all  their  theatres. 

"None  of  these  things  necessarily  means  that  Judge 
Goddard  could  not  fairly  decide  the  case  on  its  merits. 
But  from  the  public  point  of  view  it  is  as  necessary 
that  the  administration  of  justice  be  maintained  be- 
yond question  as  it  is  that  it  be  kept  pure.  .  .  ." 

Mr.  Myers'  expert  analysis  of  the  distributor-de- 
fendants' "appalling  record  of  delay"  is  indicative  of 
the  fact  that  there  is  only  one  way  by  which  the  ex' 
hibitor-producer  disputes  that  have  kept  the  industry 
in  a  turmoil  can  be  settled,  and  that  is  through  a  final 


adjudication  of  the  issues  by  the  Courts.  The  pro- 
ducer-distributors were  given  every  opportunity  to 
come  forward  with  real  concessions,  but  they  respond- 
ed with  grudging  half-measures.  That  the  Govern- 
ment has  grown  tired  of  this  dilly-dallying  is  evident 
from  its  latest  legal  move  made  this  past  week.  A  case 
certified  to  be  heard  by  a  three-judge  court  must, 
under  the  statute,  be  "in  every  way  expedited." 

It  seems  as  though  the  independent  exhibitors  have 
now  arrived  at  the  point  where  the  relief  they  have 
sought  for  many  years  has  finally  come  into  sight. 


THE  BLACK  SHEEP  OF  THE  FAMILY 

"Evidences  of  an  improved  set  of  public  relations 
for  the  motion  picture  as  a  result  of  the  industry's  war 
efforts,"  says  Terry  Ramsaye,  editor  of  Motion  Pic- 
ture Herald,  in  the  June  9  issue,  "begin  to  appear — 
and  out  where  they  count — among  the  people  of  the 
customer  communities. 

"The  war  drives  and  movements  of  all  sorts  from 
bonds  to  waste  paper  to  blood  banks  have  been  in- 
creasing the  contacts  between  exhibitors  and  the  so- 
cially minded  leaders  of  their  territories.  In  many  in- 
stances new  contacts  have  been  and  continue  to  be 
created.  .  .  ." 

Mr.  Ramsaye  discusses  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Hender- 
son M.  Richey,  of  Loew's,  who  said:  "Influential  peo- 
ple who  have  never  before  given  more  than  a  casual 
thought  to  the  motion  picture  are  now  aware  of  it — 
and  conscious  of  the  fact  that  the  theatre  down  the 
street  is  part  of  it."  He  prints  also  the  remark  Mr. 
Will  Hays  made  once,  to  the  effect  that  "nobody  is 
for  the  movies  except  the  people." 

That  is  the  trouble  with  the  industry's  standing 
today — its  services  have  been  recognized  by  the  peo- 
ple, but  not  by  those  who  count — the  Government 
officials.  Did  the  people's  recognition  of  the  motion 
picture  industry  as  a  great  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
nation  prevent  the  officials  of  the  U.S.  Government 
from  putting  it  in  a  class  with  saloons  when  the  Man- 
power Director  promulgated  his  midnight  closing 
order  for  the  purpose  of  conserving  electricity?  Ask 
Henry  Morganthau,  Secretary  of  the  U.S.  Treasury, 
what  he  thinks  of  the  motion  picture  industry,  and  he 
will  rise  to  its  defense  with  a  spontaneity  that  will 
amaze  you.  He  will  assure  you  that,  without  the  work 
of  the  industry's  components,  the  Government  could 
never  have  sold  so  many  billions  of  dollars  worth  of 
bonds.  But  what  did  he  do  to  exempt  it  from  the  order 
of  the  Manpower  Director?  Nothing! 

When  it  comes  to  regarding  the  motion  picture  in- 
dustry as  an  important  factor  in  the  life  of  the  nation, 
it  is  not  public  recognition  that  counts  so  much  as  it 
is  recognition  by  the  Government  officials,  and  by 
Congress.  Unless  we  gain  that  recognition,  not  only 
will  the  industry  be  considered  by  them  as  a  wayward 
child,  but  also  a  crack-pot  Congressman  will,  now  and 
then  after  the  war,  rise  from  his  seat  and  demand  that 
it  be  chained  and  punished  for  doing  what  is  con- 
trary to  his,  probably  warped,  notion. 

The  next  time  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ap- 
proaches the  industry  for  its  help  on  a  new  war  loan, 
its  leaders  should  assure  Mr.  Morganthau,  or  who- 
ever will  be  the  treasurer  at  that  time,  that  the  indus- 
try could  do  a  far  better  job  if  the  admission  taxes 
were  reduced,  or  even  eliminated,  so  as  to  attract  many 
more  potential  bond  buyers. 

But  will  they  do  it?  I  fear  that  they  will  not! 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  JUNE  30,  1945  No.  26 


An  Impending  Cycle  of  Crime  Pictures 


In  an  open  letter  to  the  Motion  Picture  Producers 
and  Distributors  of  America  (Hays  Office) ,  producer' 
director  Frank  Borzage  last  week  asked  that  organiza- 
tion  to  take  steps  to  prevent  an  impending  cycle  of 
gangster  and  other  crime  films,  stating  that  "nothing 
can  do  more  harm  to  this  country  and  the  movie  in- 
dustry  at  this  particular  time." 

I  do  not  have  available  a  copy  of  Borzage's  letter, 
but  from  what  is  reported  in  the  daily  trade  papers 
Borzage  contends  that,  with  the  nation  working  on 
plans  to  bring  peace,  prosperity  and  good  will  to  all 
the  world,  and  with  foreign  countries  looking  to  our 
country  for  guidance,  it  is  "certainly  an  inopportune 
time  for  us  to  convey  the  impression  that  America  is 
made  up  largely  of  gangsters,  black  market  operators, 
petty  racketeers  and  murderers."  He  points  out  also 
that  the  crime  pictures  of  the  early  1930's  did  much 
to  distort  the  minds  of  people  in  other  countries  on  the 
American  way  of  life. 

Mr.  Borzage  urged  that  the  producers  institute  a 
system  of  voluntary  censorship,  so  that  future  motion 
pictures  would  give  the  outside  world  "a  true  impres- 
sion of  the  people  who  make  up  this  great  country," 
and  he  cited  "Going  My  Way,"  "Song  of  Berna- 
dette,"  and  "Wilson"  as  motion  pictures  of  which 
Hollywood  might  be  proud. 

It  seems  that  Mr.  Borzage  was  prompted  to  issue 
his  admonition  against  gangster  films,  because  he 
feared  that  a  flood  of  such  pictures  might  result  from 
the  box-office  success  of  a  "highly  publicized  gangster 
film  recently  released.  .  .  ." 

Trem  Carr,  executive  director  at  Monogram,  the 
studio  which  produced  "Dillinger,"  resented  Mr.  Bor- 
zage's letter,  apparently  assuming  that  it  was  a  direct 
attack  on  that  picture.  He,  therefore,  wrote  to  Mr. 
Borzage  as  follows : 

"I  have  read  with  deep  interest  your  open  letter  to 
the  Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  Asso- 
ciation. It  intrigued  me  no  end.  Since  I  am  connected 
with  the  studio  which  made  the  picture  to  which  you 
refer  as  'a  highly  publicized  gangster  film  recently  re- 
leased, and  now  doing  tremendous  business  at  the 
theatre  box-offices  all  over  the  country,'  I  felt  it  ad- 
visable to  point  out  the  fallacies  in  your  statement. 

"I  cannot  agree  fundamentally  with  your  statement 
that  foreign  nations  are  looking  to  the  United  States 
for  guidance  from  the  motion  picture  industry.  Our 
personal  activity  in  the  field  of  diplomacy  is  very  lim- 
ited, and  it  might  be  best  to  leave  that  work  and  that 
guidance  in  the  hands  of  our  State  Department  and 


we  in  the  motion  picture  business  follow  their  recom- 
mendations, rather  than  try  to  set  any  pattern  for 
them  to  follow. 

"The  best  reason  for  having  made  this  picture  is 
pointed  out  by  the  paragraph  in  your  letter  that  reads, 
As  we  know,  our  Justice  Department  has  announced 
that  a  great  increase  in  crime  may  be  expected  in  this 
country  after  the  war.  Here  the  motion  picture  indus- 
try has  the  opportunity  to  help  stamp  out  this  crime 
wave  before  it  begins.'  We  quite  agree  with  this  state- 
ment that  you  make.  How  shall  we  treat  with  this? 
Shall  we  bury  our  heads  in  the  sand  like  ostriches,  or 
shall  we  become  realistic  and  approach  this  problem 
in  the  manner  in  which  we  may  best  cope  with  it? 

"I  don't  think  we  would  disagree  on  the  power  of 
motion  pictures  to  tell  a  compelling  story.  The  use  of 
motion  pictures  by  all  of  our  service  forces,  both  from 
an  educational  and  propaganda  standpoint,  has 
proved  most  effective,  and  we  believe  that  'Dillinger' 
is  proving  most  effective  in  awakening  the  public  to 
the  danger  which  might  beset  our  nation  after  this 
war.  Dillinger  is  depicted  in  this  film  as  the  cruel,  in- 
human, ruthless  individual  that  he  was.  The  work  of 
the  law  enforcement  bureaus  in  tracking  him  down  is 
portrayed  most  effectively.  At  no  time  in  this  picture 
is  sympathy  aroused  for  this  gangster  in  any  sense. 
The  moral  that  'Crime  Does  Not  Pay'  is  pointed  out 
most  clearly  and  interestingly.  We  at  Monogram  feel 
that  if  we  have  in  any  sense  awakened  the  public's  in- 
terest in  this  potential  danger  that  follows  every  war, 
we  have  served  a  far  greater  purpose  than  your  letter 
in  criticizing  the  picture  could  possibly  serve. 

"The  National  Board  of  Review,  Ten  leading 
Women's  Organizations,  Open  Road  for  Boys  and 
Film  and  Radio  Discussion  Guide  have  endorsed  this 
picture  for  its  message,  'Crime  Does  Not  Pay.' 

"Yes,  Hollywood  has  grown  up,  and  Hollywood  is 
assuming  its  responsibilities  to  face  facts. 

"By  the  way,  Frank,  have  you  had  occasion  to  see 
'Dillinger,'  the  picture  you  are  criticizing?" 

It  seems  to  me  that  Trem  Carr  has  misconstrued 
the  meaning  of  Frank  Borzage's  letter  to  the  MPPDA, 
for  his  answer  to  Borzage  is  no  more  than  a  defense 
of  his  studio  for  having  produced  the  picture.  Yet  the 
statement  of  Mr.  Borzage  does'  not  single  out  "Dill- 
inger" for  criticism  as  a  picture.  Assuming  that  he  re- 
ferred to  "Dillinger"  in  mentioning  "a  highly  pub- 
licized gangster  film  recently  released,"  Borzage's 
purpose,  I  am  sure,  was  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


102 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  30,  1945 


"Rhapsody  in  Blue"  with  Robert  Alda, 
Joan  Leslie  and  Alexis  Smith 

{Warner  Bros.,  no  release  date  set;  time,  139  min.) 

Excellent!  Based  on  the  life  of  George  Gershwin, 
one  of  America's  most  popular  musical  figures,  "Rhap- 
sody in  Blue"  will  undoubtedly  prove  to  be  one  of  the 
top  box-office  attractions  of  the  season,  for  it  has,  not 
only  a  delightful  musical  score,  which  in  itself  is  worth 
the  price  of  admission,  but  also  an  inspiring,  heart- 
warming story  of  the  phenomenal  rise  of  a  lively  East 
Side  youngster,  son  of  a  humble,  likable  Jewish  fam- 
ily. While  some  liberties  have  been  taken  with  Gersh- 
win's biography,  particularly  with  regard  to  the  ro- 
mances in  his  life,  the  story  is  essentially  a  sympathetic 
study  of  a  man  who,  because  of  his  burning  desire  and 
ambition  to  express  himself  in  terms  of  music,  drove 
himself  with  such  force  that  it  led  to  his  untimely 
death  at  the  height  of  his  career,  while  still  a  compara- 
tively young  man. 

Beginning  in  New  York's  lower  East  Side  in  the 
early  1900's,  the  story  depicts  Gershwin's  boyhood 
days  at  which  time  his  mother  bought  a  piano  to  teach 
her  older  son,  Ira,  how  to  play,  little  realizing  that 
George,  her  younger  son,  had  a  talent  for  music. 
George  becomes  the  one  to  receive  piano  lessons  and, 
at  the  age  of  eighteen,  encouraged  by  his  family,  he 
becomes  a  professional  piano  player  and  obtains  em- 
ployment as  a  "song  plugger"  in  a  music  publishing 
house.  There  he  meets  and  falls  in  love  with  Julie 
Adams  (Joan  Leslie),  an  ambitious  young  singer. 
Bored  with  his  work  as  a  "song  plugger,"  Gershwin, 
who  had  already  written  a  few  songs  of  his  own,  takes 
his  tunes  to  Max  Dreyfus  (Charles  Coburn),  another 
publisher,  who  gives  him  a  contract.  Through  Drey- 
fus, "Swanee,"  one  of  Gershwin's  songs,  is  introduced 
by  Al  Jolson  (played  by  himself)  in  a  Broadway  show, 
and  from  then  on  success,  money,  and  fame  flood  in  on 
the  young  composer.  Wanting  desperately  to  write 
classical  music,  the  sort  that  would  live  forever,  Gersh- 
win finds  himself  chained  to  Broadway  by  a  succes- 
sion of  his  own  song  hits.  His  friends  spur  him  on.  He 
writes  "Rhapsody  in  Blue,"  a  blend  of  both  classical 
and  popular  music,  and  is  hailed  by  the  music  world 
as  a  budding  genius.  Meanwhile  his  friendship  with 
Julie  had  kept  pace  with  the  progress  of  his  career,  but 
he  leaves  her  to  go  to  Paris  to  study  for  the  serious 
music  he  felt  he  must  write.  There,  he  falls  in  love 
with  Christine  Gilbert  (Alexis  Smith),  an  American 
girl,  with  whom  he  returns  to  the  United  States  after 
writing  his  "An  American  in  Paris."  But  Christine, 
an  intelligent  woman,  realises  that  music  was  Gersh- 
win's one  consuming  interest,  and  decides  to  go  out 
of  his  life.  Rebuffed  by  Julie  to  whom  he  turns,  Gersh- 
win devotes  himself  wholly  to  his  music  as  his  only 
justification  for  living.  But  he  drives  himself  with 
such  unrelenting  force  that  he  soon  becomes  a  sick 
man.  Tortured  by  pain,  and  by  the  agony  of  being 
unable  to  produce  music,  the  brilliant  young  composer 
dies. 

A  brief  synopsis  of  the  story  cannot  convey  the 
story's  many  deep  emotional  situations  or  its  richness 
in  human  interest  and  in  comedy.  Some  of  the  most 
delightful  passages  in  the  film  deal  with  the  devotion 
and  loyalty  of  the  Gershin  family  for  one  another. 
Gershwin  is  portrayed  by  a  newcomer,  Robert  Alda, 
who  gives  an  exceptionally  good  performance,  play- 
ing the  part  with  restraint  and  sympathetic  under- 


standing. Morris  Carnovsky,  as  Gershwin's  father,  is 
a  grand  character,  as  is  Rosemary  De  Camp,  as  his 
mother.  Herbert  Rudley,  as  Ira  Gershwin,  is  convinc- 
ing. As  the  young  singer  with  whom  Gershwin  falls 
in  love,  Joan  Leslie  does  the  best  work  of  her  career; 
her  singing  of  the  Gershwin  melodies,  and  her  danc- 
ing, are  among  the  outstanding  highlights.  Among 
those  who  had  a  part  in  Gershwin's  career,  and  who 
appear  in  the  picture  as  themselves,  are  Oscar  Levant, 
who  almost  steals  the  picture  with  his  bright,  acid 
witticisms,  and  whose  piano  playing  is  stirring;  Paul 
Whitcman,  who  conducts  the  symphonic  premiere  of 
"Rhapsody  in  Blue";  Al  Jolson,  who  sings  "Swanee" 
in  his  inimitable  style;  Hazel  Scott,  singing  and  play- 
ing the  piano  in  a  French  cafe;  Anne  Brown,  singing 
"Summertime"  from  "Porgy  and  Bess";  and  Tom 
Patricola,  who  dances  with  Miss  Leslie.  Others  in  the 
cast  include  Julie  Bishop  as  Ira's  wife,  and  Albert 
Basserman,  as  Gershwin's  professor. 

The  music,  as  it  has  already  been  said  is  delightful. 
No  less  than  twenty-nine  of  Gershwin's  tunes  have 
been  worked  into  the  story,  and  all  have  been  pre- 
sented in  brilliant  fashion,  without  retarding  the 
movement  of  the  story. 

Howard  Koch  and  Elliot  Paul  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  an  original  story  by  Sonja  Levien.  Jesse  L.  Lasky 
produced  it,  and  Irving  Rapper  directed  it. 

Suitable  for  all. 

"Why  Girls  Leave  Home" 
with  Sheldon  Leonard,  Lola  Lane  and 
Pamela  Blake 

(PRC,  release  date  not  set;  time,  68  min.) 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  story  is  familiar,  this 
mixture  of  drama,  popular  music,  murder-mystery, 
and  crime  melodrama,  is  a  fairly  good  program  enter- 
tainment. Obviously,  the  title  was  selected  for  its 
exploitation  value,  but  it  is  too  bad  that  a  different 
one  was  not  chosen,  for  it  is  somewhat  misleading  in 
that  it  gives  one  the  impression  that  the  picture  is 
another  juvenile  delinquency  film.  Revolving  around 
the  misadventures  of  a  young  girl,  who  leaves  her 
home  and  family  to  seek  fame  as  a  night-club  singer, 
the  story,  part  of  which  is  told  by  the  flashback  meth- 
od, deals  with  her  involvement  in  several  murders, 
including  an  attempt  on  her  own  life,  before  her  even- 
tual rescue  by  a  live-wire  reporter.  The  performances 
by  the  cast  are  good,  but  Pamela  Blake,  as  the  heroine, 
is  outstanding;  her  singing  is  pleasing  to  the  ear.  Wil- 
liam Berke's  expert  direction  keeps  the  action  moving 
at  a  fast  pace,  builds  up  the  suspense,  and  holds  one's 
interest  throughout.  Parts  of  the  story,  however,  are 
somewhat  sordid,  and  the  character  of  the  heroine 
is  demoralizing,  for  she  is  shown  as  becoming  a  hard- 
ened entertainer,  knowingly  working  in  a  night-club 
that  was  a  "front"  for  a  crooked  gambling  game  in  a 
back  room: — 

Sheldon  Leonard,  a  reporter,  rescues  Pamela  Blake 
from  drowning  and  believes  that  some  one  had  tried 
to  murder  her,  despite  the  theory  of  the  police  that 
she  had  attempted  suicide.  While  Pamela  recovers  in 
a  hospital,  Leonard  investigates  her  background  to 
learn  who  might  have  had  a  motive  to  kill  her.  His 
investigation  discloses  that  Pamela  wanted  to  become 
a  jazz  singer,  and  that,  through  Elisha  Cook,  Jr.,  a 
musician,  she  had  obtained  a  job  in  a  night  club  oper- 
ated by  Paul  Guilfoyle  with  the  aid  of  Lola  Lane.  On 


June  30,  1945  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  103 


her  first  night,  Pamela  had  discovered  that  the  night- 
club was  a  "front"  for  an  illegal  gambling  establish- 
ment, and  had  witnessed  the  murder  of  two  men  who 
claimed  that  they  had  been  cheated.  Pamela  wanted 
to  give  up  her  job,  but  Guilfoyle  did  not  permit  her 
to  do  so  because  she  knew  too  much.  Through  Cook's 
machinations,  Claudia  Drake,  the  club's  singing  star, 
had  been  discharged,  and  Pamela  had  been  chosen  to 
replace  her.  Claudia  had  threatened  to  even  matters 
with  Pamela.  When  Pamela,  pleased  with  her  star 
status,  had  repulsed  Cook's  advances  and  had  refused 
to  show  her  appreciation  to  him  for  being  instrumental 
in  making  her  a  star,  he,  too,  had  become  peeved  at 
her.  Through  Constance  Worth,  Pamela's  roommate, 
Leonard  learns  that  Pamela  had  eventually  grown 
tired  of  her  tawdry  life,  and  had  threatened  to  expose 
Guilfoyle's  dubious  activities.  When  an  attempt  is 
made  on  his  own  life,  and  when  Claudia  is  found 
murdered,  Leonard  becomes  convinced  that  Guilfoyle 
was  behind  the  crimes.  Meanwhile  Lola  and  Guil- 
foyle, aware  that  Leonard  was  on  their  trail,  spirit 
Pamela  out  of  the  hospital,  intending  to  kill  her  to 
prevent  their  expose.  Leonard  arrives  at  the  hospital 
just  as  they  drive  away.  He  gives  chase,  arriving  at 
the  night  club  in  time  to  save  Pamela.  Cornered,  Guil- 
foyle reveals  that  Lola  was  the  real  owner  of  the  club, 
and  that  she  had  committed  the  different  murders. 
Lola  shoots  Guilfoyle,  but  is  overpowered  as  she  at- 
tempts to  escape. 

Fanya  Foss  Lawrence  and  Bradford  Ropes  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Sam  Sax  produced  it,  and  William 
Berke  directed  it. 

Not  for  children. 

"Boston  Blackie's  Rendezvous" 
with  Chester  Morris 

(Columbia,  July  5;  time,  64  min.) 

A  routine  program  melodrama,  which  is  somewhat 
unpleasant  because  it  revolves  around  the  machina- 
tions of  a  homicidal  maniac.  In  substance,  the  story  is 
practically  identical  to  the  other  pictures  in  the 
"Boston  Blackie"  series,  with  Chester  Morris,  as  the 
reformed  crook,  being  suspected  of  the  crime,  and  out- 
witting the  police  in  order  to  prove  his  innocence. 
For  comedy,  there  is  the  usual  by-play  between  Morris 
and  Richard  Lane,  the  police  inspector,  but  most  of 
this  is  so  familiar  that  one  finds  little  to  laugh  at.  Even 
Morris'  escapes  from  the  police,  by  means  of  a  mas- 
querade, are  unimpressive,  for  the  same  trick  has  been 
employed  in  the  last  few  pictures  of  the  series: — 

Steve  Cochran,  a  wealthy,  homicidal  maniac,  es- 
capes from  the  institution  to  which  he  had  been  con- 
fined, in  order  to  contact  Nina  Foch,  a  dance  hall 
hostess,  with  whom  he  had  been  corresponding  but 
whom  he  had  never  met.  Harry  Hayden,  Cochran's 
uncle,  disturbed  over  the  young  man's  escape,  asks 
Chester  Morris,  his  old  friend,  to  locate  him  without 
publicity.  Shortly  after  Hayden  leaves,  Cochran,  who 
had  followed  him  there,  confronts  Morris  and  knocks 
him  unconscious.  He  changes  into  one  of  Morris'  suits 
and  goes  to  the  dance  hall  to  see  Nina.  Finding  that 
Nina  was  out  of  town  that  night,  Cochran,  emotion- 
ally upset,  makes  a  date  with  another  hostess.  He  takes 
her  to  a  lonely  spot  in  the  country  and  strangles  her. 
Meanwhile  Morris,  with  the  aid  of  his  pal,  George 
Stone,  traces  Cochran  to  the  dance  hall  and  learns 
that  the  maniac  had  left  with  another  hostess.  Fearing 
for  the  girl's  safety,  Morris  notifies  the  police.  He 


tracks  Cochran  to  the  scene  of  the  crime  and,  just 
as  he  finds  the  body,  police  inspector  Lane  arrives  and 
arrests  him  for  the  murder.  Morris  manages  to  con- 
vince Lane  of  his  innocence  and,  after  gaining  his  re- 
lease, hurries  to  Nina's  apartment  to  warn  her  against 
Cochran,  but,  before  he  can  explain  his  identity,  she 
mistakes  him  for  the  maniac  and  drives  him  off  with 
her  screams.  Inspector  Lane  arrives,  and  Nina  de- 
scribes the  man  who  had  frightened  her,  convincing 
Lane  that  Morris  was  the  strangler.  After  the  police 
leave,  Cochran  enters  Nina's  apartment  and,  posing 
as  Morris,  convinces  her  that  he  was  working  with  the 
police  and  induces  her  to  come  to  his  hotel  room. 
Morris,  learning  that  Cochran  had  taken  Nina  to  the 
hotel,  rushes  there  only  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
police.  He  escapes  them  and,  after  a  furious  chase, 
manages  to  save  Nina  just  as  Cochran  is  about  to  kill 
her.  The  police  help  him  to  overpower  the  maniac. 

Edward  Dein  wrote  the  screen  play,  Alexis  Thurn- 
Taxis  produced  it,  and  Arthur  Driefuss  directed  it. 
the  cast  includes  Frank  Sully,  Iris  Adrian  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"I'll  Tell  the  World"  with  Lee  Tracy 
and  Brenda  Joyce 

(Universal,  June  8;  time,  61  min.) 

For  audiences  who  are  not  too  particular  about 
story  material,  this  breezy  program  comedy  with 
music  should  prove  to  be  entertaining.  Lee  Tracy,  as 
a  fast-talking  insurance  salesman,  is  cast  in  the  type 
of  role  that  brought  him  fame.  The  manner  in  which 
his  glibness  gets  him  into  numerous  predicaments 
causes  the  comedy.  The  story  is  rather  silly,  but  since 
it  is  fast-moving,  and  since  music  and  a  few  specialty 
numbers  have  been  worked  into  the  plot,  it  manages 
to  entertain  one  for  an  hour : — 

Gifted  with  an  ability  to  speak  rapidly  and  descrip- 
tively, Lee  Tracy,  a  brash  insurance  salesman,  wrests 
the  microphone  from  a  radio  announcer  at  a  football 
game  and  broadcasts  a  play-by-play  description  of  the 
contest  to  the  listening  audience.  Raymond  Walburn, 
president  of  the  radio  station,  and  June  Preisser,  his 
daughter,  are  so  impressed  by  Tracy's  glib  manner 
that  they  send  for  him.  Tracy's  arrival  at  the  studio 
and  his  constant  chattering  interfere  with  an  audition 
by  Brenda  Joyce,  a  singer  and  student  of  psychology. 
Brenda,  furious,  berates  Tracy.  To  make  amends, 
Tarcy  offers  to  help  her  get  a  job  with  the  radio  sta- 
tion. He  gets  himself  into  all  sorts  of  predicaments 
while  trying  to  advance  her  career,  but  his  efforts 
meet  with  no  success.  He  falls  in  love  with  Brenda 
and,  with  her  help,  becomes  a  "philosopher"  on  the 
station's  "advice  to  the  lovelorn"  program.  His  glib 
manner  of  speech,  coupled  with  Brenda's  knowledge 
of  psychology,  makes  the  program  sensational,  and 
Walburn,  in  order  to  sign  him  to  a  contract,  offers  to 
make  him  vice-president  of  the  company.  Meanwhile 
Tracy  inadvertently  ruins  another  audition  for 
Brenda,  causing  her  to  leave  him.  Unable  to  broadcast 
on  the  lovelorn  program  without  Brenda's  aid,  Tracy 
fakes  laryngitis.  Brenda,  feeling  responsible  for  his 
condition,  returns,  only  to  become  even  more  peeved 
when  his  voice  is  restored  miraculously.  But,  before 
she  can  leave  him  again,  the  loquacious  Tracy  talks 
her  into  marrying  him. 

Henry  Blankfort  wrote  the  screen  play,  Frank 
Gross  produced  it,  and  Leslie  Goodwins  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


104 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  30,  1945 


that  the  success  of  this  picture  might  well  bring  about 
a  cycle  of  crime  pictures,  the  ultimate  result  of  which 
would  be  to  give  a  distorted  view  of  life  in  America 
to  the  people  in  foreign  lands. 

Borzage  knows  what  he  is  talking  about,  for  experi- 
ence has  shown  that,  every  time  a  certain  type  of  pic- 
ture has  made  a  success,  rival  studios  quickly  put  into 
preparation  stories  of  a  similar  theme,  in  order  to  cash 
in  on  what  they  believed  to  be  a  new  trend  in  the  en- 
tertainment desires  of  the  picture-going  public.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  a  recent  issue  of  weekly  Variety  car- 
ried a  report  that  the  "grossing  power  of  a  $200,000 
budgeter,  such  as  'Dillinger,'  which  now  looms  as  a 
$1,000,000  grosser,  has  'alerted'  major  studios  where 
37  showings  of  the  film  have  already  been  reported 
held  for  production  staffs  in  an  effort  to  analyze  the 
b.o.  values.  (There  have  been  eight  staff  screenings  at 
one  studio  alone)." 

Harrison's  Reports  has  maintained  for  years  that 
a  large  percentage  of  American  pictures,  particularly 
of  the  crime  pictures,  misrepresents  the  American  na- 
tion to  the  peoples  of  foreign  countries.  When  the 
producers  adapt  vicious,  sordid  story  material  for  pic- 
tures, the  harm  caused  to  this  country  by  the  false 
impression  of  our  national  character  created  abroad 
far  outweighs  the  monetary  gain  from  foreign  sales. 

Trem  Carr  says  that  "in  the  field  of  diplomacy  .  .  . 
it  might  be  best  to  leave  that  work  in  the  hands  of  our 
State  Department,  and  we  in  the  motion  picture  busi- 
ness follow  their  recommendations,  rather  than  try  to 
set  any  pattern  for  them  to  follow."  While  diplomacy 
in  this  country's  relations  with  other  countries  is  prop- 
erly the  work  of  our  State  Department,  it  does  not 
relieve  a  producer  of  his  moral  obligation  to  use  the 
utmost  care  in  selecting  material  to  be  put  into  pic- 
tures, particularly  when  those  pictures  touch  upon 
our  Ameircan  way  of  life. 

In  point  is  an  editorial  of  this  paper  written  in  1939, 
dealing  with  Frank  Capra's  failure  to  exercise  discre- 
tion in  producing  "Mr.  Smith  Goes  to  Washington." 
I  said  then  that,  "under  the  democratic  system  of  our 
Government,  a  citizen  may  employ  his  right  to  express 
his  opinion  without  molestation,  so  long  as  he  does  not 
violate  the  law.  The  right  of  the  citizen  to  express  his 
opinion  freely,  however,  places  on  him  certain  moral 
obligations.  One  of  such  obligations,  for  example,  is 
to  use  discretion  if  the  exercise  of  that  right  should 
wound  the  feelings  of  other  citizens,  or  if  he  should 
present  the  United  States  of  America  abroad  in  a  bad 
light.  He  is  not  compelled  to  restrain  himself  by  law; 
he  must  do  so  as  a  result  of  his  ability  to  discern  when 
his  words,  his  criticisms,  may  hurt  the  nation  itself — 
lower  it  in  the  estimation  of  people,  abroad  as  well  as 
at  home,  particularly  abroad." 

As  Trem  Carr  says,  none  can  disagree  on  the  power 
of  the  motion  picture  to  tell  a  compelling  story,  and 
its  use,  both  from  an  educational  and  propaganda 
standpoint,  has  proved  most  effective.  We  should, 
therefore,  look  upon  our  motion  pictures  as  "ambas- 
sadors" in  foreign  lands — "ambassadors"  bearing  no 
credentials  but  exerting  great  power.  That  power 
should  be  used,  not  to  libel  and  villify  our  own  coun- 
try, but  to  represent  America  more  in  accordance 
with  the  truth.  And  the  responsibility  for  the  use  of 
this  power  lies  with  the  American  producers,  for  it  is 
through  their  depiction  of  American  ways  and  cus- 


toms that  the  people  of  foreign  countries  will  form 
either  an  adverse  or  a  favorable  opinion  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  American  people. 

The  producers,  however,  should  not  concern  them- 
selves only  with  the  adverse  effect  a  cycle  of  gangster 
pictures  might  have  in  foreign  countries.  They  should 
remember  also  that  crime  films,  when  produced  in 
number,  despite  the  "crime  does  not  pay"  moral  they 
expound,  exert  a  disastrous  influence  upon  the  youth 
of  our  own  country,  for  an  excess  of  such  pictures  will 
turn  the  screen  into  a  school  of  crime,  undermining 
the  morale  of  those  with  delinquent  tendencies,  and 
causing  some  of  them  to  adopt  the  brutal,  resourceful 
methods  employed  by  the  gangsters  in  their  commis- 
sion of  the  crimes  portrayed  on  the  screen. 

No  one  knows  better  than  the  exhibitors  of  this 
country  just  how  seriously  the  industry  was  affected 
by  the  crime  pictures  that  were  rampant  in  the  1930's. 
At  that  time  the  moral  quality  of  pictures  was  so  low 
that  it  brought  down  the  unified  wrath  of  religious  and 
other  organizations  upon  the  entire  industry,  with  the 
result  that  the  public  stayed  away  either  from  all  pic- 
tures or  from  most  of  them,  and  kept  their  children 
away  from  them  altogether. 

The  exhibitors  cannot  now  afford  to  experience  a 
recurrence  of  the  situation  in  the  1930's.  And  the  way 
to  prevent  it  is  to  lodge  a  protest  now  with  the  pro- 
ducer-distributor representatives,  nipping  in  the  bud 
any  contemplated  plans  for  a  cycle  of  crime  pictures. 


ALLIED  OF  EASTERN  PENNSYLVANIA 
ENDORSES  HARRISON'S  REPORTS 

In  an  organization  bulletin,  dated  June  18,  Sidney 
E.  Samuelson,  general  manager  of  the  Allied  Inde- 
pendent Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Penna.,  Inc.,  had 
this  to  say : 

"Recently,  Abe  Montague,  General  Sales  Man- 
ager of  Columbia,  sent  many  exhibitors  throughout 
the  country  a  three-page  telegram  from  Los  Angeles. 
In  it,  Montague  repeated  the  extravagant  promises 
about  the  Columbia  product.  I  will  not  comment  upon 
the  use  of  telegraph  facilities  for  this  totally  unneces- 
sary purpose  during  war  time.  Obviously,  this  abuse 
of  the  overburdened  communication  facilities  of  the 
nation  bothered  neither  Mr.  Montague  nor  his  con- 
science. 

"But  I  do  want  to  direct  your  attention  to  the 
devastating  analysis  of  Columbia's  delivery  perform- 
ance for  the  current  1944-45  season,  which  appeared 
in  Harrison's  Reports  on  June  9,  1945.  Harrison 
points  out  that  Columbia  has  released  only  five  of  its 
promised  fifteen  top  pictures,  and  he  emphasizes  that 
it  will  be  impossible  for  Columbia  to  release  all  of  the 
top  pictures  it  promised  for  this  year.  Furthermore, — - 
and  this  should  not  surprise  you — Columbia  is  not  re- 
leasing some  of  its  top  pictures,  but  is  withholding 
them  for  next  year.  For  more  than  twenty-five  years, 
Peter  Harrison  has  been  the  watch  dog  protecting  the 
rights  of  the  independent  exhibitor  and  exposing  the 
malpractices  of  the  motion  picture  industry. 

"You  are  urged  to  carefully  read  this  issue  of  Har- 
rison's Reports,  and  if  you  do  not  have  it  handy, 
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Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  JULY  7,  1945 


No.  27 


DIMINISHING  RETURNS 

An  examination  of  the  reports  by  experts  in  the 
financial  sections  of  the  daily  newspapers  leaves  one 
convinced  fully  that  the  nation  has  passed  the  peak 
of  its  wartime  prosperity,  and  that  from  now  on  busi' 
ness  revenues  will  be  on  the  decline.  These  reports 
are  substantiated  in  the  motion  picture  industry  by 
the  downward  trend  of  box-office  receipts  throughout 
the  country.  In  fact,  only  this  week,  the  State  Treas- 
urer of  Ohio  released  figures  showing  that  motion 
picture  theatres  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  during  the  first 
five  months  of  1945,  as  compared  with  the  first  five 
months  of  last  year,  suffered  a  decrease  in  attendance 
of  sixteen  per  cent. 

The  main  factor  generally  claimed  to  have  caused 
this  falling  off  of  box-office  receipts  is,  of  course,  the 
steady  rise  in  unemployment  pending  the  reconver- 
sion of  war  industries  to  peacetime  production. 
Among  other  factors  that  are  claimed  to  have  had  an 
effect  on  the  box-office  are  the  exodus  of  transient 
workers  from  towns  whose  populations  had  swelled 
abnormally;  the  reduced  earnings  of  those  still  em- 
ployed, causing  them  to  become  thrifty  and  to  cut 
down  on  their  theatre  attendance;  and  the  poor  qual- 
ity of  many  pictures,  which  is  driving  patrons  away 
from  the  theatres. 

While  each  of  these  factors  has  undoubtedly  had 
its  share  in  causing  a  decline  in  patronage,  a  still  more 
powerful  one,  in  the  opinion  of  this  writer,  is  yet  to 
come.  How  soon  and  to  what  extent  is  unpredictable, 
but  it  deserves  the  careful  study  of  the  thoughtful  ex- 
hibitor. The  factor  I  speak  of  is  a  reaction  to  natural 
causes,  such  as  we  experienced  after  World  War  I, 
when  the  cost  of  living,  like  water,  sought  its  own 
level. 

During  that  war,  particularly  in  the  last  years  of 
it,  the  shortage  of  labor  sent  wages  skyward,  and  the 
manufacturers  and  retailers,  taking  advantage  of  the 
public's  bulging  pocketbook,  charged  unheard  .of 
prices  for  articles,  not  only  of  luxury,  but  also  of 
necessity.  As  a  result,  the  cost  of  living  rose  to  an 
unprecedented  high,  putting  labor  in  a  position  to 
demand  still  higher  wages.  Everybody's  earning  ca- 
pacity was  abnormal,  and  everybody  spent  money 
lavishly.  People  lived  in  a  fool's  paradise  with  no 
thought  given  to  the  future. 

With  the  end  of  the  war,  and  with  the  cutbacks  in 
war  contracts  that  followed,  the  economic  state  of  the 
nation  began  a  downward  trend  to  normalcy.  The 
army  of  unemployed  increased  constantly,  and  labor 
fought  to  maintain  the  high  wages  they  had  been 
enjoying.  The  manufacturers,  however,  faced  with 
selling  products  to  a  people  that  had  become  thrift 
conscious,  could  not  pay  such  high  wages  and,  rather 


than  suffer  a  possible  loss,  shut  down  their  plants  un- 
til such  a  time  as  labor  saw  fit  to  accept  a  wage  that 
made  it  possible  for  them  to  manufacture  products  at 
a  cost  in  conformity  with  the  public's  ability  to  buy. 
While  this  process  of  readjustment  went  on,  the 
country  suffered  a  business  slump,  which  in  turn  af- 
fected the  motion  picture  business. 

Today  we  find  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  an  eco- 
nomic transition  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the 
nation  and  of  the  motion  picture  business.  I  say  un- 
precedented because,  unlike  the  period  that  followed 
World  War  I,  when  the  country  laid  down  its  arms 
and  converted  from  a  wartime  economy  to  a  peace- 
time economy,  the  present  day  finds  the  nation  in  a 
transition  period  that  might  be  called  one  of  half  peace 
and  half  war. 

Because  our  country  has  never  undergone  such  a 
transition  period,  the  way  ahead  is  uncharted,  and 
even  the  best  business  experts  cannot  predict  just  what 
the  future  holds,  for  the  progress  of  our  war  with 
Japan  is  the  decisive  factor  in  any  prediction;  a 
lengthy  war,  with  its  requirement  of  vast  supplies  will 
hold  the  national  economy  at  a  level  high  above  nor- 
mal, while  a  sudden  collapse  of  Japan,  which  is  quite 
possible  in  view  of  the  tremendous  pressure  now  bear- 
ing down  on  her,  will  jolt  the  national  economy  seri- 
ously, though  in  all  probability  temporarily,  pending 
total  reconversion  to  civilian  production. 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  transition  period  through 
which  we  are  now  passing  is  going  to  result  in  a  seri- 
ous business  slump,  for,  even  though  unemployment 
may  be  on  the  rise,  most  people  of  moderate  means 
have  saved  sufficient  money  to  tide  them  over  until 
the  wheels  of  civilian  production  begin  to  turn,  pro- 
vided, of  course,  that  their  layoffs  are  not  unduly  long. 
But  I  do  believe  that,  like  the  period  following  the  last 
war,  there  will  take  place  economic  disturbances, 
which,  though  they  will  not  result  in  a  depression,  will 
certainly  have  a  decided  effect  on  the  national  income 
as  compared  with  the  prosperity  we  have  been  en- 
joying for  the  past  few  years.  The  man  on  the  street, 
no  longer  assured  of  a  pay  envelope  made  fat  by  time- 
and-one-half  pay  for  many  hours  of  overtime  work 
each  week,  will  find  that  he  can  no  longer  afford  to 
pay  high  prices  for  articles  of  luxury;  and  if  the  prices 
of  necessities  are  too  high  he  will  confine  himself  to 
bare  necessities.  The  retailer,  to  regain  this  thrift- 
conscious  citizen  as  a  customer,  will  make  demands 
on  the  wholesaler  for  merchandise  that  can  be  sold  at 
a  price  within  the  means  of  his  customer,  and  the 
wholesaler  will  in  turn  bring  pressure  to  bear  against 
the  manufacturer,  who  will  then  place  the  issue 
squarely  in  the  lap  of  his  employee — the  man  in  the 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


106 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  7,  1945 


"Gangs  of  the  Waterfront"  with  Robert 
Armstrong  and  Stephanie  Bachelor 

(Republic,  July  3;  time,  56  min.) 
Just  .i  moderately  entertaining  melodrama  of  the 
gangster  variety.  The  story  is  extremely  far-fetched, 
but  where  patrons  are  not  too  exacting  in  their  de- 
mands it  should  give  fair  satisfaction.  One  is  held  in 
considerable  suspense  throughout,  owing  to  the 
danger  to  the  hero,  who,  because  of  his  resemblance 
to  a  notorious  gang  leader,  impersonates  the  man  and 
assumes  leadership  of  his  gang  in  an  effort  to  help  the 
police  curb  their  activities.  There  is  excitement  in  the 
closing  scenes,  where  the  gang  leader  returns  to  the 
waterfront  to  expose  his  impersonator  only  to  he  killed 
mistakenly  by  one  of  his  own  henchmen.  The  per- 
formances are  fair,  with  Robert  Armstrong  playing 
a  dual  role.  A  romance  has  been  worked  into  the 
plot: — 

Injured  in  an  automobile  accident,  Robert  Arm- 
strong, a  gang  leader,  whose  gang  had  been  troubling 
the  police,  is  held  incommunicado  in  a  hospital  by 
William  Forrest,  the  district  attorney,  who  puts  into 
effect  a  plan  to  gain  evidence  against  the  gang  for  the 
murder  of  Stephanie  Bachelor's  father,  head  of  a 
nautical  supply  company.  Forrest  communicates  with 
a  taxidermist  (also  played  by  Armstrong),  who  bore 
an  amazing  resemblance  to  the  gang  leader,  and  in- 
duces him  to  impersonate  Armstrong  and  to  assume 
leadership  of  the  gang.  Familiarizing  himself  with 
Armstrong's  habits  and  with  the  gang's  activities,  the 
taxidermist  takes  charge  of  the  gang  and  succeeds  in 
fooling  the  unsuspecting  members.  He  holds  a  con- 
ference with  other  gang  leaders  under  the  pretense 
of  organizing  them,  but  actually  gathers  evidence 
against  them.  Meanwhile  Stephanie,  believing  him 
to  be  the  real  gang  leader,  complains  to  the  police 
that  he  was  trying  to  "shake  her  down."  Following  a 
series  of  complications  in  which  the  taxidermist  tries 
to  protect  Stephanie  from  the  gangsters  without 
arousing  their  suspicions,  Martin  Koslek,  the  gang 
leader's  first  lieutenant,  learns  of  his  identity.  In  the 
meantime,  Armstrong,  learning  of  the  masquerade, 
escapes  from  the  hospital  and  heads  for  the  water- 
front to  confront  his  impersonator.  The  police  rush 
to  the  scene  to  protect  the  taxidermist  and,  in  the 
midst  of  a  gun  battle,  Koslek  shoots  down  the  real 
gang  leader  in  the  belief  that  he  was  the  taxidermist. 
The  other  gangsters  are  either  shot  or  taken  into 
custody.  Stephanie  and  the  taxidermist  plan  to  wed. 

Albert  Beich  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  George 
Blair  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Marian  Martin  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Arson  Squad"  with  Frank  Albertson 
and  Robert  Armstrong 

(PRC,  no  release  date  set;  time,  64  mm.) 
A  fairly  entertaining  program  melodrama.  The 
plot  follows  a  familiar  pattern,  but  the  action  is  fast 
and  at  times  exciting.  As  indicated  by  the  title,  the 
story  deals  with  arsonists.  The  spectator  is  held  in 
fairly  tense  suspense  throughout,  as  a  result  of  the 
fact  that  the  hero,  a  fire  insurance  investigator  posing 
as  an  insurance  salesman,  is  in  constant  danger  be- 
cause of  his  efforts  to  uncover  the  doings  of  a  profes- 
sional gang  of  arsonists.  A  spectacular  warehouse 
fire,  two  murders,  and  a  mild  romance,  have  been 
worked  into  the  plot.  The  closing  scenes,  where  the 


hero  and  the  police  trap  the  arsonists  in  the  act  of  set- 
ting a  fire,  are  exciting: — 

When  a  woolen  warehouse  burns  down,  and  when 
Byron  Foulger's  partner  is  found  murdred  in  the 
building,  Captain  Robert  Armstrong,  of  the  Arson 
Squad,  and  Frank  Albertson,  an  insurance  investi- 
gator posing  as  a  salesman,  suspect  arson  and  set 
about  to  prove  it.  Albertson  informs  the  head  of  the 
insurance  company  of  his  suspicions  and  induces  him 
to  withhold  payment  of  the  insurance,  despite  the 
objections  of  Chester  Clute,  the  company's  chief  ad- 
juster. Through  Grace  Gillen,  Foulger's  secretary, 
Albertson  obtains  invoices  covering  a  woolen  ship- 
ment supposedly  burned  in  the  fire,  and  learns  that 
the  w(xil  had  been  sold  by  Jerry  Jerome,  head  of  a 
woolen  firm.  A  visit  to  Jerome's  office  convinces 
Albertson  that  he  was  head  of  an  arson  ring  that  had 
been  avoiding  detection  cleverly,  and  other  evidence 
indicates  to  him  that  Jerome  was  in  league  with 
Foulger  in  the  warehouse  fire.  Shortly  after,  Arm- 
strong informs  Albertson  that  a  new  warehouse  had 
taken  out  a  $75,000  insurance  policy  on  a  woolen 
shipment  from  Jerome.  Albertson,  posing  as  a  fire 
inspector,  visits  the  warehouse,  copies  the  bolt  num- 
bers on  the  woolens,  and  discovers  that  they  corre- 
spond to  the  invoice  numbers  on  the  shipment  sup- 
posedly burned  in  Foulger's  warehouse.  Aided  by 
Armstrong's  Arson  Squad,  Albertson  allows  Jerome's 
gang  to  set  the  stage  for  the  fire,  then  captures  them 
as  they  set  it  off.  Jerome,  to  save  his  own  neck,  reveals 
that  Clute,  the  insurance  company's  adjuster,  had 
been  the  arson  ring's  mastermind. 

Arthur  St.  Claire  wrote  the  screen  play,  Arthur 
Alexander  produced  it,  and  Lew  Landers  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"White  Pongo"  with  Richard  Fraser 
and  Maris  Wrixon 

(PRC,  no  release  date  set;  time,  72  min.) 
Undiscnminating  audiences  may  find  enough  ex- 
citement in  this  jungle  melodrama  to  satisfy  them, 
but  others  will  probably  find  it  tiresome  on  the  whole, 
for  not  only  is  the  story  trite,  implausible,  and  long- 
drawn  out,  but  also  the  direction  and  acting  is  ama- 
teurish. The  action  centers  around  a  search  for  a 
huge  white  gorilla,  the  hybrid  product  of  a  scientific 
experiment,  and,  for  added  interest,  the  plot  includes 
a  love  triangle,  the  machinations  of  an  unscrupulous 
guide,  and  an  exciting  jungle  battle  between  two 
huge  gorillas,  the  Hollywood  variety,  of  course.  One 
follows  the  proceedings  restlessly,  occasionally  laugh- 
ing where  no  laughter  was  intended.  Liberal  use  has 
been  made  of  jungle  clips  to  pad  out  the  thin  plot. 
While  the  picture  rates  as  no  better  than  average  pro- 
gram fare,  it  is  the  sort  that  lends  itself  to  exploita- 
tion : — 

Through  a  white  man  who  had  escaped  from  an 
African  tribe,  Lionel  Royce,  an  anthropologist,  and 
Gordon  Richards,  a  British  scientist,  learn  of  a  white 
gorilla  that  had  been  created  by  a  missing  scientist, 
using  human  spermatoza,  Richard,  accompanied  by 
Maris  Wrixon,  his  daughter,  and  by  Michael  Dyne, 
his  secretary,  had  organized  a  safari  to  explore  the 
Congo,  but  he  changes  his  mind  and  decides  to  search 
for  the  white  gorilla.  En  route,  bitterness  develops 
in  the  safari  because  of  Dyne's  jealousy  over  Maris' 
interest  in  Richard  Fraser,  a  rifleman.  Meanwhile,  un- 
known to  the  party,  the  white  gorilla  had  been  trail- 
ing them,  intent  upon  capturing  Mans,  with  whom 


July  7,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


107 


he  was  fascinated.  Al  Eben,  the  safari's  guide,  a 
murderous  renegade,  notices  Dyne's  jealousy  over 
Maris  and  grasps  the  opportunity  to  enlist  his  aid  in 
a  plan  to  seize  the  parties  supplies  and  guns  so  that 
they  could  embark  on  their  own  in  search  of  a  fabu- 
lous gold  field.  Dyne  agrees  when  Eben  permits  him 
to  take  Maris  along  against  her  will.  The  two  men 
overpower  the  others  and,  leaving  them  bound,  take 
control  of  the  safari  and  start  on  their  search.  En 
route,  Dyne  is  murdered  by  Eben,  who  in  turn  is 
killed  by  the  white  gorilla,  which  captures  Maris. 
Meanwhile  Fraser  frees  himself  and  the  others  from 
their  bounds  and  reveals  himself  to  be  an  agent  of  the 
Rhodesian  Secret  Service,  explaining  that  he  had 
joined  the  safari  to  capture  Eben.  They  set  out  in 
search  of  Maris,  and  trail  her  to  the  gorilla's  cave, 
where  they  arrive  in  time  to  save  her  and  to  capture 
the  beast  for  scientific  study. 

Raymond  L.  Schrock  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sig- 
mund  Neufeld  produced  it,  and  Sam  Newfield  di' 
rected  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"You  Came  Along"  with  Lizabeth  Scott 
and  Robert  Cummings 

(Paramount,  Sept.  14;  time,  103  min.) 

This  is  a  good  entertainment,  with  plentiful 
comedy,  and  with  emotional  appeal  in  many  of  the 
situations;  it  should  be  received  well  by  the  rank  and 
file,  for  it  is  rich  in  human  interest,  and  there  is  a 
a  certain  breeziness  about  it  that  keeps  the  interest 
alive.  The  story  revolves  around  three  aviators,  all 
wounded  heroes,  who  are  assigned  to  a  nation-wide 
bond-selling  tour  under  the  guidance  of  a  pretty 
young  lady,  a  Treasury  representative.  The  heart- 
warming part  of  the  picture  is  the  friendship  between 
the  three  men.  Their  affection,  understanding,  and 
concern  for  each  other,  despite  their  outward  flippant 
attitude,  is  inspiring.  Most  of  the  action  is  confined 
to  their  gay  exploits  and  to  their  good-natured  vying 
for  the  attentions  of  Lizabeth  Scott,  their  guide.  Miss 
Scott,  a  newcomer,  has  an  arresting  personality,  and 
her  acting  is  skillful.  Her  romance  with  Robert  Cum- 
mings, and  her  subsequent  marriage  to  him,  despite 
her  knowledge  that  his  days  were  numbered  because 
of  an  incurable  blood  disease,  furnish  some  of  the 
story's  gayest  yet  tenderest  moments.'  Aside  from  the 
gayety,  enough  is  said  by  the  different  characters  to 
give  one  an  insight  of  the  influence  of  war  on  fighting 
men,  and  of  what  each  one  hopes  to  return  to : — 

Assigned  to  a  nation-wide  bond-selling  tour,  Rob- 
ert Cummings,  Don  Defore,  and  Charles  Drake, 
spend  every  free  moment  away  from  their  duties  to 
go  out  on  dates.  Their  gay  idiosyncrasies  keep  Liza- 
beth on  edge,  but  she  copes  with  them  good-naturedly. 
As  the  tour  progresses,  Lizabeth  and  Cummings  fall 
in  love,  but  she  discovers  that  he  was  suffering  from 
a  blood  disease,  from  which  there  was  no  recovery. 
Lizabeth  finds  herself  faced  with  a  desire  to  marry  a 
man  whose  death  was  imminent,  while  Cummings, 
aware  that  his  days  were  limited,  felt  that  marriage 
would  be  unfair  to  her.  Their  love,  however,  proves 
so  strong  that  they  marry  immediately.  Their  wed- 
ding is  followed  by  two  months  of  idyllic  contentment 
and  happiness,  until  one  day  Cummings  is  ordered  to 
a  hospital  to  live  out  his  remaining  days.  Pretending 
that  he  had  been  ordered  overseas,  Cummings  bids 
goodbye  to  his  wife  and  pals.  All,  however,  sensed 
that  they  would  not  see  him  again,  and,  within  a  few 


weeks,  the  War  Department  advises  Lizabeth  of  his 
death.  She  faces  the  future  unafraid,  satisfied  that 
she  and  Cummings  had  shared  a  brief  but  beautiful 
period. 

Robert  Smith  and  Ayn  Rand  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Hal  Wallis  produced  it,  and  John  Farrow  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Julie  Bishop,  Kim  Hunter, 
Helen  Forrest,  Franklin  Pangborn  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Cheaters"  with  Joseph  Shildkraut, 
Ona  Munson  and  Eugene  Pallette 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  87  min.) 

A  fairly  good  program  entertainment.  It  is  an  ap- 
pealing comedy-drama,  with  a  heart-warming,  senti- 
mental quality,  and  with  good  comedy  bits.  The  pro- 
duction values  are  good,  and  the  direction  and  acting 
impressive,  particularly  the  performance  of  Joseph 
Shildkraut,  as  a  faded  matinee  idol,  who  retains  his 
poise,  despite  his  weakness  for  drink.  The  story,  which 
deals  with  the  eventual  regeneration  of  a  grasping, 
selfish  family  on  the  verge  of  financial  ruin,  is  devel- 
oped naturally,  and  some  parts  of  it  are  inspiring.  The 
manner  in  which  they  are  made  ashamed  of  their 
selfishness  and  greed,  and  in  which  they  are  trans- 
formed into  sincere,  human  people,  leaves  one  with 
a  warm  feeling: — 

On  the  verge  of  financial  ruin  because  of  the  ex- 
travagance of  his  wife  (Billie  Burke) ,  his  daughters 
(Ruth  Terry  and  Ann  Gillis),  his  son  (David  Holt), 
and  his  lazy  brother-in-law  (Raymond  Walburn), 
Eugene  Pallette  awaits  the  momentary  death  of  a  rich 
uncle,  whose  fortune  he  hoped  to  inherit.  While  the 
family  prepares  for  the  Christmas  holidays,  Pallette, 
to  help  Ruth  impress  her  boy-friend,  Robert  Living- 
ston, a  Boston  socialite,  permits  her  to  invite  a  "char- 
ity case"  to  spend  Christmas  with  the  family.  Shild- 
kraut, who  had  become  a  drinking,  philosophical 
cynic,  is  brought  to  the  house.  Shortly  after  his  ar- 
rival, the  uncle  dies,  leaving  $5,000,000  to  Ona  Mun- 
son, an  unemployed  actress,  whom  he  had  known  as 
a  child.  The  will  stipulated  that  the  money  revert  to 
Pallette  if  Ona  could  not  be  found  within  a  reason- 
able time.  With  typical  selfishness,  Pallette  and  the 
family  decide  to  invite  the  girl  to  their  home  and, 
through  trickery,  keep  her  ignorant  of  her  good  for- 
tune until  the  time  for  her  search  expires.  Informed 
by  the  family  that  she  was  a  long-lost  cousin,  Ona, 
penniless,  grasps  the  opportunity  of  spending  a  com- 
fortable, well-fed  holiday  with  them.  Her  honesty, 
sincerity,  and'  warm-heartedness  soon  endear  Ona  to 
all  who  were  trying  to  victimize  her.  On  Christmas 
Eve,  Shildkraut,  who  had  fallen  in  love  with  Ona, 
i  and  who  was  aware  of  the  family's  scheme  to  de- 
fraud her,  impresses  the  family  with  their  selfishness 
and  greed  by  reciting  Dicken's  "Christmas  Carol" 
and  likening  Pallette  to  "Scrooge."  Ona,  unaware  of 
Shildkraut's  purpose,  confesses  that  she  was  not  the 
family's  cousin,  and  that  she  was  enjoying  their  hos- 
pitality under  false  pretenses.  Shildkraut's  symbolic 
story,  and  Ona's  genuine  gesture,  makes  the  family 
so  remorseful  that  they  confess  to  Ona  their  scheme. 
Flabbergasted  but  delighted,  Ona  promises  them  half 
the  fortune,  and  convinces  Shildkraut  that,  with  her, 
his  life  will  again  be  worth  living. 

Frances  Hyland  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Joseph 
Kane  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Robert  Grieg,  St.  Luke's  Choristers  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


108 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  7,  1945 


street.  Thus  does  the  cost  of  living  find  its  own  level, 
but  in  the  interim,  business  is  bound  to  suffer. 

In  our  business,  the  retailer  is  the  exhibitor,  the 
wholesaler  is  the  distributor,  and  the  manufacturer  is 
the  producer. 

It  would  be  well  for  every  exhibitor  to  reconcile 
himself  to  the  fact  that,  for  some  time  to  come,  he  will 
not  experience  the  prosperity  of  the  past  few  years, 
and  he  should  adjust  his  plans  accordingly. 

Recent  editorials  in  this  paper  have  cautioned  you 
as  to  the  prices  you  should  pay  for  the  coming  season's 
product  lest  you  find  yourself  burdened  with  pictures, 
the  revenue  of  which  will  not  be  commensurate  with 
the  crushing  rentals  paid.  Those  of  you  who  will  heed 
this  warning  will  be  better  able  to  weather  any  pos- 
sible storm,  but  those  of  you  who  are  so  drunk  with 
prosperity  that  this  counsel  will  not  make. upon  you 
the  slightest  impression  may  find  yourselves  reaping 
the  consequences  of  your  folly. 

Harrison's  Reports  is  not  a  spreader  of  gloom. 
It  is  an  exponent  of  caution,  and  its  aim  is  to  study 
conditions  as  they  arc  and  to  present  them  to  you,  so 
that  you  may  be  guided  accordingly  in  the  operation 
of  your  theatres. 

From  time  to  time  the  trade  papers  give  space  to 
the  optimistic  talk  of  the  producer-distributor  repre- 
sentatives about  what  the  future  holds.  Their  opti- 
mism is  understandable;  they  have  film  to  sell.  Don't 
let  them  lull  you  into  a  false  sense  of  security  by  point- 
ing out  that  last  year's  business  was  one  of  the  best 
the  industry  has  ever  known  and  that  the  coming  year 
will  be  even  better.  Present  conditions  indicate  that 
that  the  future  will  not  be  so  rosy,  and  the  only  way 
for  you  to  cope  with  it  is  to  take  practical  economic 
measures  now. 

Demand  that  your  film  rentals  come  down! 


CONSISTENT  COLUMBIA 

According  to  the  daily  trade  papers,  Columbia 
has  announced  that  its  annual  sales  drive,  the  "Mon- 
tague Twentieth  Anniversary  Campaign,"  which 
was  originally  scheduled  to  run  from  March  16  to 
June  28,  has  been  extended  for  an  additional  two 
months,  and  will  now  end  on  August  30. 

The  company's  purpose  in  extending  the  drive  is  to 
include  in  the  campaign  several  important  features, 
among  which  are  "A  Thousand  and  One  Nights''  and 
"Over  21." 

From  the  way  this  news  item  has  been  written  up 
in  the  papers,  one  who  was  not  acquainted  with  the 
facts  might  get  the  impression  that  Columbia  pro- 
longed the  drive  to  include  "A  Thousand  and  One 
Nights"  and  "Over  21"  as  something  extra. 

Lest  some  of  you  gain  that  impression,  let  me  re- 
mind you  that  these  two  productions  were  included 
in  the  original  announcement  of  the  drive,  and  that 
both  were  promised  for  delivery  by  June  28.  Being 
consistent,  however,  Columbia  failed  to  deliver  as 
promised. 

But  the  reason  for  this  non-delivery  is  not  too  diffi- 
cult to  understand;  these  two  pictures  are  the  only 
important  productions  Columbia  has  on  hand,  and 
if  both  were  delivered  by  June  28  the  company 
would  have  found  itself  with  only  a  few  minor  pic- 
tures for  delivery  in  July  and  August,  thus  defeating 
its  usual  purpose  of  ending  a  season  in  a  blaze  of 
glory,  in  the  hope  that  its  customers  would  forget  the 
injustices  they  suffered  during  the  preceding  months. 


A  PLEA  IN  REVERSE 

A  recent  issue  of  the  Hollywood  Reporter  states 
that  "Three  thousand  features,  made  during  the  past 
five  years,  are  now  ready  for  distribution  in  the 
countries  of  Europe  from  which  they  were  barred 
either  through  Nazi  action  or  by  exigencies  of  war. 
The  returns  on  the  huge  backlog  will  amount  to 
millions  of  dollars  of  revenue  over  a  period  of  years, 
and  may  be  used  as  a  'cushion'  against  any  possible 
drop  in  domestic  grosses,  or,  should  post  war  cur- 
rency blockings  take  place  in  foreign  lands,  be  uti- 
lized for  production,  distribution,  and  exhibition  in 
those  countries." 

Most  of  you,  I  am  sure,  will  remember  when,  in 
1939,  the  producers,  in  order  to  overcome  their  an- 
ticipated loss  of  revenue  from  war-torn  Europe,  sug- 
gested that  the  American  exhibitors  pay  higher  film 
rentals,  so  that  they  (the  producers)  could  continue 
the  production  of  meritorious  quality  films.  Their 
anxiety,  however,  proved  to  be  premature,  for  their 
earnings  during  the  past  five  years,  even  in  foreign 
countries,  have  exceeded  by  far  their  fondest  dreams. 

Now  they  find  themselves  with  approximately 
three  thousand  features  from  which  they  have  already 
realized  fabulous  profits,  and  from  which  they  expect 
to  derive  more  millions  of  dollars  in  the  foreign  mar- 
kets. By  the  same  process  of  reasoning  that  they  used 
when  they  pleaded  with  the  exhibitors  for  help  in 
1939,  will  the  producer-distributors  now  offer  to  re- 
flect these  millions  of  dollars  of  potential  profits  in 
reduced  rentals  to  the  American  exhibitors? 

The  reopening  of  the  foreign  markets  gives  the 
distributors  a  chance  to  be  not  only  fair,  but  also  con- 
sistent. 


AN  UNALLURING  ALLURE 

Film  Daily  reports  that  the  Florida  legislature,  • 
which  for  many  years  has  made  attempts  to  lure  mo- 
tion picture  producers  to  its  state,  has  authorized  the 
appointment  of  a  Motion  Picture  Industry  Commit- 
tee to  "take  such  steps  as  are  deemed  advisable  to  at- 
tract the  industry." 

The  resolution  held  that  "Florida  offers  many  nat- 
ural advantages  to  the  motion  picture  industry  not 
available  in  other  sections  of  the  nation,"  and  it  listed 
among  the  advantages  tropical  scenery,  climate,  access 
to  large  centers  of  population,  and  proximity  to  the 
latin  American  countries  of  Central  and  South  Amer- 
ica and  to  the  islands  of  the  South  Seas. 

These  advantages  are  indeed  alluring,  but  what  do 
the  Florida  legislators  intend  to  do  with  their  mosqui- 
tos  and  gnats  if  they  should  induce  the  producers  to 
try  production  in  Florida?  And  what  about  the  sum- 
mer heat? 

The  state  of  Florida  should  centre  its  attention  on 
some  other  industry,  and  should  leave  motion  picture 
production  to  Hollywood. 


ORDER  YOUR  MISSING  COPIES 

Look  over  your  files  and  if  you  find  the  copy  of  any 
issue  missing,  order  a  duplicate  copy  at  once;  it  will 
be  supplied  to  you  free  of  charge. 

You  cannot  know  when  the  very  copy  missing  will 
be  the  one  you'll  need;  so  why  not  go  over  your  files 
now? 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVII 

NEW  YORK,  SATURDAY,  JULY  7,  1945 

No.  27 

(Semi-Annual  Index — First  Half  of  1945) 

Titles  of  Pictures  '      Reviewed  on  Page 

Affairs  of  Susan,  The — Paramount  (109  min.)   50 

Along  Came  Jones— RKO  (90  min.)   95 

Back  to  Bataan— RKO  (95  min.)   86 

Bedside  Manner — United  Artists  (79  min.)   95 

Bell  for  Adano,  A— 20th  Century-Fox  ( 104  min.)   99 

Bells  of  Rosanta — Republic  (68  min.)  not  reviewed 

Betrayal  from  the  East — RKO  (82  min.)   27 

Bewitched— MGM  (65  min.)   99 

Beyond  the  Pecos — Universal  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Big  Bonanza,  The — Republic  (69  min.)   6 

Big  Show-Off,  The— Republic  (70  min.)   10 

Blonde  from  Brooklyn — Columbia  (65  min.)   82 

Blonde  Ransom — Universal  (68  min.)   86 

Blood  on  the  Sun — United  Artists  (94  min.)   67 

Body  Snatcher,  The— RKO  (78  min.)   32 

Boston  Blackie  Booked  on  Suspicion — Columbia 

(67  min.)    62 

Boston  Blackie's  Rendezvous- — Columbia  (64  min.) . . .  103 

Brewster's  Millions- — United  Artists  (79  min.)   42 

Brighton  Strangler,  The— RKO  (67  min.)   70 

Bring  on  the  Girls — Paramount  (92  min.)   26 

Bullfighters,  The— 20th  Century-Fox  (61  min.)   60 

Captain  Eddie — 20th  Century-Fox  (107  min.)   98 

Castle  of  Crimes— PRC  (60  min.)   2 

Chicago  Kid,  The — Republic  (68  min.)   22 

China  Sky— RKO  (78  min.)   62 

China's  Little  Devils — Monogram  (74  min.)   55 

Circumstantial  Evidence — 20th  Century-Fox  (68  min.)  .  27 
Cisco  Kid  Returns,  The — Monogram  (64  m.)  .not  reviewed 

Clock,  The— MGM  (90  min.)   46 

Colonel  Blimp — United  Artists  (148  min.)    47 

Conflict— Warner  Bros.  (86  min.)   95 

Corn  is  Green,  The — Warner  Bros.  (114  min.)   51 

Corpus  Christi  Bandits — Republic  (55  min.)  .  .not  reviewed 

Counter- Attack — Columbia  (90  min.)   56 

Crime  Doctor's  Courage,  The — Columbia  (70  min.) ...  36 

Crime,  Inc.— PRC  (75  min.)   28 

Delightfully  Dangerous — United  Artists  (93  min.) ....  34 

Diamond  Horseshoe — 20th  Century-Fox  (104  min.)  ...  59 

Dillinger,  John — Monogram  (71  min.)   42 

Divorce- — Monogram  (72  min.)   91 

Docks  of  New  York — Monogram  (62  min.)   36 

Don  Juan  Quilligan — 20th  Century-Fox  (75  min.)  ....  91 

Eadie  Was  a  Lady — Columbia  (67  min.)   11 

Earl  Carroll  Vanities — Republic  (91  min.)   39 

Enchanted  Cottage,  The— RKO  (92  min.)   27 

Enemy  of  the  Law — PRC  (56  m.)  not  reviewed 

Escape  in  the  Desert — Warner  Bros.  (79  min.)   66 

Escape  in  the  Fog — Columbia  (63  min.)   42 

Eve  Knew  Her  Apples — Columbia  (64  min.)   51 

Fashion  Model — Monogram  (61  min.)   38 

Fighting  Guardsman,  The — Columbia  (84  min.)   70 

Flame  of  the  Barbary  Coast — Republic  (91  min.)   63 

Fog  Island— PRC  (70  min.)   43 

Forever  Yours — Monogram  (see  "They  Shall  Have 

Faith")    2 

Frisco  Sal — Universal  (94  min.)    26 

Frozen  Ghost,  The — Universal  (61  min.)   83 

Gangsters'  Den — PRC  (55  m.)  not  reviewed 

G.I.  Honeymoon — Monogram  (70  min.)    50 

God  is  My  Co-Pilot — Warner  Bros.  (90  min.)   31 

Great  Flamarion,  The — Republic  (78  min.)   10 

Great  John  L,  The — United  Artists  (96  min.)   91 

Great  Stage  Coach  Robbery,  The — Republic 

(56  min.)   not  reviewed 

Grissley's  Millions — Republic  (72  min.)   6 

Gun  Smoke — Monogram  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Guy,  a  Gal  and  a  Pal,  A — Columbia  (61  min.)   74 


Hangover  Square — 20th  Century-Fox  (77  min.)   10 

Having  Wonderful  Crime— RKO  (70  min.)   26 

Her  Lucky  Night — Universal  (63  min.)   28 

Here  Come  the  Co-Eds — Universal  (87  min.)   19 

High  Powered — Paramount  (60  min.)   30 

His  Brother's  Ghost — PRC  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Hitchhike  to  Happiness — Republic  (72  min.)   67 

Hollywood  and  Vine— PRC  (58  min.)   43 

Honeymoon  Ahead — Universal  (59  min.)   78 

Horn  Blows  at  Midnight,  The— Warner  Bros. 

(78  min.)    56 

Hotel  Berlin — Warner  Bros.  (98  min.)   34 

House  of  Fear,  The — Universal  (68  min.)   46 

Identity  Unknown — Republic  (71  min.)   55 

I'll  Remember  April — Universal  (63  min.)   58 

I'll  Tell  the  World— Universal (  62  min.)  103 

I  Love  a  Mystery — Columbia  (69  min.)   18 

Incendiary  Blonde — Paramount  (113  min.)   94 

In  Old  New  Mexico- — Monogram  (62  min.) .  .not  reviewed 

It's  A  Pleasure— RKO  (90  min.)   36 

It's  in  the  Bag — United  Artists  (87  min.)   23 

Jade  Mask,  The — Monogram  (66  min.)   14 

Jungle  Captive — Universal  (63  min.)   96 

Junior  Miss — 20th  Century-Fox  (94  min.)   94 

Keep  Your  Powder  Dry— MGM  (93  min.)   27 

Kid  Sister,  The— PRC  (55  min.)   23 

Lady  Confesses,  The— PRC  (65  min.)   56 

Last  Gangster,  The — 20th  Century-Fox  (see 

"Roger  Touhy,  Gangster")  1944   86 

Leave  it  to  Blondie — Columbia  (73  min.)   22 

Let's  Go  Steady — Columbia  (60  min.)   6 

Lone  Texas  Ranger — Republic  ( 56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Man  Called  Sullivan,  A — United  Artists 

(see,  "The  Great  John,  L")   91 

Man  from  Oklahoma — Republic  (68  min.)  .  .  .not  reviewed 

Man  Who  Walked  Alone,  The— PRC  (73  min.)   47 

Marked  for  Murder — PRC  (58  m.)  not  reviewed 

Marked  Man,  The — Columbia  (see  "Mark  of  the 

Whistler")  1944    178 

Medal  for  Benny,  A — Paramount  (77  min.)   59 

Midnight  Manhunt — Paramount  (See  "One  Exciting 

Night")    96 

Missing  Corpse,  The— PRC  (62  min.)   71 

Molly  and  Me — 20th  Century-Fox  (76  min.)   38 

Mr.  Emmanuel — United  Artists  (92  min.)   7 

Muggs  Rides  Again — Monogram  (64  min.)   66 

Murder,  He  Says — Paramount  (91  min.)   60 

Naughty  Nineties,  The — Universal  (76  min.)   99 

Navajo  Trail— Monogram  (55  m.)  not  reviewed 

Nob  Hill— 20th  Century-Fox  (95  min.)   87 

Objective  Burma — Warner  Bros.  (142  min.)   14 

One  Exciting  Night — Paramount  (63  min.)   96 

Oregon  Trail — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Out  of  this  World — Paramount  (96  min.)   90 

Pan-Americana — RKO  (85  min.)    30 

Pass  to  Romance — Universal  (sec  "Hi"  Beautiful") 

1944   186 

Patrick  the  Great — Universal  (88  min.)   64 

Penthouse  Rhythm — Universal  (60  min.)   78 

Phantom  of  42nd  Street— PRC  (58  min.)   54 

Phantom  Speaks,  The — Republic  (68  min.)   64 

Picture  of  Dorian  Gray,  The — MGM  ( 1 10  min.)   30 

Pillow  to  Post — Warner  Bros.  (92  min.)   79 

Power  of  the  Whistler,  The — Columbia  (67  min.) ....  50 
Renegades  of  the  Rio  Grande — Universal 

(57  min.)   not  reviewed 

Return  of  the  Durango  Kid — Columbia 

(58  min.)   not  reviewed 


7/7 J  ijT 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  --  First  Half  of  1945,  Page  B 


Rhapsody  in  Blue — -Warner  Bros.  (139  min.)  102 

Rockin'  in  the  Rockies — Columbia  (67  min.).  .not  reviewed 

Rogues  Gallery— PRC  (58  min.)   3 

Rough  Ridin'  Justice — Columbia  (58  m.) .  .  .  .not  reviewed 

Roughly  Speaking — Warner  Bros.  ( 128  min.)   18 

Rough,  Tough  and  Ready- — Columbia  (66^/2  min.)  ....  38 

Royal  Scandal,  A — 20th  Century-Fox  (94  min.)   46 

Sage  Brush  Heroes — Columbia  (54  m.)  not  reviewed 

Salome,  Where  She  Danced — Universal  (90  min.).  ...  59 

Salty  O'Rourke — Paramount  (97  min.)    31 

Santc  Fe  Saddle  Mates — Republic  (56  min.)  .  .not  reviewed 

Scared  Stiff — Paramount  (63  min.)   60 

Scarlet  Clue,  The — Monogram  (64  min.)   55 

See  My  Lawyer — Universal  (67  min.)   30 

Sergeant  Mike — Columbia  (60  nun.)   22 

Shadows  of  Death — PRC  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

She  Get's  Her  Man — Universal  (74  min.)   7 

Sheriff  of  Cimarron — Republic  (55  m.)  not  reviewed 

She's  a  Sweetheart — Columbia  (69  min.)    35 

Silver  Fleet,  The— PRC  (77  min.)   54 

Sing  Me  a  Song  of  Texas — Columbia  (66  m.) .  not  reviewed 

Song  for  Miss  Julie,  A — Republic  (70  min.)   32 

Son  of  Lassie — MGM  (100  min.)   63 

Song  of  the  Sarong — Universal  (63  min.)   58 

Song  to  Remember,  A — Columbia  (113  min.)   11 

Southerner,  The — United  Artists  (91  min.)   71 

Spell  of  Amy  Nugent,  The— PRC  (60  min.)   34 

Springtime  in  Texas — Monogram  (57  min.)  .  .not  reviewed 

Steppin'  in  Society — Republic  (72  min.)   90 

Story  of  G.I.  Joe — United  Artists  (109  min.)   98 

Strange  Illusion— PRC  (86  min.)   31 

Stranger  from  Sante  Fe — Monogram  (53  m.)  .  not  reviewed 

Sudan — Universal  (76  min.)   39 

Swing  Out,  Sister — Universal  (60  min.)   70 

Ten  Cents  a  Dance — Columbia  (60  min.)   74 

That's  the  Spirit — Universal  (92  min.)   78 

There  Goes  Kelly- — Monogram  (61  min.)   35 

They  Arc  Guilty — Monogram  (see  "Are  These 

Our  Parents")  1944    99 

They  Shall  Have  Faith — Monogram  (83  min.)   2 

This  Man's  Navy— MGM  (100  min.)   3 

Thoroughbreds — Republic  (55  min.)   14 

Those  Endearing  Young  Charms — RKO  (82  min.) ....  62 
Thousand  and  One  Nights,  A — Columbia  (92  min.)  ...  94 

Three  in  the  Saddle — PRC  (60  min.)  not  reviewed 

Thrill  of  a  Romance— MGM  (102  min.)   82 

Thunderhead — Son  of  Flicka — 20th  Century-Fox 

(78  min.)    19 

Tonight  and  Every  Night — Columbia  (92  min.)   15 

Topeka  Terror,  The — Republic  (55  min.) . . .  .not  reviewed 
Trail  of  Kit  Carson — Republic  (56  min.)  .  .  .  .not  reviewed 
Tree  Grows  in  Brooklyn,  A — 20th  Century-Fox 

(128  min.)    15 

Trouble  Chasers — Monogram  (63  min.)   79 

Twice  Blessed— MGM  (76  min.)   87 

Two  O'Clock  Courage— RKO  (66  min.)   54 

Under  the  Clock— MGM  (see  "The  Clock")   46 

Under  Western  Skies — Universal  (57  min.)   2 

Unseen,  The — Paramount  (79  min.)   32 

Utah — Republic  (78  m.)  not  reviewed 

Valley  of  Decision,  The— MGM  (118  min.)   58 

Vampire's  Ghost,  The — Republic  (59  min.)   64 

Way  Ahead,  The— 20th  Century-Fox  (106  min.)   86 

West  of  the  Pecos— RKO  (66  min.)   92 

What  a  Blonde— RKO  (71  min.)   18 

Where  Do  We  Go  from  Here? — 20th  Century-Fox 

(77  min.)    82 

Why  Girls  Leave  Home— PRC  (68  min.)  102 

Within  these  Walls— 20th  Century-Fox  (71  min.)  90 

Without  Love— MGM  (111  min.)    47 

Woman  in  Green,  The — Universal  (68  min.)   98 

Wonder  Man— RKO  (96  min.)   66 

Youth  on  Trial — Columbia  (60  min.)   35 

Zombies  on  Broadway — RKO  (67  min.)   63 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 

Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H  T.) 

6037  Escape  in  the  Fog — Foch- Wright  Apr.  5 

6026  Eve  Knew  Her  Apples — Miller-Wright  Apr.  12 

6222  Rockin'  in  the  Rockies — Stooges-Hughes 

(67  m.)  Apr.  17 

6023  Power  of  the  Whistler — Dix-Carter  Apr.  19 


6206  Return  of  the  Rurango  Kid — Starrett  (58  m.)  Apr.  19 

6006  Counter-Attack — Muni-Chapman  Apr.  26 

6031  Boston  Blackie  Booked  on  Suspicion— Morris.  May  10 

6207  Both  Barrels  Blazing — Charles  Starrett 

(57  m.)  May  17 

6010  The  Fighting  Guardsman — Parker-Louise. .  .  .May  24 

6029  Ten  Cents  a  Dance — Frazee-Lloyd  June  7 

6223  Rhythm  Round-Up — Western  musical  June  7 

6036  Blonde  from  Brooklyn — Stanton-Merrick.  .  .June  21 

6030  Boston  Blackie's  Rendezvous — Morris  July  5 

6005  A  Thousand  and  One  Nights— Wilde-Keyes. July  12 

You  Can't  Do  Without  Love — Lynn-Stewart. July  28 
The  Gay  Senorita — Falkenburg-Cochran .  .  .  .Aug.  9 

Rustlers  of  the  Badlands — Starrett  Aug.  16 

Over  21 — Dunne-Knox-Coburn  Aug.  23 

Special 

A  Song  to  Remember — Muni-Oberon  Mar.  1 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H  T.) 
Block  1 1 

522  Without  Love — Hepburn-Tracy  May 

523  Gentle  Annie — Craig-Reed  May 

524  The  Clock— Garland-Walker  May 

525  The  Picture  of  Dorian  Gray — 

Sanders-Hatfield   June 

526  Son  of  Lassie — Lawford-Crisp  June 

Block  12 

528  Thrill  of  a  Romance — Johnson-Williams  July 

529  Twice  Blessed— Lee  and  Lynn  Wilde  July 

530  Bewitched — Thaxter-Gwenn   July 

SpeciaU 

500  Dragon  Seed — Hepburn-Huston   Aug. '44 

5 1 1  Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo — Tracy-Johnson .  .  January 

512  Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis — Garland-O'Brien  January 

521  National  Velvet — Rooney-Taylor  April 

527  Valley  of  Decision — Garson-Peck   June 

Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  York  19,  H  T.) 

406  G.  L  Honeymoon — Storm-Cookson  Apr.  6 

418  The  Scarlet  Clue — Sidney  Toler  May  5 

430  In  Old  New  Mexico — Renaldo  (62  min.)  May  15 

462  Springtime  in  Texas — Wakely  (57  min.).  .  .  .June  2 

424  Trouble  Chasers — Howard-Gilbert  June  2 

451  Flame  of  the  West — Brown-Woodbury  (70m.)  June  9 

411  Muggs  Rides  Again — East  Side  Kids  June  16 

405  China's  Little  Devils— Carey-Kelly  (re.)  July  14 

Divorce — Francis  Cabot  Not  set 

412  Come  Out  Fighting — East  Side  Kids  Not  set 

456  Stranger  from  Sante  Fe — J.  M.  Brown  (53  m.)  .July  21 

Saddle  Serenade — Wakely  July  28 

Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway,  Hew  York  18,  H  Y.) 
Block  5 

4421  Affairs  of  Susan — Fontaine-Brent  May  25 

4422  Murder,  He  Says — MacMurray-Walker  .  .  .  .June  8 

4423  Scared  Stiff — Haley-Savage  June  22 

4424  A  Medal  for  Benny — Lamour-DeCordova.  .  .June  29 

Block  6 

4426  Out  of  this  World — Bracken-Lynn  July  13 

4427  Midnight  Manhunt — Gargan-Savage 

(formerly  "One  Exciting  Night")   July  27 

4428  You  Came  Along — Scott-Cummings  Sept.  14 

Special 

4431  Incendiary  Blonde — Hutton-De  Cordova.  ..  Aug.  3  1 

Reissues 

4432  Sign  of  the  Cross — Colbert-March.  .No  nat'l  rel.  date 

4433  Northwest  Mounted  Police — Cooper-Carroll.  Aug.  26 

4434  This  Gun  for  Hire — Ladd-Lake  Aug.  26 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  22,  H  Y.) 
502  Crime,  Inc. — Tilton-Neal  Apr.  15 

558  Shadows  of  Death — Buster  Crabbe  (56  m.) .  .Apr.  19 
515  Hollywood     Vine — Ellison-McKay  Apr.  25 

521  Phantom  of  42nd  St. — O'Brien-Aldridge.  .  .  .May  2 
561  Enemy  of  the  Law — Texas  Rangers  (56  m.) .  .May  7 

522  The  Lady  Confesses — Hughes-Beaumont  .  .  .  .May  16 
524  The  Missing  Corpse — Bromberg-Jenks  June  1 

559  Gangsters'  Den — Buster  Crabbe  (55  m.)  June  14 

The  Silver  Fleet — English  cast  June  15 


'/HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  --  First  Half  of  1945,  Page  C 


562  Three  in  the  Saddle — Texas  Rangers  (60  m.)  .  .June  29 

Stagecoach  Outlaws — Crabbe  Aug.  17 

Arson  Squad — -Albertson-Armstrong  Sept.  11 

Dangerous  Intruder — Arnt-Borg  Sept.  21 

Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

414  Identity  Unknown — Arlen- Walker  Apr.  2 

413  Earl  Carroll  Vanities — O'Keefe-Moore  Apr.  5 

465  Corpus  Christi  Bandits — Lane-Watts  (55  m.).Apr.  20 

433  The  Phantom  Speaks — Arlen-Ridges  May  10 

3318  Lone  Texas  Ranger — Elliott-Blake  (56  m.)  .  .May  20 

434  The  Vampire's  Ghost — Abbott-Stewart  May  21 

416  Three's  a  Crowd — Blake-Gordon  May  23 

415  Flame  of  the  Barbary  Coast — Wayne-Dvorak. May  28 

455  Sante  Fe  Saddle  Mates — Carson-Stirling 

(56  m.)  June  2 

420  A  Sporting  Chance — Randolph-O'Malley. . .  . June  4 

442  Bells  of  Rosarita — Roy  Rogers  (68  m.)  June  19 

417  The  Chicago  Kid— Barry-Roberts  June  29 

422  Gangs  of  the  Waterfront — Armstrong- 

Bachelor   July  3 

423  Road  to  Alcatraz — Lowery-Storey  July  10 

466  Trail  of  Kit  Carson — Lane-London  (56  min.). July  11 

456  Oregon  Trail — Carson-Stewart  (56  min.).  .  .  .July  14 
419  Hitchhike  to  Happiness — Pearce-Evans  July  16 

424  Jealousy — Loder-Randolph  July  23 

418  Steppin'  in  Society — Horton-George  July  29 

443  Man  from  Oklahoma — Roy  Rogers  (68  min.)  .Aug.  1 

RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  Y.) 

(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  4 

516  Zombies  on  Broadway — Brown-Carney  

517  The  Body  Snatcher— Karloff-Daniel  

518  Tarzan  and  the  Amazons — Weissmuller  

519  China  Sky— Scott- Warrick   

520  Those  Endearing  Young  Charms — Young-Day  

Block  5 

521  Two  O'Clock  Courage — -Conway-Rutherford  

522  The  Brighton  Strangler — Loder-Duprez  :  

523  Back  to  Bataan — Wayne-Quinn   

524  West  of  the  Pecos — Mitchum-Hale  

(N.ote:  "George  White's  Scandals,"  originally  listed  in 
Bloc\  5,  has  been  withdrawn.) 

Specials 

551  The  Princess  and  the  Pirate — Bob  Hope  

581  Casanova  Brown — Cooper-Wright   

582  Woman  in  the  Window — Bennett-Robinson  

583  Belle  of  the  Yukon — Scott-Lee  

584  It's  a  Pleasure — Henie-O'Shea  

591  The  Three  Caballeros — Disney  

552  Wonder  Man — Kaye-Mayo  

1945-46  Season 

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper-Young  

Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

520  The  Song  of  Bernadette — Jennifer  Jones  April 

521  A  Royal  Scandal — Bankhead-Eythe  April 

522  Molly  and  Me— Woolley-Fields  April 

524  Diamond  Horseshoe — Grable-Haymes   May 

525  The  Bullfighters — Laurel  6?  Hardy  May 

526  Where  Do  We  Go  from  Here — 

MacMurray-Leslie   June 

527  Don  Juan  Quilligan — Bendix-Blondell  June 

523  Call  of  theWild — Gable-Young  (reissue)  June 

528  Within  these  Walls — Mitchell-Anderson  July 

529  Nob  Hill— Raft-Blaine  July 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
601,  A  Bell  for  Adano — Hodiak-Tierney  Aug. 

602  Wilson-Knox-Fitzgerald  (general  release)  Aug. 

603  Junior  Miss — Garner-Joslyn  Aug. 

United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

Brewster's  Millions — O'Keefe-Walker  Apr.  7 

It's  in  the  Bag — Fred  Allen  Apr.  21 

Colonel  Blimp — English  cast  May  4 

The  Great  John  L — McLure-Darnell  (re.)  June  29 

Story  of  G.I.  Joe — Meredith-Mitchum  July  13 

Guest  Wife — Colbert-Ameche  July  27 


The  Southerner — Scott-Field  (formerly  "Hold 

Autumn  in  Your  Hand")  (re.)  Aug.  10 

Captain  Kidd — Laughton-Scott  Aug. 24 

The  Outlaw — Russell-Huston  Aug.  24 

Paris-Underground — Bennett-Fields  Sept.  14 

Spellbound — Bergman-Peck   Sept.  28 

Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  20,  H-  Y.) 

9027  I'll  Remember  April — Jean-Grant  Apr.  13 

9040  Song  of  the  Sarong — Gargan-Kelly  Apr.  20 

9073  Salome— Where  She  Danced— DeCarlo- 

Bruce  Apr.  27 

9083  Beyond  the  Pecos — Rod  Cameron  (59  m.)  .  .Apr.  27 
9011  Patrick  the  Great — O'Connor-Ryan  May  4 

9028  Honeymoon  Ahead — Jones-McDonald  May  11 

9033  Swing  out  Sister — Cameron-Treacher  May  18 

9016  See  My  Lawyer— Olsen  fe?  Johnson  May  25 

That's  the  Spirit — Oakie-Ryan  (re.)  June  1 

9084  Renegades  of  the  Rio  Grande — Rod  Cameron 

(57  min.)   June  1 

9041  I'll  Tell  the  World— Tracy-Preisser  June  8 

9042  Blonde  Ransom— Grey-Cook  (re.)  June  15 

9043  Penthouse  Rhythm — Collier-Grant  June  22 

9032  The  Frozen  Ghost — Chaney- Ankers  June  29 

9038  Jungle  Captive — Kruger-Ward  June  29 

9003  The  Naughty  Nineties — Abbott  ii  Costello.  .July  6 

Imitation  of  Life — Colbert  (re.)  June  15 

East  Side  of  Heaven — Crosby  (re.)  June  15 

On  Stage  Everybody — Oakie-Ryan  July  13 

9044  The  Beautiful  Cheat — Granville-Beery,  Jr  July  20 

The  Woman  in  Green — Rathbone-Bruce  . .  .  .July  27 
Uncle  Harry — Sanders-Raines  Aug.  3 

9045  Easy  to  Look  At — Jean-Grant  Aug.  10 

Lady  on  a  Train — Deanna  Durbin  Aug.  17 

Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  Tor\  18,  H-  Y.) 

414  God  is  My  Co-Pilot — Morgan-Massey  Apr.  7 

415  The  Horn  Blows  at  Midnight — Jack  Benny.  .  .Apr.  28 

416  Escape  in  the  Desert — Dorn-Dantine  May  19 

417  Pillow  to  Post — Lupino-Prince  June  9 

418  Conflict — Bogart-Smith   June  30 

419  The  Corn  is  Green — Davis-Dall  July  21 

420  Christmas  in  Connecticut — Stanwyck-Morgan.  Aug.  11 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 

Columbia — One  Reel 

6752  The  Egg  Yegg— Fox  6?  Crow  CJ]/2  m.)  May  4 

6663  Victory  Reel  (V-E  Day)  May  8 

6955  Lowe,  Hite  &  Stanley— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.)  .May  11 

6859  Screen  Snapshots  No.  9  (9'/2  m.)  May  17 

6901  A  Harbor  Goes  to  France — Panoramic 

(10  m.)  May  18 

6659  Community  Sings  No.  9  (10  m.)  May  25 

6502  Rippling  Romance — Col.  Rhap.  (8  m.)  ....June  21 

6660  Community  Sings  No.  10  June  29 

6808  Hi  Ho  Rodeo — Sports  (re.)  July  22 

6704  Booby  Socks — Phantasy  July  12 

6503  Fiesta  Time— Col.  Rhapsody  (71/2  m.)  July  12 

6753  Kukunuts — Fox  &  Crow  (6|/2  m.)  July  26 

6661  Community  Sings  No.  11  July  26 

6860  Screen  Snapshots  No.  10  (10  m.)  July  27 

6809  Chips  and  Putts — Sports   Aug.  10 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

6160  The  Monster  ii  the  Ape  (15  episodes)  Apr.  20 

6433  Pistol  Packin' Nitwits — Brendel  ( 17  m.)  .  .  .  .May  4 

6411  Wife  Decoy — Hugh  Herbert  ( 17  m.)  June  1 

6423  The  Jury  Goes  Round  'N  Round — Vera  Vague 

(18  m.)  June  15 

6405  Idiots  Deluxe — Stooges  (17l/2  m.)  July  20 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

1943-  44 

K-576  The  Seasaw  and  the  Shoes — Pass.  Par. 

(10  m.)  May  5 

(End  of  1943-44  Season) 

1944-  45 

T-611  Shrines  of  Yucatan— Travcltalk  (9  m.)  Feb.  24 

T-612  See  El  Salvador— Travcltalk  (10  m.)  Mar.  31 

W-631  The  Mouse  Comes  to  Dinner— Cartoon 

(7  m.)  May  5 

W-632  Mouse  in  Manhattan — Cartoon  (8  m.) .  .  .  .July  7 


^HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  --  First  Half  of  1945,  Page  D 


Metro-Gold wyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 
1943-44 

A-502  Fall  Guy— Special  (18|/2  m.)   Apr.  14 

A-503  The  Last  Installment— Special  (18  m.)  May  5 

A-504  Phantoms,  Inc. — Special  (17  m.)  June  9 

(End  of  1943-44  Season) 

Paramount — One  Reel 

J4-4  Popular  Science  No.  4  (10  m.)  Apr.  6 

D4-4  Beau  Ties — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  Apr.  20 

E4-4  Shape  Ahoy — Popeye  (6  m.)  Apr.  27 

R4-7  White  Rhapsody — Sportlight  (9  m.)  May  4 

P4-5  A  Lamh  in  a  Jam!) — Noveltoon  (6  m.)  May  4 

L4-4  Unusual  Occupations  No.  4  (10  m.)  May  11 

Y4'4  Talk  of  the  Town — Speak,  of  Animals 

(9  m.)  May  18 

U4-5  Jasper's  Minstrels — Puppetoon  (9  m.)  May  2? 

D4-5  DafFyd'Hy  Daddy— Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  May  25 

J 4- 5  Popular  Science  No.  5  (10  m.)  June  1 

E4-5  For  Better  or  Nurse — Popeye  (6  m.)  June  8 

R4-8  Fan  Fare — Sportlight  (9  m.)  June  8 

D4-6  Snap  Happy — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)   June  22 

P4-6  A  Self  Made  Mongrel — Noveltoon  June  29 

U4-6  Hatful  of.  Dreams — Puppetoon  (9  m.)  July  6 

L4-5  Unusual  Occupations  No.  5  (10  m.)  July  13 

Y4-5  A  Musical  Way — Speaking  of  Animals  (8m.)  July  20 

R4-9  Canine-Feline  Capers— Sportlight  (9  m.)  July  27 

U4-7  Jasper's  Booby  Traps — Puppetoon  (8  m.)..Aug.  3 
J 4-6  Popular  Science  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  10 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF4-4  Isle  of  Tabu — Musical  Parade  (17  m.)  Apr.  13 

FF4-5  Boogie  Woogie — Musical  Parade  (17  m.)..June  15 
FF4-6  You  Hit  the  Spot— Musical  Parade  (17  m.).Aug.  17 

Republic — Two  Reels 

482  Manhunt  of  Mystery  Island — Bailey-Stirling 

(15  episodes)  Mar.  17 

483  Federal  Operator  99  (12  episodes)  Lamont- 

Talbot   July  7 

RKO— One  Reel 

54108  Dog  Watch— Disney  (7  m.)  Mar.  16 

54206  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  6  (8  m.)  Apr.  13 

54309  Timber  Doodles — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Apr.  20 

54110  African  Diary — Disney  (7  m.)  Apr.  20 

54111  Donald's  Crime — Disney  (7  m.)  May  11 

54310  West  Point  Winners — Sportscope  (  m.).  .  .May  18 

RKO — Two  Reels 

53106  Guam-Salvaged  Island — This  is  America 

(17  min.)   Apr.  13 

53107  Dress  Parade — This  Is  America  (16  m.).  .  .May  4 
53704  Let's  Go  Stepping — Leon  Errol  ( 17  m.)  ....May  4 

53108  Battle  of  Supply— This  is  America  (18  m.)  .  June  1 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

5259  Isle  of  Romance — Adventure  (8  m.)  May  4 

5516  Mother  Goose  Nightmare — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   May  11 

5517  Smoky  Joe — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  May  25 

5354  Down  the  Fairway — Sports  (8m.)  June  1 

5518  The  Silver  Streak — Terrytoon  (7  min.)  ...  .June  8 
5902  Do  You  Remember? — Lew  Lahr  (8m.) 

(formerly  "Good  Old  Days".)  June  22 

5519  Aesops  Fable — The  Mosquito — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   June  29 

5201  What  it  Takes  to  Make  a  Star — Adventure 

(formerly  "Modeling  for  Money")  (8  m.). July  6 
5  520  Mighty  Mouse  6?  the  Wolf — Terry.  (7  m.)  . .  .July  20 
5261  The  Empire  State — Adventure  (8  m.)  July  27 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.11  No.  9 — -The  Returning  Veteran — March  of 

Time  (18  min.)   Apr.  20 

Vol.  11  No.  10 — Spotlight  on  Congress- 
March  of  Time  (16  m.)  May  18 

Vol.  11  No.  11— Teen  Age  Girls- 
March  of  Time  (17  m.)  June  15 

Universal — One  Reel 

9355  Your  National  Gallery — Var.  Views  (9  m.).Apr.  23 
9238  Woody  Dines  Out — Cartune  (7  m.)  May  14 

9375  Author  in  Babyland— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  May  14 

9376  Broadway  Farmer— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  May  28 

9356  Wingmen  of  Tomorrow — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  .June  4 
9238  Crow  Crazy— Cartune  (7  m.)   July  9 


Universal — Two  Reels 

9881  The  Master  Key— Stone  Wiley  (13 

episodes)  Apr.  24 

9127  Rockabye  Rhythm— Musical  (15  m.)  June  20 

9128  Artistry  in  Rhythm— Musical  (15  m.)  July  18 

Secret  Agent  X-9 — 13  episodes  July  24 

9129  Waikiki  Melody— Musical  (15  m.)  Aug.  22 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

1723  Hare  Trigger — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  May  5 

1608  Circus  Band— Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  May  1 

1507  Water  Babies— Sports  (10  m.)  May  19 

1705  Ain't  that  Ducky — Looncy  Tune  (7  m.) . .  .  .May  19 

1405  Overseas  Roundup  No.  2 — Varieties  ( 10  m.)  .May  26 

1706  Gruesome  Twosome — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  (re.)  June  9 

1508  Mexican  Sea  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  (re.).. June  9 

1509  Bahama  Sea  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  (re.) .  .June  23 

1609  Bands  Across  the  Sea — Mel.  Mas.  (10  ra.).  .June  23 

1510  Flivver  Flying — Sports  (10  m.)  June  30 

1707  Talc  of  Two  Mice — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)...  .June  30 

1406  Overseas  Roundup  No.  3 — Varieties  (10  m.).July  14 

1610  Yankee  Doodle  Daughters — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  m.)   July  21 

1311  Speakin"  of  the  Weather— Hit.  Par.  (17  m.).  .July  21 

1708  Wagon  Wheels— Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  July  28 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

1111  Plantation  Models — Featurette  (20  m.)... .May  12 
1104  Coney  Island  Honeymoon — Special  (20  m.).June  9 

1112  Learn  and  Live — Featurette  (20  m.)   July  7 


NEWSWEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 


Universal 


55191 

55292 

55193 

55294 

55195 

55296 

55197 

55298 

55199 

552100 

551101 

552102 

551103 


Sat.  (O)  .  . 
Wed.  (E)  . 
Sat.  (O)  . . 
Wed.  (E)  . 
Sat.  (O)  .  . 
Wed.  (E)  . 
Sat.  (O)  .  . 
Wed.  (E). 
Sat.  (O). . 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O). 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O). 


.July  7 
.July  11 
.July  14 
.July  18 
.July  21 
.July  25 
.July  28 
Aug. 
Aug. 
Aug. 
Aug. 
Aug. 
Aug. 


1 
4 
a 
11 
15 
18 


Metrotone  News 


412 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

..July  5 

413 

Tues.  (O)  . . 

.  .July  10 

414 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .July  12 

415 

Tues.  (O)  . . 

..July  17 

416 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

..July  19 

417 

Tues.  (O)  . . 

.  .July  24 

418 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  July  26 

419 

Tues.  (O)  . . 

.  .July  31 

420 

Thurs.  (E). 

..Aug.  2 

421 

Tues.  (O)  . 

,  .Aug.  7 

422 

Thurs.  (E). 

..Aug.  9 

423 

Tues.  (O)  . 

.  .Aug.  14 

424 

Thurs.  (E). 

.  .Aug.  16 

286  Thurs.  (E)  . 

287  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

288  Thurs.  (E)  . 

289  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

290  Thurs.  (E)  . 

291  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

292  Thurs.  (E)  . 

293  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

294  Thurs.  (E) .  . 

295  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

296  Thurs.  (E) .  . 

297  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

298  Thurs.  (E) .  . 


..July  5 
.  .July  10 
.  .July  12 
.  July  17 
.  July  19 
.  July  24 
.  July  26 
.  July  31 
.Aug.  2 
•  Aug.  7 
.Aug.  9 
.Aug.  14 
.Aug.  16 


Paramount  News 


88  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

89  Sunday  (O)  . 

90  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

91  Sunday  (O)  . 

92  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

93  Sunday  (O)  . 

94  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

95  Sunday  (O)  . 

96  Thurs.  (E) .  . 

97  Sunday  (O) . 

98  Thurs.  (E) .  . 

99  Sunday  (O) . 

100  Thurs.  (E). 


July  5 
July  8 
July  12 
July  15 
July  19 
.  July  22 
.  July  26 
.  .  July  29 
..Aug.  2 
..Aug.  5 
..Aug.  9 
.  .Aug.  12 
.  .Aug.  16 


Fox  Movietone 

88  Thurs.  (E)  J.uly  5 

89  Tues.  (O)  July  10 

90  Thurs.  (E)  July  12 

91  Tues.  (O)  July  17 

92  Thurs.  (E)  July  19 

93  Tues.  (O)  July  24 

94  Thurs.  (E)  July  26 

95  Tues.  (O)  July  31 

96  Thurs.  (E)  Aug.  2 

97  Tues.  (O)  Aug.  7 

98  Thurs.  (E)  Aug.  9 

99  Tues.  (O)  Aug.  14 

100  Thurs.  (E)... Aug.  16 


All  American  News 

141  Friday  July  6 

142  Friday  July  13 

143  Friday  July  20 

144  Friday  July  27 

145  Friday   Aug.  3 

146  Friday   Aug.  10 

147  Friday   Aug.  17 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  JULY  14,  1945  No.  28 


EXPEDITING  THE  NEW  YORK 
ANTI-TRUST  SUIT 

The  first  meeting  of  the  three  judges  appointed  re 
cently  to  hear  the  Government's  anti-trust  suit  against 
the  five  major  distributors  took  place  last  Tuesday,  in 
the  New  York  Federal  District  Court,  where  they 
heard  a  motion  by  the  distributor-defendants  to  com- 
pel the  Government  to  answer  more  fully  interroga- 
tories they  had  previously  submitted. 

The  Department  of  Justice  maintained  that  the  an- 
swers it  had  already  given  were  sufficient,  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  the  Government  intended  to  present  at 
the  trial  only  a  prima  facie  documentary  case. 

The  Court  agreed  with  the  Department,  and  de- 
cided to  hold  the  motion  in  abeyance,  giving  the  de- 
fendants the  right  to  ask  for  another  hearing,  on  five 
days  notice,  if  the  Department  should  change  its  pres- 
ent plan  of  trial  procedure. 

During  the  argument  on  the  motion,  Robert  L. 
Wright,  special  assistant  to  the  U.  S.  Attorney  Gen- 
eral, revealed  the  Government's  intention  to  present, 
through  documentary  evidence,  a  prima  facie  case  to 
prove  that  the  five  consenting  distributors  have  a 
monopoly  on  distribution  and  exhibition  in  that, 
through  cross-licensing,  availability  of  product,  and 
restrictions  on  minimum  admissions,  they  control  first- 
run  theatres  in  92  cities  with  a  population  of  100,000 
and  over,  and  that  they  dominate  exhibition  in  432 
situations  in  the  country. 

Wright  reiterated  the  Government's  contention 
that  the  only  remedy  was  a  complete  separation  of 
the  defendants'  theatre  operating  business  from  their 
production  and  distribution  activities,  as  well  as  an 
injunction  against  certain  of  their  trade  practices. 

According  to  a  report  by  Milton  Livingston,  staff 
correspondent  of  Motion  Picture  Daily,  "the  whole 
tone  of  the  hearing  before  the  three-judge  statutory 
court,  composed  of  Judge  Augustus  N.  Hand,  who 
presided,  and  Judges  Henry  W.  Goddard  and  John 
Bright,  was  of  stern  admonition  to  'get  things  going' 
in  the  action,  which  has  been  pending  for  seven  years, 
since  July  20,  1938,  with  the  Department  of  Justice 
having  first  filed  its  complaint  on  that  date." 

"Judge  Hand  warned,"  continued  the  report,  "that 
there  must  be  a  greater  spirit  of  cooperation  between 
the  two  parties,  or  else  the  Court  would  take  'appro- 
priate action.'  He  indicated  that  he  might  even  order 
examinations  before  trial,  and  declared  that  the  three 
judges  'do  not  intend  to  spend  the  rest  of  their  lives 
hearing  the  case'." 

Most  of  you  will  recall  that,  last  month,  when  the 
U.  S.  Attorney  General  filed  a  certificate  with  the 
Court,  under  the  Expediting  Act,  certifying  that  the 


case  was  of  general  public  importance  and  making 
mandatory  its  hearing  by  a  three-judge  court,  the 
distributors'  attorneys  did  not  relish  the  move.  As  re- 
ported in  the  June  23  issue  of  this  paper,  some  of 
these  attorneys  resented  the  appointment  of  three 
judges  as  a  departure  from  accepted  procedure,  and 
they  saw  little  likelihood  of  a  speedier  trial  as  a  result 
of  the  Government's  move.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they 
took  pains  to  point  out  just  why  a  three-judge  court 
might  delay  and  slow  up  the  trial. 

These  attorneys  apparently  based  their  assumption 
on  the  hope  that  the  newly-appointed  judges  would 
continue  to  tolerate  the  legalistic  antics  by  which  the 
case  had  been  prolonged  since  it  was  filed  in  1938.  But 
it  is  evident  from  the  report  in  Motion  Picture  Daily 
that  Judge  Hand,  the  presiding  judge,  will  not  put 
up  with  any  more  delaying  tactics. 

As  said  before  in  these  columns,  a  case  certified  to 
be  heard  by  a  three-judge  court  must,  under  the 
statute,  be  "in  every  way  expedited."  And  it  certainly 
appears  as  if  Judge  Hand  is  determined  to  streamline 
the  proceedings  in  a  manner  that  will  make  them 
most  expeditious. 

Regardless  of  the  ultimate  outcome  of  the  case,  one 
thing  is  certain,  that  the  sooner  the  case  is  speeded  to 
a  conclusion,  the  sooner  will  the  entire  industry 
benefit. 


AN  EXCELLENT  SUGGESTION 

Under  the  heading,  "Why  Not  Try  Home  Talent?" 
Abram  F.  Myers,  general  counsel  of  Allied  States 
Association,  has  issued  the  following  bulletin,  dated 
July  5: 

"Now  that  the  industry  faces  reorganization  to 
conform  to  the  Sherman  Act,  there  is  a  mad  scramble 
among  the  producers  to  secure  'names'  to  front  for 
them  in  the  trying  days  ahead.  SIMPP  landed  a  big 
one  in  Donald  Nelson,  who  now  is  familiarising  him- 
self with  industry  problems.  The  MPPDA  is  reported 
to  be  angling  for  Eric  Johnston  who,  so  far,  has  not 
risen  to  the  bait.  According  to  a  recent  magazine  ar- 
ticle, if  it  isn't  Johnston,  it  will  be  another  'name,' 
possibly  a  political  figure. 

"The  affiliated  producers  probably  will  not  relish 
suggestions  from  Allied  in  this  matter  and  certainly 
the  subject  of  these  remarks  will  not  thank  us  for  our 
trouble.  But  a  reading  of  the  Congressional  Record 
for  June  28  reminds  us  that  the  affiliated  interests 
have  in  their  own  ranks  a  man  of  distinction  and 
prestige  who  would  admirably  fill  the  bill  as  head  of 
MPPDA.  He  would  not  be  a  mere  'front,'  but  a  real 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


« 


110 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  14,  1945 


"Road  to  Alcatraz"  with  Robert  Lowery 
and  June  Storey 

(Republic,  July  10;  time,  60  min.) 

A  fair  program  murder  mystery  melodrama.  Parts 
of  it  are  too  far-fetched  to  he  plausible;  but  persons 
who  arc  not  too  particular  about  such  defects  should 
be  entertained,  for  the  action  moves  at  a  steady  pace, 
and  it  has  considerable  suspense.  The  story  revolves 
around  a  young  attorney,  who,  suspected  of  murder- 
ing his  law  partner,  doubts  his  own  innocence  because 
he  walked  in  his  sleep  and  could  not  account  for  his 
movements  on  the  night  of  the  crime.  The  manner  in 
which  he  traps  the  murderer  and  clears  himself  holds 
one's  interest  throughout.  Unlike  the  title  suggests, 
the  picture  is  void  of  gangster  doings: — 

Robert  Lowery,  an  attorney,  and  June  Storey,  his 
wife,  are  elated  when  they  receive  word  that  their  in- 
vestment in  a  business  deal  shared  by  Lowery,  William 
Forrest,  his  partner,  Charles  Gordon,  a  college  friend, 
and  Clarence  Kolb,  a  financier,  would  result  in  hand- 
some profits.  Lowery,  a  sleepwalker,  awakes  on  the 
following  morning  and  finds  that  the  condition  of  his 
clothes  indicate  that  he  had  visited  Forrest  during  the 
night.  Bewildered,  he  goes  to  Forrest's  apartment, 
where  he  finds  the  man  murdered  amid  evidence  that 
points  to  him  as  the  killer.  Recalling  that,  by  the  terms 
of  the  deal,  the  death  of  one  of  the  partners  would 
increase  the  profits  of  the  others,  Lowery  conceals  the 
evidence  and  decides  to  invctsigate.  He  communicates 
with  Gordon  and,  through  him,  finds  reason  to  suspect 
Kolb  of  the  murder.  He  visits  Kolb's  home  and  dis- 
covers what  he  considers  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
man's  guilt.  Meanwhile  the  police  decide  that  Lowery 
was  guilty  and  hurry  to  his  home  to  arrest  him.  Low- 
ery, seeking  a  chance  to  talk  with  Gordon,  escapes 
from  the  police  and,  in  the  basement  of  his  home, 
picks  up  what  he  believes  to  be  his  dropped  fraternity 
pin.  In  Gordon's  hotel  room,  while  analyzing  the 
crime,  Lowery  notices  that  he  was  wearing  his  pin  and 
realizes  that  the  pin  he  had  found  belonged  to  Gor- 
don. Quickly,  he  concludes  that  Gordon  had  commit- 
ted the  murder  and  had  planted  the  evidence  against 
him.  Gordon,  unmasked,  tries  to  kill  Lowery,  but  the 
young  attorney  is  saved  by  the  timely  arrival  of  the 
police. 

Dwight  V.  Babcock  and  Jerry  Sackheim  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Sidney  Picker  produced  it,  and  Nick 
Grinde  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Grant  Withers, 
Iris  Adrian  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"And  Then  There  Were  None"  with 
Barry  Fitzgerald,  Louis  Hayward 
and  Walter  Huston 

(20th  Century-Fox,  September;  time,  97  min.) 
Based  on  Agatha  Christie's  widely-read  story  of  the 
same  title,  which  was  produced  as  a  Broadway  play 
under  the  title,  "Ten  Little  Indains,"  this  murder 
mystery  melodrama  is  a  good  entertainment  of  its 
type.  The  story  unfolds  in  an  interesting  manner,  and 
excitement  and  suspense  are  well  sustained  through- 
out since  all  the  characters  are  cloaked  in  an  air  of 
mystery,  and  one  does  not  learn  the  murderer's  ident- 
ity until  the  very  end.  The  story  has  its  setting  in  a 
lonely  house  on  an  isolated  island,  and  it  contains  all 
the  eerie  effects  generaly  employed  in  thrillers.  The 
second  half,  in  which  the  mystery  thickens,  is  the  most 


exciting,  particularly  in  the  closing  scenes,  where 
Louis  Hayward,  through  a  clever  ruse,  traps  the 
murderer.  It  is  the  sort  of  picture  that  should  be  seen 
from  the  beginning,  and  exhibitors  should  urge  their 
patrons  not  to  disclose  the  ending  to  their  friends  so 
that  they,  too,  may  enjoy  the  surprise  climax.  The 
acting  is  good,  and  the  picture  has  been  produced 
well. 

The  story  revolves  around  ten  assorted  people,  un- 
known to  each  other,  who  are  tricked  into  visiting 
the  home  of  a  stranger  on  a  lonely  island  off  the  Eng- 
lish coast.  Once  on  the  island,  they  find  their  mysteri- 
ous host  absent,  but  at  dinner  the  ten  guests  are 
startled  by  a  voice,  which  identifies  itself  as  that  of 
the  host  and  which  announces  that  each  of  them  is  to 
be  punished  by  death,  because  specific  crimes  each  had 
committed  were  unprovable  by  the  rules  of  legal  evi- 
dence. Shortly  after  the  accusations,  the  guests  insti- 
tute a  search  for  their  mysterious  host.  Their  search 
proves  fruitless,  and  they  soon  learn  that  there  were 
no  means  by  which  they  could  leave  the  island.  They 
find  a  statue  of  ten  little  Indian  figures  and,  on  the 
piano,  they  also  find  a  copy  of  the  "Ten  Little  In- 
dians" nursery  rhyme.  One  by  one,  each  of  the  guests 
meets  sudden  death  mysteriously,  each  dying  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  words  of  the  nursery  rhyme,  and 
after  each  death  one  of  the  Indian  figures  disappears. 
Gripped  by  fear,  the  remaining  guests  suspect  one  an- 
other until  all  are  murdered  but  two — Louis  Hayward 
and  June  Duprez,  who  loved  each  other.  Hayward, 
through  a  clever  ruse,  clears  up  the  mystery  by  trap- 
ping one  of  the  guests,  Barry  Fitzgerald,  an  erratic 
judge  with  a  distorted  sense  of  justice,  who  had 
feigned  his  own  murder  in  order  to  commit  the  other 
killings  undetected.  He  dies  by  his  own  hand. 

Dudley  Nichols  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Rene 
Clair  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Roland  Young,  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Judith  Anderson, 
Mischa  Auer,  Richard  Haydn,  Queenie  Leonard  and 
others.  It  is  a  Popular  Pictures,  Inc.,  production. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Beautiful  Cheat"  with  Noah  Beery,  Jr. 
and  Bonita  Granville 

(Universal,  July  20;  time,  59  min.) 

Just  a  mildly  amusing  program  comedy,  with  some 
music.  There  is  very  little  to  the  plot,  which  concerns 
itself  with  a  professor  who  studies  a  wayward  girl  in 
preparation  for  a  book  on  sociology,  without  realizing 
that  his  subject  was  masquerading  as  a  delinquent.  A 
few  of  the  situations  are  amusing,  but  for  the  most 
part  the  comedy  is  dull.  The  love  interest  is  ineffective, 
and  there  is  no  human  interest  since  none  of  the  char- 
acters are  presented  in  an  appealing  manner.  The 
outcome  is  quite  obvious,  an  there  is  nothing  to  the 
story  to  really  hold  one's  interest: — 

Noah  Beery,  Jr.,  a  young  professor,  asks  Edward 
Fielding,  an  associate,  to  find  a  wayward  girl  who 
would  consent  to  reside  in  his  home  so  that  he  could 
study  her  in  preparation  for  a  new  book  on  sociology. 
Unable  to  find  a  proper  subject,  Fielding  facetiously 
arranges  with  Bonita  Granville,  a  secretary  in  a  deten- 
tion home,  to  pose  as  a  delinquent.  Bonita,  pretending 
to  be  a  youthful  miscreant,  upsets  Beery 's  household 
and  infuriates  his  spinster  sisters  (Margaret  Irving 
and  Sarah  Selby) ,  as  well  as  Irene  Ryan,  his  middle- 
aged  secretary.  Beery  becomes  fond  of  Boruta  and  de- 


July  14,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


111 


cides  to  adopt  her,  but,  when  he  learns  from  his  at- 
torney that  married  couples  only  can  adopt  children, 
he  proposes  to  his  secretary.  Bonita,  who  had  fallen 
in  love  with  Beery,  learns  of  the  impending  marriage 
and  leaves  him.  Later,  when  she  discovers  his  reason 
for  proposing  to  Irene,  she  arranges  to  meet  him  at  a 
night-club  to  reveal  the  truth  about  herself.  While 
waiting  at  the  club  for  Bonita,  Beery  becomes  involved 
with  Carol  Hughes,  a  brazen  night-club  singer,  and 
is  caught  by  Irene,  who  cancels  her  engagement  to 
him.  He  promptly  proposes  to  Carol,  but  regrets  his 
haste  when  Bonita  arrives  and  reveals  that  she  was 
old  enough  to  marry  him  herself.  Beery 's  sisters  take 
matters  in  hand  and,  by  threatening  Carol,  get  her  to 
release  Beery  from  his  proposal,  leaving  him  free  to 
wed  Bonita. 

Ben  Markson  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Charles 
Barton  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Edward  Gargan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"On  Stage  Everybody"  with  Peggy  Ryan 
and  Jack  Oakie 

(Universal,  July  13;  time,  75  min.) 

Fair.  It  is  a  lively  comedy  with  music,  but  it  does 
not  rise  above  the  level  of  program  fare.  Its  chief  ap- 
peal  will  probably  be  to  the  younger  element,  for  it 
has  plentiful  music  of  the  popular  type.  Not  much 
can  be  said  for  the  story,  which  is  of  the  backstage 
variety,  for  it  is  rather  silly.  Moreover,  it  serves  for 
the  most  part  as  a  prelude  to  the  musical  sequences. 
The  best  parts  of  the  picture  are  the  danee  numbers 
executed  expertly  by  Peggy  Ryan  and  by  Johnny 
Coy,  the  young  man  who  danced  sensationally  in 
"That's  the  Spirit."  The  antics  of  Jack  Oakie,  as  a 
veteran  vaudevillian  with  an  aversion  to  radio,  are  oc- 
casionally funny.  Much  of  the  comedy,  however,  is 
ineffective,  because  of  its  ridiculousness.  The  story, 
in  part,  has  been  suggested  by  the  former  radio  pro- 
gram, of  the  same  title,  which  served  to  introduce 
new  talent  on  the  air: — 

Informed  by  the  manager  of  a  small-town  burlesque 
theatre  that  he  and  his  daughter  (Peggy  Ryan)  must 
participate  in  a  radio  program  sponsored  by  the 
theatre,  Oakie,  who  blamed  radio  for  the  downfall  of 
vaudeville,  quits  the  show.  He  and  Peggy  return  to 
New  York,  where  their  friends  urge  them  to  accept 
jobs  in  a  department  store.  Reporting  for  work,  Oakie 
is  assigned  to  the  radio  department.  He  goes  beserk, 
smashing  most  of  the  radios  before  he  is  arrested  and 
put  in  jail.  Otto  Kruger,  Peggy's  wealthy  maternal 
grandfather,  who  owned  an  important  broadcasting 
company,  bails  Oakie  out  of  jail  and  convinces  him 
that  Peggy  should  suffer  no  longer  because  of  his 
"radiophobia."  Oakie  consents  to  send  Peggy  to  live 
with  Kruger.  Left  to  himself,  Oakie  retires  to  an 
actors'  home.  There,  he  is  finally  won  over  to  radio 
by  a  World  Series  broadcast,  and  he  conceives  an 
idea  for  a  radio  program  that  would  present  both  old 
and  new  talent.  With  Peggy's  help,  he  sells  the  idea 
to  Kruger,  who  agrees  to  give  the  new  show  a  trial. 
The  program  is  given  the  title,  "On  Stage  Everybody" 
and,  with  Oakie  as  master  of  ceremonies,  it  becomes 
an  immediate  success. 

Warren  Wilson  and  Oscar  Brodncy  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Mr.  Wilson  produced  it,  and  Jean  Yar- 
brough  directed  it.  Lou  Goldberg  was  associate  pro- 


ducer. The  cast  includes,  among  others,  Julie  London, 
Esther  Dale,  Wallace  Ford,  Milburn  Stone,  the  King 
Sisters,  and  the  ten  winners  of  the  "Oh  Stage  Every- 
body" radio  contest  as  themselves. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Her  Highness  and  the  Bellboy"  with 
Hedy  Lamarr,  Robert  Walker 
and  June  Allyson 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  108  min.) 

Fairly  good.  The  story,  which  revolves  around  a 
princess  from  a  mythical  European  country,  and 
around  a  New  York  bellboy  who  imagines  that  she  is 
in  love  with  him,  might  be  classed  as  a  modern  fairy 
tale,  but,  if  one  accepts  the  story  for  what  it  is,  one 
should  find  it  pleasurable,  for  it  is  a  pleasant  entertain- 
ment, with  considerable  human  interest  and  pathos, 
and  with  delightful  comedy.  While  all  the  main  char- 
acters are  pleasant,  the  sympathy  of  the  spectator  is 
centered  mainly  around  June  Allyson,  a  sensitive, 
bedridden  invalid,  whose  deep  love  the  bellboy  fails 
to  recognize  until  the  end.  One  sequence,  depicting 
a  fairy  tale  dream  of  June's,  in  which  she  dances  gaily, 
is  impressive.  Another  sequence,  which  is  highly  amus- 
ing, is  the  one  where  the  princess  (Hedy  Lamarr)  and 
the  bellboy  (Robert  Walker)  become  involved  in  a 
free-for-all  barroom  brawl,  with  the  princess  landing 
in  jail.  The  picture  is  aided  considerably  by  the  good 
performances  of  the  cast.  The  action  slows  down  oc- 
casionally, and  some  judicious  cutting,  particularly 
at  the  beginning,  would  be  helpful : — - 

Hedy  visits  New  York,  hoping  to  meet  Warner 
Anderson,  an  American  newspaperman,  with  whom 
she  had  fallen  in  love  when  he  visited  her  country  six 
years  previously.  At  her  hotel,  Walker  mistakes  her 
for  a  maid  and  almost  loses  his  job,  but  Hedy,  amused, 
asks  the  hotel  manager  to  assign  him  as  her  personal 
attendant.  Hedy  arranges  a  meeting  with  Anderson, 
who,  realizing  that  her  royal  status  would  mar  their 
happiness,  purposely  informs  her  that  his  love  had 
cooled.  Meanwhile  Walker,  misunderstanding  Hedy's 
kindly  interest,  conceives  the  idea  that  she  had  fallen 
in  love  with  him,  much  to  the  distress  of  June  Allyson, 
who  loved  him  deeply  and  who  looked  forward  to  his 
daily  visits  at  her  bedside.  Hedy,  seeking  to  meet  An- 
derson once  again,  asks  Walker  to  take  her  to  a  bar- 
room, where  Anderson  did  most  of  his  work.  There, 
they  become  involved  in  a  brawl,  and  Hedy,  along 
with  others,  is  taken  to  jail.  Bailed  out  by  Anderson, 
Hedy  returns  to  her  hotel  and  learns  that  her  uncle, 
the  king,  was  dead,  and  that  she  was  now  queen.  She 
prepares  to  leave  for  Europe,  and  informs  Walker 
that  he  may  accompany  her  if  he  wishes.  Mistaking 
her  kindness  for  a  proposal  of  marriage,  Walker  is 
elated.  When  he  goes  to  say  goodbye  to  June,  how- 
ever, he  realizes  that  he  loved  her  and  not  the  princess. 
He  returns  to  the  hotel  and  informs  Hedy  that  she 
must  give  him  up.  Hedy,  realizing  that  Walker,  in 
order  to  enjoy  real  happiness,  had  rejected  what  he 
thought  was  his  chance  to  be  a  king,  decides  to  follow 
his  example — she  adbicates  in  order  to  marry  An- 
derson. 

Richard  Council  and  Gladys  Lehman  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Joe  Pasternak  produced  it,  and  Richard 
Thorpe  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  "Rags"  Rag 
lund,  Girl  Esmond,  Agnes  Moorehead  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


112 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  14,  1945 


leader  and  he  would  not  have  to  take  time  out  to  learn 
the  business. 

"We  refer  to  Hon.  Frank  C.  Walker,  who  has  just 
retired  as  Postmaster  General  of  the  United  States. 

"The  choice  of  the  Postmaster  General  and  Chair- 
man of  the  dominant  political  party  conforms  to  a 
pattern.  The  tribute  paid  Mr.  Walker  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  attest  his  high  standing  in  Govern- 
ment circles.  He  is  popular  in  all  branches  of  the  in- 
dustry and  knows  how  to  get  along  with  people.  Allied 
leaders  who  participated  in  the  5-5-5  Conference  re- 
member that  while  they  did  not  always  see  eye-to-eye 
with  Mr.  Walker,  they  never  lost  their  respect  for 
him,  or  their  tempers.  With  Mr.  Walker  at  the  head, 
independent  producers,  distributors  and  exhibitors 
could  resume  carrying  their  problems  to  44th  Street 
with  assurance  of  courteous  treatment  and  open- 
minded  consideration." 

There  is  little  that  I  can  add  to  Mr.  Myers'  excel- 
lent suggestion  that  Frank  C.  Walker  be  offered  the 
leadership  of  the  MPPDA.  If  the  MPPDA  is  going  to 
make  a  change — and  a  change  is  needed  badly — it 
cannot  hope  to  choose  a  better  leader  than  Mr.  Walk- 
er, who  has  earned  the  respect  of  every  branch  of  the 
industry,  and  whose  qualifications  for  the  post  now 
held  by  Will  Hays  have  been  so  well  outlined  by  Mr. 
Myers. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  know  Frank  Walker 
personally.  And  to  know  the  man  is  but  to  have  an 
added  reason  for  concurring  heartily  in  what  Mr. 
Myers  has  had  to  say  of  him.  I  know  that  his  ac- 
ceptance of  the  MPPDA  leadership,  should  that  or- 
ganization be  astute  enough  to  offer  the  post  to  him, 
would  be  most  beneficial  to  the  industry  as  a  whole. 


MPTOA  LOSES  A  MEMBER 

Warner  Brothers  Theatres,  which  for  many  years 
has  been  an  associate  member  of  the  Motion  Picture 
Theatre  Owners  of  America,  has  resigned  from  that 
organization,  effective  July  1. 

Ed  Kuykendall,  president  of  the  MPTOA,  who  an- 
nounced the  resignation  in  a  press  release,  said  that 
no  reason  was  given  for  Warners'  withdrawal  of  their 
support  and  cooperation  from  his  "national  organiza- 
tion, which  is  now  composed  of  16  state  and  regional 
associations  of  theatre  owners  composed  largely  of 
independent  exhibitors,  but  in  which  the  important 
affiliated  circuits  have  a  special  associate  membership." 

Pity  poor  Ed  Kuykendall,  for  the  resignation  of  the 
Warner  Brothers  theatres  is  indeed  a  bitter  blow  to 
his  hybrid  exhibitor  organization,  which,  as  most  of 
you  know,  is  producer-controlled,  by  virtue  of  the 
fact  that  the  money  for  its  upkeep  comes  from  the 
producers'  coffers,  in  the  form  of  dues  paid  by  the 
theatres  they  own. 

Kuykendall  says  that  no  reason  was  given  for  the 
withdrawal.  The  reason  however  is  obvious,  not  only 
to  Kuykendall,  but  also  to  every  informed  industry- 
ite.  It  relates  back  to  the  action  that  Kuykendall  took 
at  Washington,  in  April  1944,  when  he  visited  Tom 
Clark,  the  then  assistant  attorney  general  in  charge 
of  the  anti-trust  division,  and  urged  him  to  scrap  the 
Consent  Decree  and  to  proceed  with  the  prosecution 
of  the  anti-trust  case  against  the  defendant-distribu- 
tors, at  the  same  time  prohibiting  the  affiliated  cir- 


cuits from  expanding  their  theatre  holdings.  Kuyken- 
dall recommended  also  that,  in  the  event  the  De- 
partment of  Justice  should  feel  it  inadvisable  to  scrap 
the  Decree,  it  should  include  in  an  amended  decree 
certain  stipulations  (which  he  specified)  that  might 
have  benefitted  the  independent  exhibitors  immensely 
if  they  had  been  adopted. 

The  recommendations  Kuykendall  made  to  the  De- 
partment of  Justice  were  so  detrimental  to  the  inter- 
est of  the  producers  —  his  bosses  —  that  his  motive 
puzzled  me,  and  I  said  so  in  these  columns. 

Shortly  thereafter,  as  a  result  of  Kuykendall's  ac- 
tion, Joseph  Bernhard,  head  of  Warner  Brothers' 
theatre  department,  resigned  as  a  member  of  the 
MPTOA's  board  of  directors.  Immediately,  Ed  "craw- 
fished"; in  an  effort  to  appease  Bernhard  and  probably 
other  affiliated  members  of  the  board,  he  issued  a 
bulletin  to  the  effect  that  he  had  presented  to  the  De- 
partment of  Justice  the  views  of  his  organization's  in- 
dependent members  only,  and  that  neither  the  affili- 
ated nor  the  partly  affiliated  members  were  consulted 
in  the  matter.  Ed's  statement  was  a  masterpiece  of 
"double  talk,"  a  futile  effort  to  bring  Bernhard  back 
into  the  ranks. 

A  few  weeks  later  I  learned  from  authoritative 
sources  that  Ed  had  called  a  meeting  of  the  unaffiliated 
members  of  the  MPTOA  board  of  directors  with  a 
view  to  influencing  them  to  compose  a  petition  to  the 
Department  of  Justice  requesting  that  it  drop  the 
anti-trust  suit  against  the  major  companies  and  that  it 
grant  to  the  independent  exhibitors  just  enough  re- 
forms to  appease  them.  But  Kuykendall's  board  mem- 
bers, peeved  by  the  excessive  rentals  they  had  to  pay 
for  film,  refused  to  go  along  with  the  plan,  and  they 
drafted  an  entirely  different  petition,  leaving  Kuyken- 
dall in  a  position  from  which  he  could  not  retreat. 

In  discussing  Kuykendall's  action  in  the  April  22, 
1944  issue  of  this  paper,  I  said  that  "if  Kuykendall 
had  sought  the  advice  of  a  grammar  school  child,  he 
would  have  been  told  that  his  action  would  prove  dis- 
astrous to  his  organization's  finances."  I  said  also  that 
"if  any  more  resignations  take  place,  I  fear  that  Ed 
Kuykendall's  meal  ticket  will  be  in  danger,  unless,  of 
course,  the  remaining  affiliated  circuits  increase  their 
contributions  so  as  to  cover  up  the  loss."  Ed  apparently 
realized  the  danger,  for  since  that  time  not  one  of  his 
numerous  bulletins  has  contained  any  statement  that 
might  in  any  way  displease  his  affiliated  members. 

Before  closing  this  piece,  I  want  to  state,  as  I  have 
often  stated,  that  Kuykendall's  claim  that  his  organi- 
zation is  composed  "largely  of  independent  exhibitors" 
is  just  so  much  "bunk"  aimed  at  painting  the  MPTOA 
as  representative  of  bona  fide  independent  exhibitors. 
It  is  true  that  some  independent  exhibitors  belong  to 
his  organization,  but  they  are  so  few  in  number  that  I 
doubt  if  their  combined  dues  amount  to  more  than  a 
few  thousand  dollars,  which  is  infinitesimal  when  com- 
pared to  the  many  thousands  of  dollars  poured  into 
the  organization's  treasury  by  the  producers'  affiliated 
theatres  for  the  purpose  of  using  it  as  a  "front." 

Obviously,  it  does  not  require  great  imagination  to 
understand  that  Kuykendall  and  the  other  MPTOA 
representatives  must  do  the  producers'  bidding  lest 
they  put  an  end  to  all  financial  support. 

And  the  proof  of  it  is  Warners'  resignation. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  JULY  21,  1945  No.  29 


NO  REISSUES  BY 
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER 

William  F.  Rodgers,  vice-president  and  general 
sales  manager  of  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,  has  an- 
nounced  that  his  company  will  not  sell  any  reissues  in 
conjunction  with  its  new  season's  product. 

Speaking  to  his  sales  staff  at  a  special  mid-season 
meeting  held  in  Chicago  last  week,  Rodgers  stated 
that  last  year  his  company  had  tried  out  two  reissues 
("Naughty  Marietta"  and  "Waterloo  Bridge")  and 
that,  although  these  reissues  had  not  been  entirely 
disappointing  from  the  standpoint  of  sales,  they  con- 
flicted with  new  releases  and  interfered  with  the  com- 
pany's star-grooming  policy. 

Bill  Rodgers'  move  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction, 
and  he  is  to  be  congratulated. 

This  paper  has  maintained  for  many  months  that 
one  of  the  worst  distributor  abuses  to  have  come  out 
of  the  war-time  operations  of  the  industry  has  been 
the  injudicious  though  profitable  (for  the  distributors) 
use  of  critical  raw  film  stock  for  the  making  of  new 
prints  of  reissues.  They  filled  no  public  need;  they 
were  unwanted  by  exhibitors;  and  to  add  insult  to 
injury,  they  were  given  life  only  by  the  use  of  raw 
stock  in  which  the  exhibitors  had  an  undeniable  stake. 

Unhampered  by  regulatory  restrictions,  the  pro- 
ducer-distributors have  been  and  still  are  in  a  position 
to  juggle  their  raw  stock  allocations  in  a  manner  aimed 
at  perpetuating  a  "seller's  market." 

The  pattern  is  clear:  By  releasing  fewer  pictures 
and  giving  them  extended  playing  time  in  the  key 
runs,  and  by  controlling  the  number  of  prints  of  new 
features  in  circulation,  the  producer-distributors  have 
been  able  to  tighten  their  control  of  the  film  market 
and  to  set  the  stage  for  the  sale  of  reissues,  the  prints 
of  which,  in  most  cases,  come  from  raw  stock  that 
could  have  been  used  for  prints  of  new  features. 

For  example,  Paramount,  which  has  one  of  the  larg- 
est backlogs  of  product  in  the  industry,  has  used  re- 
cently thousands  of  feet  of  rationed  raw  stock  to  make 
prints  of  "This  Gun  for  Hire"  and  "Northwest 
Mounted  Police,"  both  reissues.  Yet  its  new  pictures 
repose  in  its  vaults  gathering  dust,  despite  the  ex- 
hibitors' crying  need  for  them.  Universal  is  another 
offender;  it  does  not  expect  to  complete  its  promised 
1944-45  program  because  of  the  raw  stock  shortage, 
yet  somehow  it  managed  to  find  sufficient  raw  stock 
to  make  hundreds  of  prints  of  "East  Side  of  Heaven" 
and  "Imitation  of  Life,"  two  reissues  presently  in 
release.  Twentieth  Century-Fox,  too,  has  used  much 
critical  raw  stock  for  new  prints  of  "Call  of  the 
Wild."  And,  as  we  go  to  press,  word  comes  that 
Columbia  has  joined  the  party  by  announcing  that 


"Mr.  Deeds  Goes  to  Town"  and  "Pennies  from 
Heaven,"  two  reissues,  the  prints  of  which  are  un- 
doubtedly new,  are  now  available  for  bookings. 

These  distributors  might  have  had  reason  to  use 
their  rationed  raw  stock  for  prints  of  the  aforemen- 
tioned reissues  if  the  public  were  clamoring  for  them. 
But  the  public  has  not  clamored  for  reissues.  The  dis- 
tributors are  merely  cashing  in  on  a  situation  of  their 
own  making,  without  regard  for  the  wishes  of  the 
public.  And  the  exhibitors,  plagued  by  the  product 
shortage,  find  themselves  faced  with  the  choice  of 
either  booking  the  reissues  at  unheard  of  rentals,  or 
closing  their  theatres  until  new  product  becomes  avail- 
able. It  is,  in  other  words,  the  old  "squeeze  play." 

As  already  said,  Bill  Rodgers  is  to  be  congratulated 
for  his  wise  decision  to  eliminate  reissues  from  his 
sales  program.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  sales  man- 
ager of  the  other  companies  will  be  astute  enough  to 
follow  his  lead. 


SELLING  AWAY  FROM  CIRCUITS 

The  latest  of  Samuel  Goldwyn's  battles  over  rental 
terms  for  one  of  his  pictures  is  taking  place  with  the 
Warner  Brothers  theatre  circuit. 

According  to  reports  in  the  trade  papers,  Goldwyn, 
because  of  his  inability  to  obtain  terms  and  preferred 
playing  time  suitable  to  him  for  "Wonder  Man,"  has 
decided  to  sell  the  picture  away  from  the  Warner 
circuit,  and  he  is  now  offering  it  to  that  circuit's  com- 
petitors in  all  the  territories  affected. 

A  controversy  of  similar  nature  is  going  on  in  the 
New  York  territory,  where  Paramount,  unable  to 
conclude  satisfactory  deals  with  the  Skouras,  Brandt, 
and  Century  circuits,  three  of  the  most  powerful  in- 
dependent theatre  chains  operating  in  the  New  York 
area,  is  making  some  of  its  pictures  available  to  com- 
petitive subsequent-run  theatres. 

When  an  affiliated  circuit  such  as  Warners,  or 
powerful  independent  circuits  such  as  Skouras, 
Brandt,  and  Century,  come  to  the  conclusion  th.it 
the  terms  asked  of  them  are  so  unreasonable  as  to 
make  a  deal  unprofitable,  their  refusal  to  meet  the 
terms  should  encourage  every  independent  exhibitor, 
who  finds  himself  in  the  same  position,  to  take  a 
similar  stand. 

There  have  been  other  times  when  a  distributor 
decided  to  sell  away  from  some  powerful  circuit  be- 
cause of  inability  to  agree  on  terms.  Immediately 
many  independent  exhibitors,  who  had  been  loud  in 
their  complaints  that  rental  terms  were  too  high,  fell 
all  over  themselves  in  a  rush  to  buy  the  pictures  away 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


114 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  21,  1945 


"Our  Vines  Have  Tender  Grapes"  with 
Edward  G.  Robinson  and  Margaret  O'Brien 

(MUM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  105  mm.) 

A  deeply  appealing  drama.  It  is  a  heart-warming, 
wholesome  entertainment,  excellent  for  the  family 
tr.ide.  The  story,  which  revolves  around  a  small  Wis- 
consin farming  community,  is  simple  and  episodic, 
but  so  well  directed  and  acted,  that  one's  attention  is 
gripped  from  beginning  to  end.  It  has  deep  human 
interest,  and  some  of  the  situations  should  bring  tears 
to  the  eyes,  while  others  should  provoke  hearty 
laughter.  Most  of  the  action  centers  around  Margaret 
O'Brien  and  Jackie  "Butch"  Jenkins,  rural  young- 
sters, depicting  their  youthful  joys,  sorrow,  squabbles 
and  pranks.  Both  of  them  give  splendid  performances. 
A  most  gripping  situation  is  the  one  in  which  the 
children  nearly  lose  their  lives  when  swept  into  a 
raging  Hood  stream  while  sailing  in  a  bathtub.  The 
emotional  reaction  of  the  parents  when  both  children 
are  pulled  to  safety  is  so  touching  that  it  brings  a 
lump  to  one's  throat.  A  highly  dramatic  sequence  is 
the  one  in  which  the  community  comes  to  the  aid  of 
a  proud  neighbor,  who  had  lost  his  life's  work  when 
his  new  barn  burned  to  the  ground.  Edward  G.  Rob- 
inson, as  Margaret's  father,  is  excellent,  winning  one's 
sympathy  by  his  good-heartedness  and  by  his  sympa- 
thetic understanding  of  the  workings  of  his  little 
daughter's  mind.  There  is  an  appealing  romance  be- 
tween James  Craig,  as  the  local  editor,  and  Frances 
Gilford,  as  the  schoolteacher,  who  lend  their  efforts 
to  bring  good  to  the  community. 

Briefly,  the  episodic-like  story  revolves  around  the 
day  by  day  adventures  of  Margaret,  and  around  her 
relationship  with  her  parents — Robinson,  her  father, 
who  worshipped  her,  and  Agnes  Moorehead,  her 
mother,  a  practical  sort,  who  was  devoted  to  both  of 
them.  Shown  arc  Margaret's  sorrow  when  she  acci- 
dentally kills  a  squirrel,  and  her  joy  when  her  father, 
to  console  her,  makes  her  a  gift  of  a  new-born  calf; 
the  happiness  of  the  family  when  they  exchange  gifts 
on  Christmas  Day;  Margaret's  recital  of  the  story  of 
the  Nativity  in  school;  the  children's  near-tragedy 
when  they  sail  a  tin  bathtub  in  the  spring  flood  waters; 
and  the  collection  taken  in  church  to  help  the  neigh- 
bor who  lost  his  barn,  and  the  meagre  contributions 
until  Margaret  offers  her  precious  calf,  shaming  the 
farmers  into  making  big-hearted  gifts  of  cattle  and 
feed.  All  this  is  simply  and  movingly  told.  A  by-plot 
concerns  the  desire  of  Miss  Gifford  to  return  to  Mil- 
waukee because  life  in  the  small  community  seemed 
small  and  dull  to  her.  Her  love  for  Craig,  however, 
and  her  eventual  understanding  of  the  community's 
spirit,  cause  her  to  change  her  mind. 

Dalton  Trumbo  wrote  the  screen  play  based  on 
the  book,  of  the  same  title,  by  George  Victor  Martin. 
Robert  Sisk  produced  it,  and  Roy  Rowland  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Morris  Carnovsky,  Sara  Haden, 
Dorothy  Morris  and  others. 

"The  Caribbean  Mystery" 
with  James  Dunn 

(20th  Century-Fox,  September;  time,  65  min.) 
A  rather  ordinary  program  murder-mystery  melo- 
drama, but  good  enough  to  round  out  the  lower  half 
of  a  double  bill  where  audiences  are  not  too  fussy 
about  story  material.  The  plot  is  loosely  written,  obvi- 
ous, and  somewhat  implausible,  yet  it  manages  to 
hold  one's  interest  to  a  fair  degree  since  it  is  not  until 
the  end  that  the  mystery  is  solved.  The  melodramatic 
events  in  the  closing  scenes,  during  which  the  hero 
traps  the  murderer,  holds  one  in  suspense.  James 


Dunn,  who  did  such  good  work  in  "A  Tree  Grows  in 
Brooklyn,"  plays  the  detective  fairly  well,  but  he  is 
deserving  of  better  material  than  this.  There  is  prac- 
tically no  comedy  relief,  and  though  there  is  some 
romantic  interest  it  is  of  no  importance: — 

Because  of  the  strange  disappearance  of  several 
people  in  the  swamps  of  an  island  in  the  Caribbean 
Sea,  Roy  Gordon,  governor  of  the  island,  asks  James 
Dunn,  a  private  American  detective,  to  investigate 
the  mystery.  Several  attempts  are  made  on  Dunn's  life 
shortly  after  his  arrival,  and  his  assistant  is  murdered 
mysteriously.  Sheila  Ryan,  a  local  hotel  hostess,  who 
had  been  a  friend  of  the  murdered  man,  informs  Dunn 
that  he  had  suspected  that  someone  in  the  administra- 
tion was  responsible  for  the  strange  disappearance  of 
the  missing  men.  Shortly  after,  Sheila,  too,  is  murd- 
ered, and  William  Forrest,  the  island's  chief  of  police, 
disappears.  Dunn,  on  the  strength  of  the  information 
given  to  him  by  Sheila,  travels  into  the  jungle  swamps 
and,  with  the  aid  of  Eddie  Ryan,  the  governor's  son, 
discovers  a  hidden  community  where  a  band  of  men, 
led  by  Roy  Roberts,  had  dug  up  buried  pirate's  gold 
and  were  about  to  leave  the  island  with  their  loot. 
Dunn,  establishing  that  the  gang  had  disposed  of  the 
missing  persons  lest  they  learn  the  secret  of  the  buried 
treasure,  captures  Roberts  and  rescues  the  police 
chief,  who  had  been  held  prisoner.  On  their  way  back 
to  town,  the  police  chief  wounds  Roberts  when  he 
tries  to  make  a  getaway.  Roberts  dies,  but  Dunn,  be- 
lieving that  one  of  the  island's  officials  had  been 
Roberts'  boss,  keep  the  death  a  secret.  He  places  the 
body  in  a  local  hospital  room  and  informs  the  officials 
that  Roberts,  "wounded,"  would  be  in  condition  to 
talk  that  evening.  Later,  at  the  hospital,  Dunn  traps 
Reed  Hadley,  the  island's  coroner,  in  the  act  of  stab- 
bing Roberts'  lifeless  body,  and  compels  him  to  con- 
fess that  he  was  the  government  official  behind  the 
scenes. 

Jack  Andrews  and  Leonard  Praskins  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  the  novel,  "Murder  in  Trinidad," 
William  Girard  produced  it,  and  Robert  Webb  di- 
rected it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Falcon  in  San  Francisco"  with 
Tom  Conway  and  Robert  Armstrong 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  66  min.) 
Hampered  by  a  plot  that  becomes  more  confusing 
than  intriguing,  this  latest  of  the  "Falcon"  mystery 
melodramas  is  moderately  entertaining  program  fare. 
It  should,  however,  prove  exciting  to  those  who  do 
not  object  to  far-fetched  and  implausible  situations. 
The  first  half  is  rather  slow,  given  more  to  talk  than 
to  action,  but  the  second  half  picks  up  speed,  holding 
one  in  suspense  because  of  the  danger  to  the  "Falcon" 
as  he  seeks  to  unravel  the  mystery  behind  the  several 
murders.  Tom  Conway,  as  the  private  investigator, 
gives  his  usual  suave  performance,  and  Edward 
Brophy,  as  his  not-too-bright  aide,  is  mildly  amus- 
ing:— 

Conway,  en  route  to  San  Francisco  for  a  vacation, 
offers  to  take  charge  of  seven-year-old  Sharyn  Mof- 
fett  when  her  nurse  is  found  murdered  in  her  berth. 
While  taking  Sharyn  to  her  home,  Conway  is  arrested 
on  a  fake  kidnapping  charge  and  is  subsequently 
bailed  out  by  Faye  Helm,  head  of  a  gang  of  silk 
thieves,  who  orders  her  henchmen  to  beat  Conway  as 
a  warning  to  keep  away  from  Sharyn  and  to  make 
no  effort  to  solve  the  nurse's  murder.  Conway,  how- 
ever, determines  to  investigate.  He  visits  Sharyn's 
home,  where  he  finds  evidence  that  the  nurse's  hus- 
band was  first  mate  on  a  freight  shipping  line.  Fol- 


July  21,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


115 


lowing  up  this  clue,  Conway  learns  that  Robert  Arm- 
strong, head  of  the  line,  was  a  former  notorious  gang' 
ster,  and  that  Sharyn  and  her  older  sister,  Rita 
Corday,  were  his  daughters.  Armstrong  admits  his 
identity  and  informs  Conway  that  Faye's  gang  had 
compelled  him  to  work  with  them  under  threat  of 
exposing  his  past  to  Sharyn.  He  informs  Conway  also 
that  the  thieves  were  sailing  that  night  on  one  of  his 
ships  with  a  cargo  of  stolen  silk,  and  asks  his  aid  in 
capturing  them.  Once  aboard  the  ship,  Armstrong 
knocks  out  the  ship's  engineer,  leaving  no  one  to 
watch  the  steam  gauge,  and  reveals  his  intention  to 
kill  all  aboard,  including  Conway,  in  order  to  preserve 
the  secret  of  his  identity.  Conway,  realising  that  Arm- 
strong had  no  intention  of  going  straight  and  that  he 
was  guilty  of  the  several  murders  that  had  occurred, 
creates  a  diversion  and  manages  to  get  off  the  ship 
just  before  it  explodes  from  excessive  steam  pres- 
sure, killing  Armstrong  and  the  thieves. 

Robert  Kent  and  Ben  Markson  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Maurice  Geraghty  produced  it,  and  Joseph  H. 
Lewis  directed  it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Christmas  in  Connecticut"  with 
Dennis  Morgan  and  Barbara  Stanwyck 

(Warner  Bros.,  Aug.  11;  time,  101  mm.) 

With  a  little  less  footage  arid  a  bit  more  care  in  the 
treatment,  this  story  might  have  been  an  hilarious 
farce.  As  it  stands,  it  is  fairly  amusing.  It  may,  how- 
ever, do  better  than  average  business  on  the  strength 
of  the  players'  popularity.  The  action  revolves  around 
Barbara  Stanwyck,  as  a  magazine  feature  writer, 
whose  glowing  articles  about  the  idyllic  life  she  led 
on  a  Connecticut  farm  with  her  husband  and  baby 
had  won  her  a  host  of  readers.  The  comedy  is  pro- 
voked by  the  complications  that  arise  when  her  pub- 
lisher, unaware  that  she  was  unmarried  and  that  she 
lived  alone  in  a  New  York  apartment,  invites  him- 
self and  a  young  Navy  officer  to  spend  the  Christmas 
holidays  on  her  "farm."  There  are  occasional  mo- 
ments of  high  comedy  as  a  result  of  Miss  Stanwyck's 
efforts  to  carry  on  her  deception,  but  these  come  too 
infrequently,  causing  one's  interest  to  lag.  One  or 
two  of  the  situations  are  somewhat  suggestive,  but 
they  are  not  offensive: — 

In  love  with  Dennis  Morgan,  a  Navy  officer,  Joyce 
Compton,  a  nurse  in  a  Naval  hospital,  seeks  to  instill 
in  him  a  sense  of  domesticity  in  the  hope  that  he  will 
marry  her.  She  writes  to  Sydney  Greenstreet,  Bar- 
bara's publisher,  suggesting  that  Morgan  be  invited 
to  spend  a  few  days  at  Barbara's  "farm."  Green- 
street,  sensing  an  opportunity  to  gain  publicity  and 
to  increase  his  circulation,  orders  Barbara  to  enter- 
tain Morgan  over  the  holidays,  and  invites  himself 
along.  Barbara,  who  got  all  her  domestic  information 
from  S.  Z.  Sakall,  a  restaurateur,  and  from  Reginald 
Gardiner,  an  architect,  who  owned  the  farm  she 
wrote  about,  agrees  to  Greenstreet 's  wishes  lest  he 
learn  that  she  had  perpetrated  a  hoax.  In  a  complete 
panic,  she  agrees  to  marry  Gardiner,  who  had  pro- 
posed to  her  frequently,  and  arranges  for  the  wed- 
ding to  take  place  at  the  farm  prior  to  the  arrival  of 
the  guests.  The  guests,  however,  arrive  prematurely, 
causing  a  postponement  of  the  wedding.  From  then 
on  matters  become  complicated;  Barbara  falls  in  love 
with  Morgan  and  finds  one  excuse  after  another  to 
postpone  her  marriage  to  Gardiner;  and  Morgan,  in 
love  with  Barbara,  does  not  know  what  to  do  about 
it  because  of  her  "marital  status."  After  much  con- 
fusion, during  which  Greenstreet  discovers  Barbara's 


duplicity,  Barbara  finds  herself  unemployed,  but 
through  the  efforts  of  Sakall,  whose  cooking  delighted 
Greenstreet,  the  publisher  re-hires  her  at  a  substan- 
tial raise.  Meanwhile  Joyce  had  fallen  in  love  with 
Frank  Jenks,  Morgan's  buddy,  leaving  him  free  to 
marry  Barbara. 

Lionel  Houser  and  Adele  Commandini  wrote  the 
screen  play,  William  Jacobs  produced  it,  and  Peter 
Godfrey  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Una  O'Connor, 
Dick  Elliott  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Anchors  Aweigh"  with  Gene  Kelly, 
Frank  Sinatra  and  Kathryn  Grayson 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  139  min.) 

Very  good  mass  entertainment.  Photographed  in 
Technicolor,  the  production  is  extremely  lavish,  has 
good  comedy,  a  romance,  tuneful  songs,  and  effective 
dancing.  The  story  is  thin,  but  it  has  some  human 
interest,  and  there  are  so  many  humorous  situations 
that  one  is  kept  laughing  most  of  the  way.  The  music 
ranges  from  classical  to  popular,  featuring  the  bril- 
liant piano-playing  of  Jose  Iturbi,  the  crystal-clear 
singing  of  Kathryn  Grayson,  and  the  "crooning"  of 
Frank  Sinatra,  who,  incidentally,  should  draw  many 
additional  squeals  from  his  "bobby-sox"  admirers  be- 
cause of  his  dancing  in  one  sequence.  While  each  of 
these  performers  contributes  much  to  the  entertain- 
ment values,  it  is  Gene  Kelly  who  walks  off  with  the 
honors;  he  not  only  joins  Sinatra  in  singing  a  few 
songs,  but  he  also  figures  importantly  in  the  comedy 
relief,  which  he  handles  effectively,  and  his  dancing 
is  the  most  impressive  thing  about  the  picture,  par- 
ticularly the  sequence  in  which  he  dances  with  a  car- 
toon character  as  a  partner.  It  is  a  live  action  and 
animation  sequence,  superior  to  the  technique  de- 
veloped by  Walt  Disney  in  "The  Three  Caballeros." 
Most  of  the  action  takes  place  in  Hollywood,  with  a 
few  of  the  scenes  staged  on  the  MGM  lot,  giving 
the  picture  a  colorful  background:— 

Given  a  four-day  leave  from  their  ship,  Kelly  and 
Sinatra  go  to  Hollywood  in  search  of  a  good  time. 
Sinatra,  a  shy  Brooklyn  boy,  follows  Kelly  every- 
where, much  to  his  annoyance.  As  Kelly  ponders  how 
to  get  rid  of  Sinatra,  a  policeman  compels  both  of 
them  to  accompany  him  to  a  police  station  to  help 
him  with  a  little  boy  (Dean  Stockwell),  who  had  run 
away  from  home  to  join  the  Navy.  The  youngster 
agrees  to  go  home  if  Kelly  and  Sinatra  would  ac- 
company him  to  meet  his  guardian  aunt,  Kathryn 
Grayson,  a  movie  extra  who  hoped  to  become  a 
famous  singer.  At  the  boy's  home,  Kelly,  noticing 
that  Sinatra  was  attracted  to  Kathryn,  tries  to  further 
the  romance  by  telling  her  that  Sinatra  was  a  good 
friend  of  Jose  Iturbi,  and  that  he  could  arrange  a 
screen  test  for  her.  The  boys,  to  make  good  this  boast, 
soon  find  themselves  spending  most  of  their  furlough 
in  a  futile  attempt  to  meet  Iturbi  in  order  to  arrange 
for  the  test.  Meanwhile  Kathryn  meets  Iturbi  in  the 
studio  commissary  and,  assuming  that  he  knew  all 
about  her,  talks  excitedly  to  him  about  the  test.  Iturbi, 
baffled  at  first,  soon  guesses  what  had  happened,  and 
he  obligingly  agrees  to  make  good  the  boys'  promise. 
As  a  result  of  her  test,  Kathryn  becomes  a  star.  It  all 
ends  with  Kelly  in  Kathryn's  arms,  and  with  Sinatra 
in  the  arms  of  Pamela  Bntton,  a  waitress  from  Brook- 
lyn, who  spoke  and  understood  his  language. 

Isobcl  Lennart  wrote  the  screen  play,  Joe  Pasternak 
produced  it,  and  George  Sidney  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  "Rags"  Raglund,  Billy  Gilbert,  Carlos  Ram- 
irez and  others. 


116 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  21,  1945 


from  their  prior-run  competitor,  no  matter  how  stiff 
the  terms. 

Paying  exhorbitant  film  rentals  for  the  privilege  of 
buying  product  away  from  a  stronger  competitor  is, 
at  best,  only  a  temporary  advantage,  and  frequently 
a  costly  one.  In  the  long  run,  such  action  is  definitely 
harmful,  for  it  serves  to  defeat  the  independent  ex- 
hibitors'  constant  fight  tor  "live-and  let-live"  rental 
terms. 

Here  is  an  opportunity  for  the  independent  ex- 
hibitors to  make  known  to  the  distributors  their  de- 
termination to  bring  film  prices  down.  Don't  rush  to 
buy  just  because  a  distributor  decides  to  sell  away 
from  your  powerful  competitor,  unless,  of  course, 
the  terms  arc  such  as  would  leave  you  with  a  fair 
profit.  Follow  the  lead  of  the  circuits  -hold  out!  Only 
then  will  the  distributors  be  made  to  realize  that 
rental  terms  must  be  brought  down  to  an  equitable 
level. 

RESTRICTING  TRAVELING  CARNIVALS 

During  the  past  week,  two  exhibitors,  each  from 
a  different  part  of  the  country,  have  written  to  me  on 
the  same  subject  —  traveling  carnivals  that  stop  in 
their  respective  towns  annually,  affecting  the  at- 
tendance at  their  theatres  to  a  considerable  degree. 

One  of  these  exhibitors  points  out  that  these  carni- 
vals are  permitted  to  operate  within  the  limits  of  his 
town  for  a  nominal  license  fee,  and  that,  through  low 
class  side-shows,  as  well  as  gambling  devices,  they 
take  out  of  the  town  thousands  of  dollars.  Yet  the 
small  license  fee  paid  by  the  carnival's  operators  is 
far  from  enough  to  reimburse  the  town  for  the  police 
and  fire  protection  provided  during  the  carnival's  stay, 
let  alone  the  inestimable  expense  to  the  town  in 
handling  criminal  violations  bred  by  the  carnival's 
operations. 

This  same  exhibitor  adds  that  those  who  suffer 
most  from  the  traveling  shows  are  the  town's  legiti- 
mate merchants  and  business  men,  who  have  thous- 
ands of  dollars  invested  in  different  enterprises,  and 
who  help  in  a  large  measure  to  support  the  town 
through  their  payment  of  different  forms  of  taxes  and 
of  license  fees. 

The  other  exhibitor,  whose  complaint  is  along  the 
same  lines  as  the  first  one,  has  asked  me  if  I  have 
knowledge  of  an  ordinance  that  has  been  passed  by 
any  City  Council,  which,  in  effect,  would  impose 
a  discouraging  license  fee,  as  well  as  limit  the  number 
of  days  a  carnival  may  operate  in  a  town. 

A  check  of  my  file  on  the  subject  discloses  that 
such  an  ordinance  was  brought  to  my  attention  in 
1935,  except  that  it  does  not  place  a  limitation  on  the 
number  of  days  a  carnival  may  operate.  The  license 
fee,  however,  is  discouraging  enough  to  make  an  ex- 
tended stay  unprofitable.  The  ordinance,  which  fol- 
lows, comes  from  a  town  of  about  fifteen  thousand 
population,  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  but  I  am  suppressing 
the  name  of  the  city  because,  at  the  time  the  ordinance 
was  submitted  to  me,  the  City  Clerk  requested  that 
I  do  so : 

"AN  ORDINANCE  TO  REGULATE  AND 
LICENSE  CARNIVALS. 

"Be  it  ordained  by  the  City  Council  of  

 ,  State  of  Ohio. 


"That  any  person,  persons,  firm  or  corporation  be- 
ing the  owner,  manager  or  proprietor  of  any  traveling 
carnival  or  part  thereof  consisting  of  two  or  more 
shows,  exhibitions  or  other  services  of  public  enter- 
tainment, before  engaging  in  said  business  in  the 

City  of  ,  Ohio,  shall 

pay  to  the  Mayor  of  said  City  three  hundred  dollars 
($300. 00)  for  the  first  day  said  business  is  conducted 
and  three  hundred  dollars  ($300.00)  for  each  addi- 
tional day  said  business  is  conducted  in  said  City,  and 
said  sum  shall  be  payable  for  the  use  of  said  City  for 
the  purchasing  of  regulating  said  business  in  said  City. 

"Any  person,  persons,  firm  or  corporation  violating 
any  of  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance,  or  failing  to 
pay  the  license  required  by  the  terms  of  this  ordinance, 
shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon 
conviction  thereof,  shall  be  fined  not  less  than  five 
hundred  dollars  ($500.00)  nor  more  than  one  thous- 
and dollars  ($1000.00)." 

From  other  correspondence  in  my  file,  I  note  that 
sever.il  towns  in  Texas  have  passed  ordinances  to  the 
effect  that  tent  shows  or  carnivals  using  tents  are  con- 
sidered a  fire  hazard  and,  as  such,  are  not  permitted 
to  operate  within  the  town's  limits.  Such  ordinances, 
of  course,  tend  to  eliminate  the  undesirable  competi- 
tion insofar  as  the  exhibitor  is  concerned,  for,  as  a 
rule,  the  carnival's  operators  do  not  like  to  pitch  their 
tents  at  a  spot  that  is  too  distant  from  the  main  busi- 
ness center. 

The  strongest  argument  an  exhibitor  can  advance 
to  induce  his  City  Council  to  pass  an  ordinance  mak- 
ing carnival  license  fees  discouraging  is  that  the  police 
and  fire  protection  required  for  such  shows  are  costly 
to  the  city. 

If  your  city  or  state  has  any  ordinance  covering 
carnivals  or  any  other  type  of  traveling  shows,  send 
a  copy  to  this  office,  so  that  I  may  pass  the  informa- 
tion along  to  other  exhibitors. 


REASSURING  NEWS 

Boxoffice  reports  that  Tom  C.  Clark,  in  outlining 
his  policy  as  the  new  Attorney  General,  and  in  dis- 
cussing the  anti-trust  laws,  stated  in  a  recent  inter- 
view that  "the  spirit  of  the  antitrust  laws  is  intimately 
linked  with  the  values  which  the  free  peoples  of  the 
world  are  fighting  to  maintain.  American  business, 
large  or  small,  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice  so  long  as  it  operates  by  the  rules; 
but  those  who  get  off-side  must  prepare  to  have  the 
whistle  blown  on  them  and  to  pay  the  penalty  .  .  . 
I  shall  be  the  people's  lawyer — the  people's  lawyer 
to  see  that  the  innocent  are  protected,  the  guilty  pun- 
ished, monopoly  trusts  and  restraints  in  interstate 
business  prevented,  the  public  purse  guarded,  civil 
liberty  preserved  and  constitutional  guarantees  held 
inviolate." 

Boxoffice  reports  also  that  the  Government's  anti- 
trust action  against  the  major  companies  looms  im- 
portant on  Clark's  agenda,  and  that  he  emphasized 
his  determination  to  fight  current  anti-trust  suits  "all 
the  way." 

If  any  of  you  has  had  any  misgivings  about  how  the 
new  Attorney  General  feels  about  the  forthcoming 
anti-trust  trial  in  October,  his  statements  should  in- 
deed be  reassuring. 


Entered  aa  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

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Canada                             16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

n?^rCt*bn '  SPain A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New  ' Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  JULY  28,  1945 


No.  30 


MGM  POINTS  THE  WAY! 


Around  this  time  of  each  year,  when  the  sales  forces  of 
the  different  distributors  convene  to  formulate  sales  policies 
in  preparation  for  the  new  selling  season,  each  of  them 
invariably  hands  out  glowing  statements  that  stress  the  good 
will  existing  between  the  company  and  its  customers,  and, 
in  most  cases,  the  statements  contain  also  some  reference 
to  the  company's  willingness  to  recognize  the  hardships  of 
deserving  exhibitors  and  to  make  adjustments  if  the  facts 
warrant  such  action. 

Few  of  these  statements  mean  anything,  for  most  of  them 
are  cloaked  in  ambiguous  language,  such  as  might  be  used  in 
addressing  naive  persons  and  infants,  to  whom  promises  can 
be  made  with  the  hope  that  they  may  be  either  overlooked 
or  forgotten.  Rarely  do  these  companies  outline  clearly, 
either  their  policy,  or  the  rules  of  conduct  by  which  their 
sales  forces  are  to  carry  out  the  policy.  Unhampered  by  any 
specific  rules'  of  conduct,  the  salesmen  in  the  field,  seeking 
to  improve  their  records,  disregard  their  company's  an' 
nounced  "live-and-let-live"  policy,  extracting  from  the  ex- 
hibitors  all  that  the  traffic  will  bear.  And  the  home  office 
executives,  pleased  with  the  increased  revenues,  are  hardly 
inclined  to  take  disciplinary  action  against  a  subordinate 
who  violated  a  policy  that  was  announced  with  a  tongue-in- 
cheek  attitude  to  begin  with.  In  other  words,  most  announced 
sales  policies  prior  to  a  new  selling  season  are  just  so  many 
soap  bubbles  blown  at  the  exhibitors. 

It  is,  therefore,  like  a  breath  of  fresh  air  when  one  com- 
pany comes  forth  with  an  announcement  of  policy  that 
neither  minces  words  nor  resorts  to  ambiguities.  That  com- 
pany is  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 

The  MGM  policy,  which  was  drawn  up  by  William  F. 
Rodgers,  vice-president  and  general  sales  manager,  and  pre- 
sented to  his  district  and  division  managers  at  a  meeting 
held  in  Chicago  two  weeks  ago,  is  based  upon  a  forthright, 
clearly  defined  19-point  program,  which  leaves  no  doubt  as 
to  how  MGM  intends  to  deal  with  its  customers,  and  as  to 
what  it  expects  in  return. 

While  the  policy  is  no  cure-all  for  the  exhibitor-distributor 
disputes  that  have  kept  the  industry  in  a  turmoil,  it  is  an 
honest,  sincere  effort  to  recognize  the  exhibitors'  problems 
and  to  do  something  about  them.  The  policy  is  a  great  step 
forward  toward  a  more  amicable  relationship  between  buyer 
and  seller,  for  it  is  based  on  principles  that  allow  for  flexi- 
bility in  the  treatment  of  customers  in  accordance  with  their 
specific  problems.  It  is  a  policy  that  recognizes  the  impor- 
tance of  customer  good  will,  which,  as  defined  by  Mr. 
Rodgers,  "is  the  evidence  of  confidence,  one  in  the  other, 
and  based  on  the  performance  of  both.  It  is  not  a  one  way 
passage,  or  a  fair  weather  experience,  but  a  reciprocal  un- 
derstanding applicable  to  good  and  bad  conditions  alike  and 
can  only  be  lasting  where  the  sincerity  of  purpose  is  an 
accepted  fact." 

For  the  enlightenment  of  its  subscribers,  Harrison's 
Reports  is  herewith  reproducing  the  MGM  19-point  pro- 
gram in  its  entirety: 

"1.  If  we  make  a  mistake  in  designating  a  picture  in  a 
bracket  higher  than  justified  by  results,  it  is  not  necessary  or 
expected  that  our  customer  be  required  to  ask  for  an  adjust- 
ment in  terms,  but  when  called  to  our  attention  with  the 
supporting  facts,  and  they  must  be  facts,  we  will  reclassify 
the  picture  in  the  bracket  where  it  rightfully  belongs. 

"2.  There  is  no  policy  in  our  company  that  prevents  one 
of  our  top  bracket  pictures  being  reclassified  even  to  the 


balance  or  lower  bracket,  if  that  is  the  proper  classification 
based  on  results  at  that  theatre. 

"3.  We  intend  to  retain  our  right  of  designation  as  there 
is  no  other  means  we  know  of  to  intelligently  price  our  mer- 
chandise. 

"4.  We  intend  to  continue  to  sell  on  the  sliding  scale; 
that  this  basis  is  considered  by  us  and  by  thousands  of  our 
customers  as  being  a  fair  method  of  dealing. 

"5.  We  will,  where  justified,  change  the  unit  figure  if 
results  of  record  disclose  a  hardship,  and  by  hardship  I  mean 
either  a  loss,  or  a  minimum  profit  to  the  theatre  on  pictures 
of  ours  played  on  this  basis. 

"6.  We  recognize  the  effect  because  of  shifting  popula- 
tions, industrial  inactivity  and  other  reasons,  in  some  small 
localities,  on  some  of  the  subsequent  runs,  and  I  mean  later 
runs  in  cities  and  small  towns,  and  are  prepared  in  such  situa- 
tions to  adjust  our  terms  to  meet  present-day  business  levels. 
In  such  situations  we  are  prepared  to  forego  so-called  pre- 
ferred time  in  exchange  for  what  our  managers  consider  its 
equivalent  in  the  way  of  mid-week  playing  time.  In  such 
instances  it  can  be  incorporated  in  the  contract  with  our 
customers  as  optional. 

"7.  This  is  a  matter  of  negotiation  between  our  represen- 
tatives and  our  customers  and  in  our  desire  to  help  in  specific 
situations  which  need  help,  it  is  not  to  be  considered  that  we 
are  going  to  forego  entirely  preferred  time,  because,  to  the 
contrary,  we  expect  to  continue  to  seek  and  we  hope  to  get 
our  pictures  played  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances. 
But  we  do  want  to  do  everything  in  our  power  to  assist  de- 
serving cases. 

"8.  We  deplore  the  thought  that  exhibitors  must  come, 
as  they  cite  it,  with  'hat  in  hand'  looking  for  an  adjustment. 
That  is  very  definitely  contrary  to  our  policy,  and  the  sliding 
scale  was  devised  to  automatically  take  care  of  an  adjustment. 
So  far  as  flat  rentals  are  concerned,  we  can  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  results  unless  we  are  informed,  and  we  are  pre- 
pared to  rectify  any  unintentional  error  made  by  reclassify- 
ing the  picture  immediately  when  authentic  facts  justifying 
it  are  presented. 

"9.  Our  branch  and  district  managers  have  authority  to 
adjudicate  what  appear  to  be  unintentional  errors;  they  can 
when  justified  adjudicate  any  business  contracts. 

"10.  We  do  not  want,  much  less  expect,  any  unfair  terms 
or  advantages. 

"11.  Our  policy  of  fair  dealing  will  be  carried  out  in  the 
future  as  in  the  past. 

"12.  We  do  not  exact  as  a  policy,  home  office  approval  of 
re-classification  or  adjustment  in  terms  when  presented  with 
facts. 

"13.  It  is  not  necessary  for  our  customers  to  come  or  write 
to  New  York  for  relief,  but  if  it  is  not  granted  where  abso- 
lutely justified  they  arc  invited  to  lay  their  case  before  us  for 
consideration  and  attention. 

"14.  For  some  time  we  have  been  cognizant  of  the  prob- 
lems of  what  we  term  the  sub-subsequent  runs.  Our  defi- 
nition of  this  type  of  operation  is  a  theatre  following  the 
key  runs  in  a  zone  located  generally  within  the  corporate 
limits  of  a  metropolitan  city,  not  necessarily  the  second  run 
in  a  city  but  those  which  follow  the  key  or  first  runs  in  in- 
dividual zones.  Hence,  lor  this  type  of  run  and  for  this  type 
only,  we  will  offer  the  pictures  sold  in  a  group  on  a  basis 
whereby  those  who  desire  can  lease  such  pictures  in  the  top 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


118 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  28,  1945 


"Jealousy"  with  John  Loder 
and  Jane  Randolph 

(Republic,  July  23;  time,  71  min.) 

Good  acting  by  the  players  makes  this  drama  fairly  inter- 
esting, but  it  is  not  a  cheerful  entertainment,  for  throughout 
the  characters  arc  shown  as  being  unhappy.  Particularly 
unpleasant  is  the  character  of  the  heroine's  husband,  who 
is  unbelievably  selfish  and  cruel.  The  plot  revolves  around 
their  unhappy  marriage,  and  around  her  falling  in  love  with 
a  kindly  doctor,  whose  female  assistant  becomes  insanely 
jealous  of  their  love.  There  is  a  touch  of  murder-mystery 
in  connection  with  the  husband's  death.  The  story  has  some 
human  interest,  but  there  is  no  comedy  relief.  Sympathy  is 
felt  for  Jane  Randolph,  the  wife,  because  of  her  sincere 
efforts  to  save  her  marriage  despite  her  husband's  ill-treat- 
ment. The  doctor,  too,  is  a  sympathetic  character,  for,  though 
Jane  is  convicted  of  her  husband's  murder,  he  marries  her 
and  determines  to  prove  her  innocence: — 

Because  of  his  inability  to  obtain  gainful  employment  in 
the  United  States,  Nils  Asthcr,  an  impoverished  refugee, 
who  had  been  a  renowned  writer  in  Europe,  becomes  embit- 
tered and  taunts  his  wife  for  driving  a  taxi  to  help  support 
him.  He  tries  to  commit  suicide,  but  Jane  prevents  him  and 
hides  the  revolver.  Sometime  later,  Jane  becomes  friendly 
with  John  Loder,  a  doctor,  whom  she  had  met  as  a  passenger 
in  her  taxi.  Their  friendship  soon  turns  to  love,  and  Jane, 
realizing  that  Asthcr  would  not  agree  to  a  divorce,  meets 
Loder  secretly.  Karen  Morlcy,  Lodcr's  assistant,  inwardly 
resented  Jane  because  she  loved  Loder  herself,  but  she  pre- 
tended friendship  to  gain  Joan's  confidence.  Asthcr,  sus- 
pecting that  Jane  had  fallen  in  love  with  someone  else, 
decides  to  take  her  to  Mexico.  Jane  revolts  and  leaves  the 
house,  placing  the  hidden  revolver  in  her  purse  to  protect 
herself  from  his  wrath.  Later,  while  shopping  with  Karen, 
she  loses  the  purse.  She  returns  home  and  discovers  Asther 
dead,  shot  through  the  head.  The  police  list  him  as  a  suicide, 
but  Karen,  communicating  with  Hugo  Hass,  Asther's  close 
friend,  cleverly  builds  up  a  case  against  Jane  and  goads  him 
into  reporting  her  to  the  police.  Jane  is  arrested  and  con- 
victed of  the  crime.  Loder,  believing  in  Jane,  marries  her 
before  she  goes  to  prison,  then  sets  out  to  clear  her.  Through 
a  clever  ruse,  he  unmasks  Karen  as  the  killer,  compelling  her 
to  admit  that  she  tried  to  get  Jane  out  of  the  way  because  she 
wanted  him  for  herself.  Jane,  absolved  of  the  killing,  rejoins 
her  happy  husband. 

Arnold  Phillips  and  Gustav  Machaty  wrote  the  screen 
play.  Mr.  Machaty  produced  and  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Hidden  Eye"  with  Edward  Arnold 
and  Frances  Rafferty 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  69  min.) 
An  interesting  program  murder-mystery  melodrama,  in 
which  Edward  Arnold  re-enacts  the  role  of  a  blind  detective, 
the  part  he  played  in  MGM's  "Eyes  in  the  Night,"  a  1942 
release.  One's  attention  is  held  throughout,  for  the  story  has 
been  worked  out  logically.  Since  one  knows  early  in  the 
proceedings  just  who  committed  the  murders,  the  interest 
lies  in  the  manner  in  which  Arnold  tricks  the  guilty  person 
into  making  an  incriminating  move.  The  closing  scenes, 
where  Arnold,  though  blind,  subdues  the  killer,  are  excit- 
ing. Friday,  the  detective's  "seeing-eye"  dog,  is  very  good. 
There  is  a  good  sprinkling  of  comedy  to  relieve  the  ten- 
sion : — 

Raymond  Largay,  wealthy  owner  of  a  tin  mine  in  Sumatra, 
fears  for  his  life;  two  of  his  relatives  had  been  murdered 
mysteriously,  and  in  both  cases  the  killer  had  left  a  cryptic 
note,  heavily  perfumed,  relating  to  treachery  in  Sumatra. 
Ray  Collins,  Largay's  lawyer,  insists  that  the  murders  had 
some  connection  with  his  client's  dealings  in  Sumatra.  A 
third  relative  is  murdered  under  circumstances  that  cause 
the  police  to  suspect  Paul  Langton,  whose  deceased  father 
had  lost  a  fortune  in  Sumatra  as  Largay's  partner.  Frances 
Rafferty,  Langton's  fiancee  and  Largay's  niece,  believes  her 
sweetheart  innocent  and  calls  Arnold  into  the  case.  She  gives 


him  a  doily,  on  which  one  of  the  cryptic  notes  had  been 
placed,  and  which  had  been  impregnated  with  the  heavy 
perfume.  Working  on  this  slim  clue,  Arnold,  aided  by  Wil- 
liam Phillips,  his  bodyguard,  succeeds  in  learning  the  in- 
gredients of  the  perfume  and,  through  this  information, 
discovers  circumstantial  evidence  that  leads  him  to  suspect 
Collins,  the  lawyer,  of  the  murders.  Lacking  positive  proof, 
Arnold  deliberately  arranges  for  Collins  to  become  aware  of 
his  suspicions  in  the  hope  that  he  would  make  an  incriminat- 
ing move.  Collins,  fearing  Arnold,  kidnaps  his  "seeing- 
eye"  dog  and  lures  both  the  detective  and  his  bodyguard  to 
a  hideout.  There,  he  imprisons  both  men  and  admits  to  them 
that  he  had  committed  the  murders  as  part  of  a  scheme  to 
gain  control  of  Largay's  wealth.  Promising  to  dispose  of 
them  later,  Collins  leaves  for  Largay's  estate  to  carry  out  a 
plan  that  would,  not  only  mark  Frances'  boy-friend  as  the 
killer,  but  also  result  in  his  death.  The  plan  is  foiled,  how- 
ever, when  Arnold  and  Phillips  succeed  in  escaping  from  the 
hideout  and  in  arriving  at  the  estate  in  time  to  expose  Collins 
to  the  police. 

George  Harmon  Coxe  and  Harry  Ruskin  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Robert  Sisk  produced  it,  and  Richard  Whorf  di- 
rected it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Guest  Wife"  with  Claudette  Colbert 
and  Don  Ameche 

(United  Artists,  July  27;  time.  88  min.) 

A  fairly  amusing  farce.  It  is  due  mostly  to  the  good  per- 
formance given  by  Claudette  Colbert  that  one  remains  in- 
terested in  the  proceedings.  The  story  itself  is.  thin  and 
familiar;  it  revolves  around  a  war  correspondent  who,  hav- 
ing deceived  his  publisher  into  believing  that  he  was  a  mar- 
ried man,  finds  it  necessary  to  borrow  the  wife  of  his  best 
friend  in  order  to  carry  on  the  deception.  The  complications 
that  arise  lead  into  the  usual  farcical  situations,  some  of  them 
of  the  bedroom  variety.  Much  of  the  comedy  is  nonsensical, 
but  for  the  most  part  it  manages  to  be  mirth-provoking.  At 
times,  the  dialogue  is  quite  witty: — 

Preparing  to  depart  from  their  home  town  for  a  belated 
honeymoon  in  New  York,  Richard  Foran,  a  bank  executive, 
and  Claudette  Colbert,  his  wife,  find  their  plans  upset  by 
the  unexpected  arrival  of  Don  Ameche,  Foran's  best  friend, 
a  war  correspondent  en  route  to  New  York  from  the  Orient. 
Ameche  informs  them  that,  while  in  the  Orient,  he  had  per- 
petrated a  hoax  on  his  sentimental  publisher  (Charles 
Dingle)  by  pretending  that  he  had  married,  and  to  further 
the  hoax  he  had  sent  Dingle  a  picture  of  Claudette  as  his 
"wife."  Now  he  found  himself  in  trouble  because  Dingle 
had  arranged  a  spectacular  homecoming  party  for  both  him- 
self and  his  "wife."  Foran,  amused,  persuades  Claudette  to 
pose  temporarily  as  Ameche's  spouse  to  help  him  out  of  his 
predicament.  Matters  become  complicated  when  news  photos 
of  Ameche  and  his  "bride"  appear  in  the  country's  news- 
papers, threatening  to  create  a  scandal  in  Foran's  home  town. 
Lest  there  be  a  run  on  the  bank,  Foran  is  compelled  to  return 
home  while  Claudette  unwillingly  continues  the  masquerade. 
Thoroughly  disturbed  by  her  predicament,  Claudette's  dis- 
tractions are  multiplied  when  Dingle  establishes  Ameche  and 
herself  in  a  hotel  bridal  suite,  and  when  he  blocks  her  escape 
with  Foran  upon  his  arrival.  Angered,  she  determines  to 
"out-hoax"  Ameche.  She  leads  him  to  believe  that  she  had 
fallen  in  love  with  him,  causing  him  no  end  of  embarrass- 
ment. He  tries  desperately  to  dissuade  her,  but  she  pursues 
him  relentlessly.  Her  "infatuation"  becomes  so  realistic  that 
even  Foran  misunderstands.  His  ire  raised,  Foran  calls  a  halt 
to  the  "affair"  by  knocking  Ameche  unconscious  and  by 
"rescuing"  his  wife.  A  note  left  behind  by  Claudette  reveals 
to  Ameche  that  he  had  been  "out-hoaxed."  To  save  face  with 
his  publisher,  who  tries  to  console  him,  Ameche  burns  the 
note  dramatically,  and  assumes  the  martyred  attitude  of  the 
husband  who  had  been  deserted  by  an  unappreciative  wife. 

Bruce  Manning  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jack  H.  Skirball 
produced  it,  and  Sam  Wood  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Grant  Mitchell  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


July  28,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


119 


"Week-End  at  the  Waldorf" 
with  Ginger  Rogers,  Lana  Turner, 
Van  Johnson  and  Walter  Pidgeon 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  128  min.) 

Good  entertainment  for  all  types  of  audiences.  That  it 
will  be  an  outstanding  box-office  attraction  is  a  foregone 
conclusion,  for  the  popularity  of  the  players  is  enough  to 
insure  its  success.  While  the  credits  state  that  the  story  was 
suggested  by  a  play  by  Vicki  Baum,  it  is  apparent  that  it  is 
an  up-to-date  version  of  "Grand  Hotel,"  with  alterations, 
of  course.  The  story  combines  a  series  of  incidents  affecting 
the  lives  of  different  people  at  the  hotel,  with  the  action 
constantly  shifting  from  one  group  of  characters  to  another 
group.  Some  of  these  incidents  dovetail  with  one  another, 
while  others  have  no  connection  whatever,  yet  all  have  been 
presented  in  so  deft  a  fashion  that  one's  interest  in  the  pro- 
ceedings rarely  wanes.  It  has  considerable  comedy,  but  much 
of  it,  particularly  the  comedy  contributed  by  Robert  Bench- 
ley,  is  rather  weak. 

The  different  characters  are  as  follows: 

Ginger  Rogers,  as  a  glamorous  movie  star,  and  Walter 
Pidgeon,  as  a  famous  war  correspondent,  who  fall  in  love 
after  she  mistakes  him  for  a  burglar  and  he  gleefully  permits 
her  to  "reform"  him.  This  part  of  the  picture  is  marked  by 
bright  sophisticated  dialogue  and  situations. 

Lana  Turner,  as  a  pert  hotel  sthenographer,  who  yearned 
to  live  a  life  of  glamour  on  Park  Avenue,  and  Van  Johnson, 
as  an  air  force  captain,  who  was  staying  at  the  hotel  for  a 
final  week-end  before  undergoing  an  operation  that  may 
prove  fatal.  This  part  of  the  picture  is  concerned  with  their 
romance  and  with  Lana's  ultimate  decision  to  foresake  her 
dream  so  that  she  could  marry  Johnson  and  give  him  courage 
to  overcome  his  ailment. 

Others  in  relatively  lesser  roles  include  Edward  Arnold, 
as  a  fake  oil  stock  promoter,  whose  plot  to  fleece  the  Bey  of 
Aribajan  (George  Zucco)  is  foiled;  Keenan  Wynn,  as  a  cub 
reporter,  who,  aided  by  Pidgeon,  unmasks  Arnold;  Robert 
Benchley,  as  a  gossip  columnist  and  bon  vivant;  Phyllis 
Thaxter,  as  a  worried  prospective  bride;  Leon  Ames,  as 
Ginger's  press  agent;  and  Rosemary  DeCamp,  as  her  maid. 

Xavier  Cugat's  Orchestra  furnishes  some  pleasant  music, 
highlighted  by  the  singing  of  Lina  Romay.  Cugat  and  Miss 
Romay  also  take  part  in  the  action,  provoking  some  good 
comedy. 

The  sets  depicting  the  different  lobbies  and  suites  of  the 
Waldorf-Astoria  Hotel  are  magnificent,  and  their  detailed 
reproduction  is  nothing  short  of  amazing.  Life  in  the  huge 
hotel  is  depicted  vividly;  the  producers  have  worked  into  the 
plot  subtly  the  different  services  and  advantages  it  has  to 
offer.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  picture  is  a  huge  advertisement 
for  New  York's  Waldorf-Astoria,  but  it  should  prove  of 
interest  to  many  movie-goers  who  have  never  visited  the  big 
city. 

Sam  and  Bella  Spewak  wrote  the  screen  play,  Arthur 
Hornblow,  Jr.  produced  it,  and  Robert  Z.  Leonard  di- 
rected it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Adventures  of  Rusty" 
with  Ted  Donaldson 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  67  min.) 

Just  a  mildly  entertaining  program  picture.  It  should  ap- 
peal more  to  children  than  to  adults.  The  story,  which  re- 
volves around  a  boy  and  his  dog,  and  around  the  boy's  un- 
warranted resentment  towards  his  new  stepmother,  is  a 
rather  hackneyed  tale,  and  the  treatment  is  unimaginative. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  story  is  so  thin  that,  to  pad  it  out,  a 
Nazi  spy  angle  has  been  dragged  in  by  the  ear.  The  action 
is  slow-moving  except  for  the  closing  scenes,  where  a  group 
of  small  children,  aided  by  the  dog,  capture  the  spies.  This 
may  prove  exciting  to  the  youngsters,  but  adults  will  find  it 
much  too  ludicrous: — 

Brooding  over  his  father's  (Conrad  Nagel)  marriage  to 
Margaret  Lindsay,  Ted  Donaldson  is  made  even  more  un- 
happy by  the  accidental  death  of  his  pet  dog.  Moreover, 
Ted  resented  his  new  stepmother,  because  of  the  attentions 


his  father  paid  her.  Ted,  on  one  of  his  lonely  wanderings, 
finds  a  ferocious,  Nazi-trained  war  dog  (Ace),  whose  owner, 
a  discharged  war  veteran,  allows  him  to  keep  the  animal. 
Unable  to  tame  the  dog,  Ted  takes  him  to  Addison  Richards, 
a  psychiatrist,  who  advises  the  boy  to  care  for  the  animal 
but  to  show  indifference  to  it;  Richards  believed  that  indiffer- 
ence would  cause  the  animal  to  become  more  affectionate. 
Meanwhile  Margaret,  disturbed  by  her  failure  to  win  Ted's 
love,  visits  Richards  for  advice.  He  tells  her  to  give  Ted  the 
same  treatment  he  advised  for  the  dog.  Shortly  after,  the  dog, 
resenting  Ted's  indifference,  runs  away.  The  animal  is  found 
by  two  Nazi  spies,  hiding  in  the  woods,  who  order  it  to  kill 
the  neighboring  farmers'  chickens.  Ted  and  several  of  his 
friends  form  a  searching  party  and,  not  only  do  they  succeed 
in  finding  the  dog,  but  they  also  capture  the  spies.  Returning 
home,  Ted  learns  that  he  had  been  the  cause  of  a  quarrel 
between  his  father  and  stepmother,  and  that  she  had  gone 
away.  His  father's  unhappiness,  and  the  emptiness  of  their 
home,  bring  Ted  to  the  realization  that  both  needed  her.  He 
visits  his  stepmother  and  pleads  with  her  to  return  home. 
Touched  by  the  genuineness  of  his  plea,  Margaret  whole- 
heartedly agrees  to  rejoin  them. 

Aubrey  Wisberg  wrote  the  screen  play,  Rudolph  C. 
Flothow  produced  it,  and  Paul  Burnford  directed  it. 

MGM  POINTS  THE  WAY! 

(Continued  from  last  page) 

"These  experienced  auditors  will  do  their  work  with  as 
little  inconvenience  to  our  customers  as  possible. 

"In  this  manner,  we  feel  we  can  accurately  verify  receipts 
and  put  auditing  and  checking  on  a  more  businesslike  basis 
— less  haphazard  than  at  the  present  time.  The  verification 
of  receipts  does  not  imply  suspicion  in  our  business  any 
more  than  it  does  in  a  bank  or  merchandise  inventory 
of  goods  on  consignment,  and  is  just  good,  common,  business 
practice. 

"Results  to  date  show  that  we  have  been  given  excellent 
cooperation,  and  that  our  boast  that  our  customers  as  a  rule 
justify  a  high  credit  rating  was  well  deserved. 

"Our  attention  has  been  called  to  some  errors  in  judgment 
on  the  part  of  our  field  forces  as  to  how  these  matters  are 
presented.  I  seriously  doubt  if  any  thinking  theatre  owner  or 
exhibitor  leader  could  find  anything  to  object  to  under  our 
plan,  provided  it  is  properly  presented  to  him  and  that  he 
is  not  made  to  feel  that  he  is  being  singled  out  or  the  finger 
of  suspicion  pointed  at  him.  It  should  be  made  clear  that  the 
same  rule  of  verification  of  receipts  applies  to  all  theatres, 
independent  as  well  as  circuits,  large  towns  as  well  as  small 
towns,  dependent,  of  course,  upon  our  ability  to  get  adequate 
and  competent  help." 

Elsewhere  in  his  talk  Mr.  Rodgers  cautions  his  sales  force 
that  their  failure  to  carry  out  the  company's  policies  may 
cause  "embarrassing  and  unnecessary  irritation"  to  arise, 
placing  the  company  and  its  executives  in  a  bad  light.  He 
admonishes  them,  therefore,  that  the  carrying  out  of  these 
policies  "is  a  field  responsibility  that  is  Number  One  on  your 
list  of  duties." 

No  one  who  knows  Bill  Rodgers  can  question  his  integrity 
or  sincerity  of  purpose,  and  if  the  men  under  him  will  carry 
out  his  orders  there  should  be  little  cause  for  an  exhibitor 
to  complain  to  the  home  office. 

Harrison's  Reports  congratulates  Metro  for  its  forth- 
right announcement  of  policy  and  for  its  sincere  endeavor 
to  bring  about  an  equitable  selling  system.  As  already  said, 
the  MGM  policy  is  not  a  cure-all  for  the  ills  of  the  industry, 
and  there  are  many  in  exhibition  who  may  disagree  with 
some  of  its  points.  No  one  can  deny,  however,  that  it  is  well- 
intentioned.  And  good  intentions  in  any  sales  policy  consti- 
tute the  most  important  step  in  any  attempt  to  bring  about  a 
better  understanding  between  the  seller  and  his  customers. 

MGM  has  taken  the  lead.  It  might  be  well  for  the  other 
distributors  to  follow.  Now  is  the  time,  for  the  new  selling 
season  is  about  to  open.  In  commending  MGM  for  its  an- 
nounced policy,  Harrison's  Reports  earnestly  appeals  to 
the  other  distributors  to  emulate  MGM,  and  thus  earn  for 
themselves  similar  commendation. 


120 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  28,  1945 


brackets  on  a  flat-rental  basis.  This  will  be  optional  at  the 
time  of  negotiation.  It  must  be  undcrstod  that  where  flat 
rental  in  this  direction  is  desired  it  is  not  contemplated  to 
offer  pictures  in  this  category  at  bargain  prices;  we  do  not 
intend  to  price  our  pictures  below  that  which  we  believe 
our  top  bracket  justifies,  neither  will  we  ask  premium  prices 
for  the  privilege  of  playing  Hat  rental  versus  percentage.  We 
want  only  the  proper  terms.  We,  of  course,  prefer  to  play 
on  a  participating  arrangement  with  this  type  of  run,  as  well 
as  all  other  runs,  but  because  of  conditions  as  they  have  been 
reported  to  us  and  because  of  our  desire  to  cooperate  with 
our  customers,  we  will  in  such  cases  where  this  type  of  ex- 
hibitor so  desires,  offer  all  of  our  pictures  sold  in  a  group  on 
a  flat  rental  basis. 

"15.  As  to  News  of  the  Day,  short  subjects  and  trailers, 
each  unit  must  stand  on  Us  individual  merit  and  be  priced 
accordingly.  There  will  be  revisions  upwards  or  down,  de- 
pending upon  the  situation  involved,  and  precedent  is  not 
the  determining  factor.  Present'day  conditions  only  should 
govern.  Under  no  circumstances  will  we  tolerate,  much  less 
sanction,  the  leasing  of  feature  attractions  as  a  condition  of 
buying  cither  one  or  all  of  these  units.  We  repeat,  each  unit 
must  be  offered  and  negotiated  for  independent  of  the  other 
and  in  no  way  made  part  of  any  negotiations  for  any  other 
product.  Weekly  payment  plans  are  not  acceptable. 

"16.  Proposed  new  theatres  are  not  to  be  given  assurance 
of  any  specific  availability,  and  we  will  not  negotiate  for 
representation  in  such  theatres  until  they  become  a  reality, 
and  then  only  for  such  run  and  product  as  is  then  available. 

"17.  Every  effort  possible  is  to  be  made  to  avoid  arbitra- 
tion and  by  'effort'  we  mean,  as  you  have  previously  been 
advised,  that  you  are  to  try  your  level  best  to  adjudicate 
differences  before  they  reach  the  arbitration  stage.  District 
and  sales  managers'  aid  is  to  be  requested  by  branch  man- 
agers where  needed  and,  if  necessary,  the  matter  should  be 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  general  sales  manager. 

"18.  Runs  or  accounts  are  not  to  be  changed,  nor  appli- 
cations even  signed,  until  after  complete  facts  are  first  sub- 
mitted to  the  general  sales  manager  through  the  district  and 
sales  manager,  and  then  such  proposed  changes  are  not  to  be 
acted  upon  until  proper  authority  to  do  so  has  been  received 
from  the  general  sales  manager. 

"19.  Complete  support  is  to  be  given  to  War  Activities 
Committees  in  all  of  their  undertakings,  and  gratis  pictures 
or  participation  in  any  wartime  activity  is  not  to  be  given 
except  when  it  has  the  endorsement  ot  the  War  Activities 
Committee  or  the  home  office." 

In  presenting  to  his  sales  cabinet  the  company's  principles 
of  doing  business,  Bill  Rodgers  emphasized  the  importance 
and  even  necessity  for  each  MGM  representative  to  make 
sure  that  these  principles  are  maintained  and  administered 
in  a  manner  that  will  reflect  credit  on  the  entire  organization. 
Because  of  Rodgers'  forthrightness  and  sincerity  of  purpose, 
I  should  have  liked  to  reproduce  in  full  his  remarks  to  his 
sales  force,  but  space  does  not  permit.  I  will,  however,  give 
you  the  most  salient  parts  of  his  talk. 

On  the  matter  of  designations  and  adjustments,  he  said: 
"We  pre-advertise  our  product  and  test  every  picture  before 
classification  in  our  own  and  other  theatres.  .  .  .  On  the 
results  of  record  and  on  these  results  only,  we  classify  each  in 
the  bracket  determined  by  its  individual  ability  to  draw 
business.  .  .  .  Therefore,  you  are  to  designate  it  accordingly 
and  only  as  it  becomes  available  either  to  circuits  or  to  indi- 
viduals. The  classification  is  not  to  be  changed  except  with 
home  office  authority  until  after  performance  and  then  only 
if  warranted  by  the  results.  Opinions  regarding  values  are 
outmoded. 

"There  are  means  by  which  adjustments,  when  in  order, 
are  automatic.  First,  the  sliding  scale  is  in  itself  self-regu- 
lating. When  flat  rentals  are  involved,  where  we  have  unin- 
tentionally erred  in  the  classification,  we  are  not  only  will- 
ing but  anxious  to  reclassify  and  see  to  it  that  the  picture  is 
designated  where  it  belongs,  no  matter  what  was  the  original 
classification.  The  same  principle  applies  to  pictures  desig- 
nated at  specific  percentage  terms  and  in  the  cases  of  in- 
correctly classified  pictures,  they  should  be  rectified  without 
request. 

"Under  our  policy,  our  customers  therefore  need  not  be 
in  the  least  apprehensive  about  accepting  your  designations 
even  if  they  might  appear  to  be  higher  than  the  account 
believes  to  be  justified." 

On  the  matter  of  pricing  pictures  fairly,  Rodgers  stated: 
"We  advocate  and  expect  frequent  revision  of  our  objectives 


— whether  up  or  down  does  not  make  any  difference,  so  long 
as  it  is  right.  Not  once  a  year  but  as  often  as  conditions 
change.  A  sliding  scale  arrangement  is  satisJactory  only  when 
the  base  is  fair  and  the  development  of  our  rental  is  gov- 
erned by  the  increase  in  gross  and  operating  profits  where 
expenses  are  shown. 

"Where  flat  rentals  arc  concerned,  no  one  is  happy  if  they 
are  out  of  proportion.  This  applies  to  us  as  a  distributor, 
just  the  same  as  it  does  to  the  theatre  owner.  Our  records  arc 
sufficiently  complete  to  permit  an  intelligent  application  of 
fair  prices,  not  once  a  year,  but  by  keeping  in  touch  with  the 
business  of  our  customers  we  should  know  periodically 
whether  or  not  our  objectives  should  be  revised.  I  repeat,  it 
is  not  a  question  of  whether  the  revision  is  upwards  or  down, 
but  it  must  be  fair." 

Referring  to  the  necessity  of  seeing  that  the  company's 
pictures  are  booked  intelligently,  Rodgers  stated  that  "it  is 
not  only  how  we  as  a  distributor  desire  to  book,  but  the  ex- 
hibitor's wishes  as  well  must  be  considered. 

"It  is  just  as  wrong  for  an  exhibitor  to  dissipate  a  good 
picture  as  it  is  for  the  distributor  to  insist  on  so-called  pre- 
ferred time  on  a  picture  that  does  not  merit  that  treatment. 

"A  distributor  knows,  or  should,  whether  a  picture  de- 
serves the  best  time.  No  matter  what  the  designation,  the 
picture  should  be  booked  where  it  belongs.  A  certain  amount 
of  freedom  of  booking  must  prevail,  otherwise  the  theatre 
is  handicapped  in  the  conduct  of  its  business — just  as  you 
are  when  undesirable  time  is  offered  for  a  picture  that  you 
know  deserves  better  consideration. 

"To  my  mind  the  same  principle  applies  either  to  flat 
rental  or  percentage.  Some  believe  we  have  no  interest  in 
the  returns  on  flat  rental  subjects.  We  certainly  do — and 
definitely  so.  We  are  interested  in  seeing  our  product  played 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances  consistent  with  good 
judgment.  I  also  feel  we  have  a  genuine  interest  in  knowing 
what  companion  picture  is  to  be  used  when  our  picture  is 
layed  as  part  of  a  double-feature  program.  Objection  should 
e  registered — and  emphatically — if  you  know  where  our 
meritorious  product  is  booked  with  an  undesirable  subject. 
Booking  is  one  of  our  most  important  functions  .  .  .  but  there 
must  be  a  measure  of  'give  and  take."  An  exhibitor  who  has 
freedom  of  booking  and  abuses  the  confidence  must  of  neces- 
sity have  greater  restrictions  in  his  future  contracts.  On  the 
other  hand,  insistence  on  undeserved  playing  time  will  re- 
sult in  added  controversies  with  what  otherwise  would  be 
a  most  desirable  account." 

On  the  subject  of  checking,  Mr.  Rodgers  had  this  to  say: 
"We  have  gone  all  out  in  our  effort  to  secure  the  confidence 
of  our  customers,  and  in  only  a  few  instances  have  we  failed 
to  convince  them  of  our  honesty  of  purpose.  We  have  not 
given  up  hope  and  do  not  intend  to  do  so,  but  will  continue 
to  try  to  cultivate  those  who  have  apparently  misunderstood 
our  desires  for  fair  business  dealings  as  a  sign  of  weakness. 
They  have  apparently  failed  to  understand  our  principles. 
We  have  not,  nor  will  we,  overlook  them.  We  are  of  honest 
conviction  that  by  far  the  majority  of  our  customers  are  as 
honest  as  we  know  our  organization  to  be  and  to  those  cus' 
tomers  we  owe  an  obligation  that  has  been  and  will  be  re- 
spected. In  fairness  to  those  customers,  we  are  definitely 
determined  to  stamp  out  any  dishonest  practices  exercised  by 
those  we  have  reason  to  believe  represent  only  a  minority. 

"The  use  of  checkers  has  always  been  a  tremendous  prob- 
lem, and  under  our  present  plan,  we  hope  just  as  fast  as 
possible,  to  put  all  checkers  on  a  straight  salary  basis.  These 
men  will  be  assigned  from  New  York,  thus  relieving  our 
branch  managers  of  the  responsibility  of  assigning  the  men 
who  are  to  check  any  particular  engagement. 

"Thus,  it  can  follow  that  the  group  of  men  employed  in 
one  exchange  center  this  week  may  be  moved  entirely  as  a 
crew  to  another  center  next  week,  and  replaced  by  a  new 
crew.  We  have  also  arranged  with  the  Willmark  Service 
System,  a  nationally  known  reporting  service,  which  has 
personnel  in  2300  cities  throughout  the  United  States  avail- 
able for  this  work.  .  .  .  That  we  have  a  separate  checking 
organization  augmented  by  auditors  and  the  facilities  of  the 
Willmark  Service  System  is  not  a  reflection  on  the  integrity 
of  anyone.  As  provided  for  in  our  exhibitor  agreements,  we 
expect  to  make  occasional  audits  of  the  exhibitor's  books  on 
the  days  he  plays  participating  pictures.  We  have  no  desire 
nor  do  we  want  any  information  regarding  business  done  on 
the  product  of  other  companies. 

(Continued  on  inside  page) 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service 
Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors 


Published  Weekly  by 
Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

Publisher 
P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  AUGUST  4,  1945 


No.  31 


ELIMINATE  THEATRE  BOOBY  TRAPS 

Pete  Wood,  the  alert  secretary  of  the  Independent 
Theatre  Owners  of  Ohio,  has  included  in  a  recent 
bulletin  to  his  members  a  copy  of  an  article  by  Robert 
W.  Greer,  president  of  the  Columbus  Projectionists 
Union,  regarding  safe  and  unsafe  projection  booths. 

This  paper  concurs  with  Pete  Wood  that  there  is  a 
lot  of  merit  to  what  Mr.  Greer  has  to  say  on  the  sub' 
ject,  and  it  believes  that  every  thinking  exhibitor 
should  read  his  remarks.  Mr.  Greer's  article,  titled 
"Eliminate  Theatre  Booby  Traps,"  follows,  in  part: 

"The  inherent  right  of  every  worker,  is  the  right 
to  have  a  safe,  clean  and  healthful  place  in  which  to 
work.  He  owes  that  much  to  himself  and  to  his  family. 
Now  that  is  exactly  what  I  want  to  talk  about — 
working  conditions! 

"Even  today,  after  much  progress  in  the  motion 
picture  industry,  there  is  still  in  existence  too  many 
antiquated  projection  rooms  and  entirely  too  much 
outmoded  equipment.  These  small,  poorly  ventilated 
booths,  crowded  with  bulky  equipment,  can  snuff  out 
human  life  just  as  quickly  as  a  well-placed  bullet  from 
a  sniper's  rifle  or  a  block  of  TNT  wired  to  the  light 
switch.  When  I  say  'Booby  Traps'  I  mean  just  that. 
Let  there  be  no  misinterpretation  of  the  true  meaning. 

"A  theatre  booby  trap  is  not  an  implied  jest.  It  is 
real  and  insidious,  like  the  warning  threat  of  a  coiled 
rattlesnake  and  just  as  deadly.  All  it  takes  is  a  fire  to 
set  it  off.  If  and  when  a  fire  might  occur,  which  could 
be  at  any  moment  inasmuch  as  the  film  that  is  used  is 
of  a  highly  inflammable  and  explosive  nature,  the  pro- 
jectionist's life  is  endangered  not  only  by  the  small 
space  in  which  he  is  compelled  to  earn  his  daily  bread 
and  butter,  but  also  by  the  still  smaller  exit  through 
which  he  must  escape.  Of  course,  if  he  breathes 
enough  of  the  chemical  fumes,  which  wouldn't  be 
there  if  a  forced-draft  fan  had  been  installed  in  the 
ceiling,  the  size  of  the  exit  would  not  matter  a  whole 
lot.  Either  way  he  is  a  cinch  for  the  undertaker  and  a 
swell  bouquet  of  flowers  from  the  theatre  owner.  .  .  . 

"It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  majority  of  theatre 
owners  realize  that  the  projection  room  is  the  heart  of 
their  business  and  many  have  responded  well  by  mod- 
ernizing both  equipment  and  projection  rooms.  It  is 
their  belief,  and  they  view  it  in  the  cold  light  of  dol- 
lars and  cents  proposition,  that  if  the  projectionist  is 
satisfied  with  his  working  quarters  and  the  equipment 
he  must  use  is  modern,  the  ultimate  result  is  good 
screen  projection  which  in  effect  adds  up  to  satisfied 
customers. 

"On  the  other  hand,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  we  still  have 


a  few  theatre  owners,  who  for  some  reason  or  another, 
sadly  neglect  their  projection  rooms  and  the  working 
conditions  of  the  operators.  I  know  of  cases  where 
the  owners  have  spent  thousands  of  dollars  for  neon 
signs  and  modernized  fronts  to  pull  in  the  customers 
and  not  one  cent  to  remedy  the  booby  trap  upstairs 
or  replace  projection  equipment  which  was  all  but 
falling  apart.  .  .  . 

"I  leave  this  question  for  you  to  ponder.  Why  does 
it  have  to  take  a  catastrophe,  such  as  a  fire  or  a  panic, 
to  make  some  people  stop  and  think?  If  a  certain  type 
of  theatre  owner  would  only  stop  to  think,  and  then 
do  something  constructive  to  improve  his  theatre  op- 
eration, there  would  be  no  necessity  for  the  lawmakers 
to  enact  laws  compelling  him  to  make  his  establish- 
ment safe  for  the  public.  He  seldom  realizes  the  hard- 
ship he  brings  to  bear  on  other  owners,  as  well  as  him- 
self, who  try  so  hard  to  do  the  right  thing.  When  his 
particular  theatre  suffers  a  fire,  other  theatres  all  along 
the  line  absorb  the  blame.  For  example,  let  me  refer 
to  the  tragic  Boston,  night  club  fire.  Immediately  fol- 
lowing that  terrible  catastrophe  every  night  club  in 
the  country  was  subjected  to  rigid  inspection.  A  great 
many  were  unfairly  and  unreasonably  castigated  by 
some  sections  of  the  press  and  publicity  seeking  indi- 
viduals. .  .  . 

"In  the  final  analysis  responsibility  must  always 
rest  with  management  and  not  with  the  lawmakers!" 

In  bringing  Mr.  Greer's  remarks  to  the  attention  of 
his  members,  Pete  Wood  advises  them  that  money 
spent  to  remedy  unsafe  conditions  is  deductible  as  an 
operating  expense  when  making  up  income  tax  re- 
turns, and  he  urges  them  to  examine  carefully  their 
own  situations  and,  if  improvements  are  necessary,  to 
attempt  to  obtain  the  necessary  priorities  on  the 
needed  materials.  Pete  reminds  them  also  that  a  mod- 
ern projection  booth  reduces  the  fire  insurance  pre- 
mium. 

All  that  this  paper  can  add  to  the  sound  advice 
given  by  both  Mr.  Greer  and  Pete  Wood  is  that  it 
should  be  heeded;  the  thoughtful  exhibitor  will  real- 
ize that  war-time  conditions  have  made  it  difficult  to 
get  replacement  parts  and  that  projection  booth 
equipment  has  deteriorated  generally,  making  the 
booth  more  susceptible  to  fire.  The  steady  relaxation 
of  war-time  controls  now  make  it  easier  for  the  theatre 
owner  to  obtain  necessary  replacement  parts,  and,  in 
the  interest  o.f  public  safety,  as  well  as  his  own  invest- 
ment, he  should  act  at  once  to  remove  any  unsafe  con- 
dition. Money  spent  on  fire  preventive  measures  is  the 
finest  sort  of  economy  any  exhibitor  can  practice. 


122 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  4,  1945 


"Over  21"  with  Irene  Dunne, 
Alexander  Knox  and  Charles  Coburn 

(Columbia,  August  23;  time,  103  min.) 
Good  entertainment  for  the  masses.  It  is  a  domestic  com- 
edy,  based  on  the  successful  Broadway  stage  play  of  the 
same  title,  which  revolves  around  the  trials  and  tribulations 
of  a  39-year-old  liberal  editor,  who  joins  the  army  to  gain 
first-hand  knowledge  of  the  serviceman's  viewpoint  on 
shaping  the  post-war  world,  and  around  the  efforts  of  his 
wife,  a  famous  novelist,  to  see  him  through  his  difficulties. 
The  story  is  rather  sketchy,  but  it  has  been  directed  with 
such  skill,  and  is  acted  so  agreeably  and  amusingly  by  the 
leading  players  that  one's  interest  is  held  throughout.  It 
moves  at  a  fast  pace  and  provokes  hearty  laughter  fre- 
quently. Some  of  the  situations  are  on  the  farcical  side,  but 
they  are  believcable  and  keep  one  amused.  The  dialogue  is 
sparkling,  and  one  or  two  situations  are  suggestive,  but  not 
to  the  extent  that  they  might  prove  offensive.  On  occasion, 
the  picture  strikes  a  serious  note  by  conveying  messages  for 
a  better  post-war  world,  but  these  have  been  handled  adroit- 
ly and  do  not  interfere  with  the  over-all  fun.  Irene  Dunne, 
as  the  wife,  is  as  beautiful  as  ever,  and  her  skill  as  a  come- 
dienne is  unsurpassed;  she  gives  verve  and  life  to  the  super- 
ficial character  she  portrays.  Her  antics  in  a  bungalow  near 
an  army  post  arc  hilarious.  Alexander  Knox  is  exceptionally 
good  as  her  husband,  as  is  Charles  Coburn  as  his  ill-tempered 
publisher: — 

Irene,  to  be  near  Knox,  sets  up  housekeeping  in  a  tiny 
bungalow  adjoining  Officers  Training  School  in  Miami.  In 
addition  to  her  troubles  with  the  cramped  quarters,  Irene  be- 
comes concerned  over  Knox's  fear  that  he  might  not  pass 
the  examinations,  and  she  docs  her  best  to  encourage  him. 
One  of  her  main  difficulties  was  to  prevent  Coburn  from 
worrying  him  about  the  condition  of  the  Bulletin,  which  was 
on  the  decline  as  a  result  of  his  resignation  as  editor.  When 
Coburn  arrives  at  the  bungalow  and  demands  of  Irene  that 
she  get  Knox  to  write  something  for  his  paper  to  save  it  from 
bankruptcy,  she  persuades  him  to  return  to  New  York  lest 
his  presence  upset  Knox,  promising  that  she  would  get  Knox 
to  send  him  a  weekly  editorial.  Realizing  that  Knox  could 
not  spare  the  time,  Irene  writes  the  editorials  herself,  signing 
his  name  to  them.  She  devotes  all  her  time  to  the  editorials, 
but  informs  Knox  that  she  was  writing  a  screen  play  for 
Pierre  Watkin,  a  Hollywood  producer.  Knox  passes  the  ex- 
aminations and  rushes  home  to  tell  Irene  the  good  news.  He 
finds  Watkin  in  the  bungalow  waiting  for  Irene,  and  he 
chides  him  for  overworking  her  on  the  screen  play.  When 
Watkin  protests  his  innocence,  Knox  investigates  and  dis- 
covers the  truth.  Meanwhile  Coburn,  having  learned  that 
Knox  had  become  an  officer,  gives  up  hope  of  his  returning 
as  editor  and  decides  to  discontinue  publication.  But  Knox 
reveals  that  Irene  had  been  writing  under  his  name,  and  he 
induces  Coburn  to  appoint  her  as  the  new  editor  until  his 
return. 

Sidney  Buchman  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  play  by 
Ruth  Gordon.  Mr.  Buchman  produced  it,  and  Charles  Vidor 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Jeff  Donnell,  Loren  Tindall, 
Lee  Patrick,  Phil  Brown,  Cora  Witherspoon  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Dangerous  Intruder"  with  Veda  Ann  Borg 
and  Charles  Arnt 

(PRC,  September  21;  time,  62  min.) 

This  psychological  murder-mystery  melodrama  is  a  fair 
program  entertainment  of  its  type.  The  story  is  routine,  and 
one  guesses  the  identity  of  the  murderer  early  in  the  pro- 
ceedings; yet  the  action  holds  one's  interest  because  of  the 
competent  performances.  Moreover,  the  production  values 
are  good.  The  action  is  rather  slow-paced;  it  is  most  exciting 
towards  the  end,  where  the  maniacal  killer  attempts  to  dis- 
pose of  the  heroine  by  burning  her  alive.  A  mild  romance  is 
interwoven  in  the  plot: — 

Veda  Ann  Borg,  a  stranded  chorus  girl  hitch-hiking  her 
way  back  to  New  York,  is  struck  down  by  a  car  driven  by 
wealthy  Charles  Arnt.  He  takes  her  to  his  home  to  recover. 
There  she  meets  Fay  Helm,  his  wife,  who  had  a  mysterious 


illness;  Jo  Ann  Marlowe,  his  young  step-daughter;  Richard 
Powers,  his  brother-in-law;  and  John  Rogers,  an  eccentric 
old  man,  Arnt's  assistant  in  the  study  and  collection  of  an- 
cient ceramics.  During  her  convalescence,  Veda  notices  that 
Arnt,  a  mild-mannered  person,  took  on  the  look  of  a  mad- 
man whenever  he  pored  over  his  antiques.  When  Arnt's 
wife  dies  suddenly,  Veda  discovers  evidence  indicating  that 
Arnt  had  murdered  her.  She  expresses  her  suspicions  to 
Powers,  with  whom  she  had  fallen  in  love,  but  the  young 
man,  loyal  to  his  brother-in-law,  becomes  angry  and  asks  her 
to  leave.  Later  that  night,  Rogers,  the  assistant,  informs 
Veda  that  Arnt  was  a  madman,  bent  on  gaining  control  of 
his  dead  wife's  fortune  to  enable  him  to  add  to  his  collection 
of  ceramics.  Further  investigation  by  Veda  discloses  that  the 
step-daughter  was  to  inherit  the  estate,  and  she  becomes 
convinced  that  Arnt  planned  to  take  the  child's  life.  Arnt, 
aware  that  Veda  had  found  him  out,  murders  his  assistant 
for  speaking  to  her,  then  lures  her  to  a  lonely  road  where  he 
knocks  her  unconscious,  and  places  her  a  a  car  together 
with  the  body  of  the  assistant.  He  then  sets  fire  to  the  car. 
Meanwhile,  Powers,  disturbed  by  what  Veda  had  told  him, 
had  learned  that  her  suspicions  were  well  founded.  He  re- 
turns to  the  estate  in  time  to  save  Veda's  life.  Arnt,  making 
a  hasty  getaway,  is  killed  when  his  car  overturns. 

Martin  M.  Goldsmith  wrote  the  screen  play,  Martin 
Mooney  produced  it,  and  Vernon  Kcays  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Radio  Stars  on  Parade"  with 
Frances  Langford,  Alan  Carney 
and  Wally  Brown 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  69  min.) 

This  program  comedy  with  music  may  go  over  in  small- 
town and  neighborhood  theatres  where  the  family  trade  is 
not  too  exacting  in  their  demands;  but  discriminating  audi- 
ences will  probably  find  the  whole  thing  pretty  tiresome. 
It  may,  however,  draw  fairly  well  at  the  box-office  because 
of  the  popularity  of  the  radio  personalities,  particularly  the 
"Truth  and  Consequences"  radio  show,  with  which  come- 
dians Alan  Carney  and  Wally  Brown  become  tangled  up  in 
the  course  of  the  action.  Other  radio  performers  in  the  cast 
include  Skinnay  Ennis  and  his  band,  Don  Wilson,  Tony 
Romano,  the  Town  Criers,  the  Cappy  Barra  Boys,  and  Rufe 
Davis — all  appear  briefly  in  specialty  numbers  that  are  not 
particularly  outstanding,  and  some  of  them  take  small  parts 
in  the  action.  The  best  that  can  be  said  for  the  picture  is  that 
the  action  is  fast-moving;  also  that  on  one  or  two  occasions 
Carney  and  Brown  manage  to  provoke  hearty  laughter  by 
their  antics.  The  story  is  silly,  the  gags  are  old,  and  the  ac- 
tion, which  borders  on  the  slapstick,  is  more  to  the  taste  of 
juveniles  than  of  adults.  Frances  Langford  is  very  pleasant: — 

To  avoid  the  unwanted  attentions  of  Sheldon  Leonard, 
a  Chicago  night-club  owner,  Frances,  his  star  singer,  leaves 
for  Hollywood  to  seek  a  radio  job  through  Ray  Walker,  an 
agent.  Meanwhile  Walker,  threatened  by  a  gambler  seeking 
to  collect  a  $2000  debt,  prepares  to  run  away  to  Mexico.  He 
bumps  into  Brown  and  Carney,  a  comedy  team  seeking  work, 
and  tells  them  to  take  charge  of  his  office  until  he  returns. 
Arriving'at  Walker's  office,  Frances  is  signed  by  Carney  and 
Brown,  who,  faking  an  acquaintance  with  Skinnay  Ennis, 
promise  her  an  audition  with  his  band.  On  the  following 
day,  Brown,  through  a  ruse,  obtains  the  audition  and  secures 
a  spot  for  Frances  on  Ennis'  radio  program.  Meanwhile,  at 
the  office,  Carney  accepts  $2000  from  Leonard,  who  had 
followed  Frances,  in  return  for  his  promise  to  cancel  the 
audition.  The  gambler,  who  was  after  Walker,  comes  into 
the  office  and  takes  the  money  away  from  Carney.  The  boys 
soon  find  themselves  deep  in  trouble;  upable  either  to  cancel 
Frances'  contract  with  Ennis  or  to  return  Sheldon's  money, 
they  become  involved  in  a  wild  chase  through  different 
studios  at  the  broadcasting  station  until  they  are  finally 
caught  by  the  gangsters.  They  are  saved,  however,  by  the 
timely  arrival  of  the  police,  who  had  learned  that  Sheldon 
had  arrived  in  town. 

Robert  E.  Kent  and  Monte  Brice  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Ben  Stoloff  produced  it,  and  Leslie  Goodwins  directed  it. 


August  4, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


123 


"Johnny  Angel"  with  George  Raft, 
Claire  Trevor  and  Signe  Hasso 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  79  min.) 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  lacks  a  clearly  developed  plot, 
this  mystery  melodrama  possesses  enough  intrigue  and  sinis- 
ter atmosphere  to  satisfy  those  who  enjoy  this  type  of  enter- 
tainment. Suspense  is  sustained  fairly  well  throughout  as 
George  Raft,  as  a  young  sea  captain,  seeks  to  solve  the  mys- 
tery of  his  father's  ship,  which  had  been  found  adrift  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  with  no  one  aboard  and  with  evidence  in- 
dicating that  the  crew,  including  his  father,  had  been  mur- 
dered. The  manner  in  which  Raft  follows  up  the  different 
clues  and  pieces  them  together  provides  considerable  excite- 
ment, particularly  since  he  is  often  called  upon  to  use  his 
fists.  His  is  a  forceful  role,  the  sort  his  fans  will  like.  The 
romantic  interest  plays  an  important  part  in  the  action,  with 
Raft  falling  in  love  with  Signe  Hasso,  whom  he  at  first  sus- 
pects, while  he  feigns  attentiveness  to  Claire  Trevor,  his 
employer's  wife,  who  was  a  key  figure  in  the  riddle  involv- 
ing his  father's  death: — 

After  finding  his  father's  ship  adrift,  Raft  tries  to  enlist 
the  aid  of  Marvin  Miller,  his  employer,  to  solve  the  mystery. 
But  Miller,  too  busy  trying  to  keep  his  wayward  wife  (Claire 
Trevor)  away  from  Lowell  Gilmore,  a  night-club  owner, 
shows  indifference  to  Raft's  request.  Raft  embarks  on  an 
investigation  of  his  own  and  finds  evidence  that  a  woman 
had  been  aboard  the  ship  until  she  had  docked.  With  the  aid 
of  Hoagy  Carmichael,  a  philosophical  taxi-driver,  Raft  traces 
the  woman  to  a  cheap  hotel  and,  after  doggedly  pursuing  her 
through  a  series  of  adventures,  wins  her  confidence  and 
learns  that  her  father,  an  agent  of  the  Free  French  in  Casa- 
blanca, had  been  murdered  shortly  after  delivering  five  mil- 
lion dollars  in  gold  aboard  the  ship  of  Raft's  father.  She  had 
secured  passage  aboard  the  ship  to  see  that  the  gold  was  de- 
livered to  the  proper  quarters,  but,  when  the  ship  neared 
New  Orleans,  Raft's  father  and  the  crew  had  been  murdered 
during  a  mutiny  led  by  a  mysterious  stowaway,  who  had 
transferred  the  gold  to  a  motor  launch.  She  had  survived  the 
ordeal,  hiding  in  a  life  boat.  Piecing  together  the  clues  given 
him  by  Signe,  Raft  learns  that  Gilmore  owned  the  launch, 
and  finds  reason  to  suspect  Claire  of  complicity  in  the  crime. 
He  deliberately  makes  love  to  her,  winning  her  confidence, 
and  she  leads  him  through  another  series  of  adventures  that 
culminate  in  his  learning  that  Miller,  his  employer,  was  the 
mysterious  stowaway  who  had  murdered  his  father. 

Steve  Fisher  wrote  the  screen  play,  based  upon  "Mr. 
Angel  Comes  Aboard"  by  Charles  Gordon  Booth.  William 
L.  Pereira  produced  it,  and  Edwin  L.  Marin  directed  it. 
Jack  J.  Gross  was  executive  producer.  The  cast  includes 
Margaret  Wycherly,  J.  Farrell  Macdonald  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Dangerous  Partners"  with  James  Craig 
and  Signe  Hasso 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  78  min.) 

A  fairly  good  mystery  melodrama,  of  program  grade,  re- 
volving around  an  unscrupulous  adventuress  and  a  none-too- 
ethical  lawyer,  who  joins  forces  in  an  attempt  to  learn  the 
secret  of  four  wills,  each  of  which  leaves  one  million  dollars 
to  a  mysterious  stranger.  The  picture  holds  one's  interest 
from  start  to  finish,  but  the  theme,  is  somewhat  demoralizing 
since  both  the  hero  an  the  heroine  work  a  crooked  game  to 
get  their  hands  on  the  money,  even  double-crossing  one 
another.  The  unpleasantness,  however,  is  softened  by  the 
fact  that  in  the  end  they  become  regenerated  and  expose  the 
beneficiary  of  the  wills  as  a  Nazi  spy.  There  is  considerable 
suspense  in  some  of  the  situations,  particularly  the  one  where 
the  spy  kidnaps  the  adventurous  pair  and  beats  them  in  a 
futile  attempt  to  learn  where  they  had  hidden  one  million 
dollars  in  bonds.  Although  their  roles  are  unsympathetic, 
Signe  Hasso  and  James  Craig  give  good  performances: — 

Slightly  injured  when  their  plane  crashes  on  a  flight  from 


Mexico  to  the  United  States,  Signe  Hasso  and  John  Warbur- 
ton,  her  husband,  rifle  the  brief  case  of  Edmund  Gwenn,  an 
unconscious  passenger,  and  discover  copies  of  four  wills, 
each  leaving  a  million  dollars  to  Gwenn.  They  sense  some- 
thing illegal  about  the  wills  and  memorize  the  names  and 
addresses  of  the  testators,  hoping  to  enrich  themselves  in 
some  way.  Meanwhile  in  Cleveland,  Warner  Anderson,  one 
of  the  testators,  asks  James  Craig,  an  unscrupulous  attorney, 
to  change  his  will,  naming  his  night-club  sweetheart  as  the 
beneficiary  instead  of  Gwenn.  Before  he  can  sign  the  will, 
however,  Anderson  is  murdered.  Gwenn,  who  had  arrived 
in  town  on  the  previous  night,  inherits  a  million  dollars  in 
bonds.  Craig,  -suspicious  of  Gwenn,  boards  a  train  taking 
Gwenn  to  New  York.  Aboard  the  train  also  were  Signe  and 
Warburton,  who,  too,  were  trailing  Gwenn.  Craig  strikes 
up  an  acquaintance  with  Signe,  and  both  notice  Gwenn 
leave  the  train  hurriedly.  They  investigate  and  find  her 
husband  murdered  in  Gwenn's  compartment.  Signe  and 
Craig  join  forces  with  the  intention  of  beating  Gwenn  to 
the  other  three  testators.  In  New  York,  Craig  visits  Felix 
Bressart,  another  of  the  testators,  and  by  posing  as  Gwenn 
induces  him  to  hand  over  a  million  dollars  in  securities.  The 
pair  next  go  to  Bedford's  Island  to  employ  the  same  scheme 
on  Mabel  Paige,  only  to  find  that  they  had  walked  into  a 
trap  planned  by  Gwenn.  When  they  refuse  to  reveal  where 
they  hid  the  bonds,  Gwenn  permits  them  to  escape,  hoping 
that  they  will  lead  him  to  the  securities.  Meanwhile  Craig 
had  discovered  that  Gwenn  was  a  Nazi  spy,  and  he  manages 
to  leave  a  clue  for  the  police  before  Gwenn's  henchmen 
kidnap  both  Signe  and  himself.  Both,  having  decided  to  re- 
form, refuse  to  tell  where  they  had  hidden  the  bonds,  and 
they  withstand  a  brutal  beating  long  enough  to  allow  the 
police  time  to  arrive  and  capture  the  gang. 

Marion  Parsonnet  wrote  the  screen  play,  Arthur  L.  Freed 
produced  it,  and  Edward  L.  Cahn  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Henry  O'Neill,  Grant  Withers  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Easy  to  Look  At"  with  Gloria  Jean 
and  Kirby  Grant 

(Universal,  August  10;  time,  64  min.) 

Just  another  program  picture,  with  some  music,  undis- 
tinguished either  in  direction  or  acting,  as  well  as  in  story. 
At  best,  it  deserves  no  better  than  lower-half  billing  on  a 
mid-week  double  bill.  The  trite  story  is  developed  in  so 
obvious  a  way  that  one  becomes  bored  by  the  time  the  pic- 
ture is  half  finished.  Moreover,  the  pace  is  leisurely.  The 
musical  interludes,  particularly  Gloria  Jean's  singing,  are 
pleasant,  and  they  provide  the  most  entertaining  moments, 
but  they  are  not  strong  enough  to  carry  the  picture.  The 
production  values  are  modest:- — 

Seeking  a  position  as  a  fashion  designer,  Gloria,  an  art 
student,  arrives  in  New  York  and  accepts  a  job  as  stock 
clerk  in  a  dressmaking  establishment  owned  by  Kirby  Grant. 
She  becomes  friendly  with  J.  Edward  Bromberg,  the  night 
watchman,  a  former  designer,  and  together  they  create 
gowns  after  hours.  When  Eric  Blore,  a  Broadway  producer, 
comes  to  inspect  some  gowns  for  his  star,  he  selects  one  that 
had  been  changed  by  Gloria  from  a  design  by  George 
Dolenz,  the  head  designer.  Furious,  Dolenz  threatens  to  quit, 
but  Bromberg,  to  save  Gloria,  takes  the  blame.  Grant,  how- 
ever, likes  the  gown  so  well  that  he  makes  Bromberg  co- 
designer  in  the  shop.  Realizing  that  his  views  were  old- 
fashioned,  Bromberg  permits  Gloria  to  do  his  work  secretly. 
Meanwhile  Grant  falls  in  love  with  her.  Complications  arise 
when  Gloria  innocently  sells  one  of  her  own  sketches  to  one 
of  Grant's  competitors.  Grant  accuses  her  of  stealing  the 
firm's  design,  and  discharges  her.  Completely  frustrated, 
Gloria  decides  to  return  home,  but  Grant,  through  Brom- 
berg, learns  the  truth  and  begs  her  forgiveness. 

Henry  Blankfort  wrote  the  screen  play  and  produced  it, 
and  Ford  Bccbe  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  the  Delta 
Rhythm  Boys,  Mildred  Law,  Leon  Bclasco  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


124 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  4,  1945 


"Captain  Kidd"  with  Charles  Laughton 
and  Randolph  Scott 

(United  Artists,  August  24;  time,  88  min.) 

A  fairly  entertaining  pirate  melodrama.  The  performances 
are  superior  to  the  story  values,  and  are  the  main  reason  for 
one's  interest  in  the  picture.  Otherwise,  it  is  a  rather  loosely 
written  tale  of  piratical  machinations  during  the  reign  of 
Great  Britain's  William  III  (1688-1702),  when  swash- 
buckling buccaneers  and  freebooters  roamed  the  Spanish 
Main,  plundering  ships  bound  to  and  from  India.  While  it 
has  several  thrilling  sequences,  it  lacks  for  the  most  part  the 
excitement  one  expects  to  find  in  pictures  of  this  type. 
Charles  Laughton,  as  "Captain  Kidd,"  is  very  good,  al- 
though his  characterization  is  far  from  sympathetic;  through- 
out he  is  shown  as  a  cruel,  ruthless  scoundrel,  without  one 
redeeming  feature.  The  romance  between  Barbara  Britton, 
the  only  woman  in  the  cast,  and  Randolph  Scott,  is  pleasant, 
but  it  is  of  no  importance; — 

Despite  Captain  Kidd's  reputation  for  piracy,  the  King 
(Henry  Danicll)  commissions  him  to  meet  a  treasure  ship 
returning  from  India  and  to  escort  it  through  pirate-infested 
waters.  Kidd,  who  hoped  that  the  King  would  make  him  a 
nobleman,  recruits  most  of  his  crew  from  prisoners  in  New- 
gate Prison,  among  them  Adam  Mercy  (Randolph  Scott), 
deposed  son  of  a  disgraced  peer,  who  was  believed  tc  have 
turned  pirate  against  the  King.  Actually,  Mercy's  father  had 
been  murdered  by  Kidd  and  his  henchmen  (John  Carradinc, 
Gilbert  Roland,  John  Qualen,  and  Sheldon  Leona'd),  who 
had  blackened  his  name  and  had  stolen  the  King's  treasures, 
burying  it  on  a  tropical  island.  Kidd,  having  determined  to 
keep  the  treasure  for  himself,  lays  plans  to  murder  his  ne- 
farious henchmen  and  succeeds  in  ridding  himself  of  Qualen 
and  Leonard.  Meeting  the  treasure-laden  galleon  he  had 
been  commissioned  to  escort,  Kidd,  through  a  ruse,  transfers 
the  treasures  aboard  his  ship,  blows  up  the  galleon,  and  kid- 
naps Lady  Anne  (Barbara  Britton)  a  British  noblewoman, 
whose  father,  the  King's  ambassador  to  India,  he  kills. 
Meanwhile  Mercy  discovers  proof  that  Kidd  had  murdered 
his  father  and  had  buried  the  treasure.  Realizing  that  he 
would  never  leave  the  ship  alive,  Mercy,  after  killing  Roland 
who  had  attempted  to  molest  Lady  Anne,  escapes  from  the 
ship  with  her.  Kidd  shells  their  small  boat  and  believes  that 
both  had  perished.  He  then  murders  Carradine,  the  last  of 
his  henchmen,  and  returns  to  England  expecting  to  be 
received  by  the  King  with  great  honor.  He  finds  instead  that 
Mercy  and  Lady  Anne  had  reached  England  safely,  and  had 
given  the  King  proof  of  his  villainy.  The  King  sends  him  to 
the  gallows. 

Norman  Rcilly  Raine  wrote  the  screen  play,  Benedict 
Bogeaus  produced  it,  and  Rowland  V.  Lee  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Reginald  Owen  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Mama  Loves  Papa"  with  Leon  Errol 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  60  min.) 

A  mediocre  program  slapstick  comedy.  It  is  a  remake, 
having  first  been  produced  by  Paramount  in  1933,  with 
Charles  Ruggles  and  Mary  Boland  as  the  stars.  Unlike  the 
original  production,  which  was  extremely  amusing,  this  one 
offers  such  a  hodge-podge  of  nonsense  that  one  will  indeed 
have  to  be  an  ardent  follower  of  Leon  Errol  in  order  to 
enjoy  it;  discriminating  patrons  will  probably  find  it  tire- 
some, for  the  proceedings  are  silly  to  the  point  of  annoyance, 
and  the  characters  are  presented  in  exaggerated  style.  Here 
and  there  the  situations  provide  some  chuckles,  but  for  the 
most  part  the  comedy  is  weak.  Summed  up,  the  picture 
leaves  one  with  the  impression  that  it  is  two-reel  material 
stretched  to  feature  length: — 

Elisabeth  Risdon,  happily  married  for  twenty  years  to 
Leon  Errol,  a  timid  office  worker,  becomes  inspired  when 
she  attends  a  lecture  on  "how  to  be  the  woman  behind  your 
man."  She  insists  that  Errol  demand  a  raise  from  his  em- 
ployer (Emory  Parnell),  and  compels  him  to  wear  formal 
morning  clothes  to  the  office.  When  he  arrives  for  work,  the 
office  force  believe  that  he  had  come  from  a  funeral,  and  his 
employer  insists  that  he  go  home  for  the  day.  He  wanders 


into  the  park,  where  he  is  mistaken  for  the  Park  Commis- 
sioner and  is  hurried  to  a  platform  to  unveil  a  statue.  He  has 
his  picture  taken  with  Charlotte  Wynters,  wife  of  the  town's 
political  boss  (Paul  Harvey),  a  big  manufacturer  of  play- 
ground equipment.  When  the  mistake  is  found  out,  Harvey, 
deciding  that  Errol  was  not  too  bright,  and  that  he  would 
be  easy  to  control,  arranges  for  his  appointment  as  Park 
Commissioner.  Several  weeks  later,  Errol  and  his  proud 
wife  attend  a  reception  at  Harvey's  home,  where  the  political 
boss  was  trying  to  induce  Charles  Halton,  a  philantrophist, 
to  buy  playground  equipment  for  recreation  centers  he 
planned  to  build  across  the  country.  Errol,  tasting  cbam- 
pagne  for  the  first  time,  becomes  tipsy;  his  wife  leaves  him 
for  carrying  on  with  Harvey's  wife,  and  Harvey  discharges 
him  as  commissioner  when  he  truthfully  informs  the  phil- 
antrophist that  Harvey's  playground  equipment  was  inferior. 
Errol  returns  home  dejected,  only  to  find  his  wife  willing  to 
forgive  him,  and  his  former  employer  waiting  to  offer  him 
a  promotion. 

Charles  Roberts  and  Monte  Bnce  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Ben  Stolon  produced  it,  an  Frank  Strayer  directed  it.  The 
cast  indues  Lawrence  Tierney  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"George  White's  Scandals"  with 
Joan  Davis,  Jack  Haley  and 
Martha  Holliday 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  95  min.) 
The  best  that  can  be  said  for  this  comedy  with  music  is 
that  the  title  may  insure  for  it  a  better-than-average  success 
at  the  box-office.  As  entertainment,  it  is  only  fair,  at  times 
becoming  tedious.  The  fault  lies  in  the  story,  which  is  silly 
and  commonplace,  and  in  the  treatment,  which  is  unimagi- 
native. The  picture  does  nothing  to  further  the  career  of 
Joan  Davis,  for,  although  6he  is  a  good  comedienne,  she 
cannot  overcome  the  inept  material.  For  the  most  part,  the 
comedy  is  forced,  much  of  it  in  slapstick  style.  Musically,  the 
picture  is  fairly  good.  The  songs  and  production  numbers 
are  lively,  and  Gene  Krupa's  "swing"  music  and  Ethel 
Smith's  organ  playing  should  serve  to  attract  the  younger 
set.  Martha  Holliday,  a  pleasing  and  stunning  personality, 
is  outstanding  in  several  dance  numbers,  and  she  can  act 
well,  too: — 

At  a  reunion  of  the  cast  of  George  White's  1919  Scandals, 
Joan  Davis  announces  her  engagement  to  Jack  Haley,  star 
comedian  of  the  1945  Scandals,  but  confesses  that  Haley's 
spinster  sister  (Margaret  Hamilton)  was  trying  to  break  up 
their  romance.  Martha  Holliday  joins  the  party  and  intro- 
duces herself  as  the  daughter  of  a  chorine  in  the  1919  show, 
who  had  married  a  British  diplomat  stationed  in  Washing- 
ton. Joan  invites  her  to  a  rehearsal.  Arriving  at  the  theatre 
on  the  following  day,  Martha  is  mistaken  for  a  chorus  girl 
by  Philip  Terry,  the  dance  director.  Martha,  amused,  de- 
cides to  carry  on  the  deception,  and  Joan  promises  to  keep 
her  secret  from  both  Terry  and  her  family.  George  White 
and  Terry  soon  discover  that  Martha  was  an  accomplished 
ballerina.  They  give  her  a  featured  spot  in  the  show,  much 
to  the  annoyance  of  Bettejane  Greer,  another  dancer.  Mean- 
while Joan  and  Haley  have  their  troubles  because  of  his 
sister's  tantrums.  A  romance  blossoms  between  Martha  and 
Terry,  but  it  soon  goes  on  the  rocks  when  Bettejane  reveals 
Martha's  identity  to  Terry,  leading  him  to  believe  that  she 
had  been  amusing  herself  with  him.  They  quarrel,  and 
Martha  fails  to  appear  on  opening  night.  With  the  show 
half  over,  Haley,  circulating  amongst  the  audience  in  a  mind 
reading  act  with  Joan,  discovers  Martha  watching  the  show. 
He  spirits  her  backstage,  where  she  effects  a  reconciliation 
with  Terry  in  time  to  appear  in  her  ballet  number.  Her  bril- 
liant performance  draws  cheers  from  the  audience,  and  it  all 
ends  with  Terry  and  Martha  in  each  other's  arms,  and  with 
the  spinster  sister  giving  Joan  and  Haley  her  blessing. 

Hugh  Wedlock,  Howard  Snyder,  Parke  Levy,  and  How- 
ard Green  wrote  the  screen  play,  George  White  produced  it, 
and  Felix  E.  Feist  directed  it.  Jack  J.  Gross  and  Nat  Holt 
were  executive  producers.  The  cast  includes  Glenn  Tryon, 
Rose  Murphy,  Fritz  Feld,  Beverly  Wills  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  11,  1945  No.  32 


CONCEALED  ADVERTISING 
IN  FEATURE  PICTURES 

The  article  that  follows  should  interest  every  exhibitor.  It 
has  appeared  in  the  August  5  Sunday  issue  of  the  Detroit 

Mr.  Heffernan  has  been  the  manager  of  the  Hollywood 
office  of  the  Detroit  K[ews  for  years,  and  his  daily  column  is 
syndicated  by  the  North  American  Newspaper  Alliance. 

I  happen  to  know  Mr.  Heffernan  personally  and  I  consider 
him  as  a  great  and  accurate  reporter.  I  can  vouch  for  the  ac- 
curacy of  every  statement  he  makes  in  this  revealing  article: 

MOVIE-AD  PLANTING 
By  Harold  Heffernan 
Released  by  the  NANA 

Hollywood,  Aug.  5. — In  the  currently  successful  movie, 
"The  Great  John  L.,"  based  on  the  life  of  the  most  colorful 
of  all  prizefighters,  John  L.  Sullivan,  in  a  scene  where  Greg 
McClure,  impersonating  John  L.,  walks  into  a  saloon, 
thumps  loudly  on  the  bar  and  demands  that  everyone  have 
a  drink  on  him. 

"Give  me  a  double-bourbon,"  demands  John  L. 

The  boys  all  raise  glasses,  toast  their  idol  and  douse  it 
down. 

John  L.  brushes  a  hand  across  his  lips,  picks  up  his  empty 
glass  and  hurls  it  against  the  bar  mirror,  breaking  it  to 
smithereens. 

"Drink  has  been  my  downfall!"  ejaculates  the  great  man. 
And  with  that  confession  he  staggers  out  of  the  joint. 

"When  you  see  "The  Great  John  L."  you  will  not  see  this 
sequence — and  that  is  primarily  because  it  offended  the  busi- 
ness principles  of  a  man  named  Walter  E.  Kline. 

Kline  represents  the  American  Bourbon  Association,  along 
with  a  couple  of  hundred  additional  clients,  and  it  is  his  job 
to  see  that  his  customers  get  a  fair  break  in  pictures.  The 
highest-salaried  advertising  lobbyist  in  the  world,  he  saves 
movie  producers  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  annually 
by  supplying  them  props  and  ready-made  sets.  And  at  no 
cost  to  them.  He  does  it  all  on  speculation,  hoping  that  a 
kindly  studio  prop  man  or  director  will  give  one  of  his  prod- 
ucts an  ad  break  on  the  screen. 

Getting  back  to  "The  Great  John  L."  and  bourbon  whis- 
key, the  latter  is  Kline's  chief  interest  as  a  lobbyist.  That  is 
why  he  almost  collapsed  when,  after  planting  the  tieup  in 
that  barroom  scene,  he  discovered  that  John  L.,  after  tossing 
off  the  bourbon,  publicly  attributed  his  downfall  to  drink. 

"I  worked  for  weeks  getting  them  to  mention  bourbon 
when  they  made  that  scene,"  Kline  recalled,  "but  I  worked 
ten  times  harder  getting  the  thing  cut  out  when  I  discovered 
what  actually  went  on.  I  understand  it  is  no  longer  in  the 
picture.  That  is  good." 

When  Kline  first  took  over  the  bourbon  movie  account 
ten  years  ago,  he  was  concerned  mainly  with  getting  screen 
characters  to  stop  asking  so  consistently  for  "Scotch  and 


soda"  in  the  cocktail  sequences.  He  succeeded  in  this  by 
talking  seriously  to  writers  and  directors  and,  in  some  in- 
stances, by  demonstrating  to  them  that  American  bourbon  is 
pretty  smooth  stuff. 

Nowadays,  with  bourbon  well  established  and  not  exactly 
a  drug  on  the  market,  Kline's  efforts  are  pointed  toward  dig- 
nifying it.  If  a  character  asks  for  bourbon  in  a  movie,  he 
must  be  a  first-rate  sort  of  a  chap,  not  a  bum,  mind  you.  Pic- 
tures carrying  drinking  scenes  followed  by  reckless  driving 
and  accidents,  or  juvenile  delinquency  movies  are  now 
Kline's  special  concern.  In  these  instances  he  goes  to  the 
writers  and  asks  them  not  to  allow  tawdry  characters  to 
mention  bourbon  by  name.  If  the  riff-raffs  want  to  call  for 
"Scotch"  it  is  certainly  okay  by  Kline  and  the  American 
bourbon  folks. 

One  of  the  big  hush-hush  jobs  of  recent  months  was  in 
connection  with  "The  Lost  Weekend."  The  story,  as  you 
probably  know,  is  from  a  best-seller  based  on  the  deliriums 
of  an  alcoholic.  Paramount  was  playing  no  favorites  in  hav- 
ing its  leading  man,  Ray  Milland,  drink  everything  in  the 
book.  Somehow  or  other  Kline  got  hold  of  a  script  and  dis- 
covered that  Milland  was  mainly  devoted  to  bourbon  and 
said  so  in  his  dialog  altogether  too  often.  He  went  right  to 
work  on  that  one  and  the  bourbon  interests  are  happy  with 
the  result. 

If  it's  an  ad  plug  you  want  on  the  screen,  there's  better 
than  an  even  chance  that  Kline  can  get  the  break.  His  clients 
include  steamship  lines,  railways,  automobiles,  public  parks, 
airplanes,  radio  manufacturers,  watchmakers,  soft  drinks, 
electric  shavers,  typewriters,  business  office  files,  hats,  prod- 
uce— almost  any  commodity  you  can  name. 

This  week  Kline's  trucks  were  loaded  with  empty  crates 
destined  for  the  Universal  lot,  where  a  movie  called  "Once 
Upon  a  Dream"  was  staging  a  spectacular  New  York  com- 
mission market  sequence.  Kline  provided  all  the  produce, 
with  empty  crates  in  the  background.  His  reward,  he  hopes, 
will  be  two-fold — one,  a  closeup — showing  the  end  of  a 
crate  with  a  blue  goose  stenciled  upon  it  (the  trade  mark  of 
an  orange  he  exploits)  and  a  line  of  dialog  where  one  dealer 
mentions  how  well  his  calavos  are  selling.  The  latter  item  is 
a  California-grown  fruit  which  Kline  would  like  to  get  east- 
ern buyers  to  promote. 

When  a  character  looks  at  his  wrist  watch,  and  you  get  a 
peak  at  the  famous  trade  mark,  chances  are  Kline  has  had 
his  hand  in  it.  Same  is  true  when  Fred  Allen  uses  an  electric 
shaver  on  his  face  in  "It's  in  the  Bag."  You  see  the  shaver 
and  you  know  Fred  is  enjoying  it  because  he  sings  as  it 
whirs. 

Kline  is  soft-pedaling  most  of  his  travel  accounts  these 
days  and  for  obvious  reasons.  He  no  longer  asks  set  de- 
signers to  hang  pretty  pictures  of  Yosemite  Park  on  the 
walls  of  office  buildings.  His  mockup  airplane  (a  sort  of 
shell  of  the  real  thing)  also  stands  around  idly  in  his  big 
sound  stage-like  storehouse-office,  situated  within  easy  B- 
coupon  reach  of  all  the  studios. 

And  he  refuses  to  worry  over  the  fact  that  feature  pictures 
show  fewer  station  arrival  and  departure  scenes.  These  called 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


126 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  11,  1945 


"Lady  on  a  Train"  with  Deanna  Durbin 

(Universal,  August  24;  time,  93  mm.) 

This  mixture  of  murder  mystery,  melodrama,  and 
comedy,  will  have  to  depend  on  Deanna  Durbin's 
popularity,  for,  as  entertainment,  it  is  only  fair.  The 
story  is  thin  and  unbelievable,  and  the  players  struggle 
with  the  poor  material.  One  wonders  why  Universal 
has  wasted  the  talents  of  Miss  Durbin,  its  most  valu- 
able star,  on  a  story  that  is  so  far-fetched  and  at  times 
ridiculous.  Those  who  are  not  too  concerned  about 
the  credibility  of  a  plot  may  find  some  of  the  situations 
quite  amusing.  Three  songs  sung  by  Miss  Durbin  give 
the  picture  its  most  entertaining  moments.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  more  accent  on  the  music  and  less  on  the 
melodramatics  would  have  helped  matters  consider- 
ably. To  the  picture's  credit  are  the  swift  action  and 
the  good  production  values: — 

As  her  train  stops  on  the  elevated  tracks  leading 
into  New  York's  125th  Street  station,  Deanna  Dur- 
bin, a  wealthy  California  debutante  with  a  penchant 
for  reading  mystery  stories,  sees  a  murder  committed 
in  a  building  facing  the  tracks  but  does  not  see  the 
murderer's  face.  Deanna  eludes  Edward  Everett  Hor- 
ton,  her  father's  New  York  representative,  who  had 
been  assigned  to  guard  her,  and  rushes  to  the  police 
to  report  the  crime.  When  the  police  dismiss  her  as  a 
crank,  Deanna  seeks  the  aid  of  David  Bruce,  her  fa- 
vorite mystery  book  author.  Bruce,  fearing  the  wrath 
of  Patricia  Morison,  his  jealous  fiancee,  puts  Deanna 
out  of  his  apartment.  She  follows  Bruce  and  Patricia 
to  a  movie  theatre,  where  she  sees  a  newsreel  shot 
reporting  the  death  of  a  wealthy  shipbuilder  on  his 
Long  Island  estate,  and  recognizes  the  man  as  the  one 
whom  she  had  seen  murdered.  After  creating  a  dis- 
turbance in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  get  Bruce  to 
accompany  her,  Deanna  goes  to  the  estate  to  investi- 
gate. There,  the  dead  man's  relatives  and  associates, 
gathered  for  the  reading  of  the  will,  mistake  her  for 
Marie  Plamcr,  a  night-club  singer,  to  whom  the  victim 
had  left  the  bulk  of  his  estate.  Searching  for  clues, 
Deanna  finds  a  pair  of  bloodstained  slippers  and 
manages  to  get  them  out  of  the  house.  Finding  it 
necessary  to  carry  on  the  deception  in  order  to  gain 
more  evidence,  Deanna  goes  to  the  night-club  where 
she  locks  Marie  in  a  closet  and  takes  her  place  as  the 
club's  singer.  Meanwhile  the  relatives  and  other  sun- 
dry characters,  some  of  them  bent  on  regaining  the 
slippers,  arrive  at  the  club.  Bruce,  who  had  finally  be- 
come intrigued  by  the  mystery,  joins  the  party. 
Deanna  soon  finds  herself  embroiled  in  a  series  of 
strange  adventures  that  result  in  two  additional  mur- 
ders before  she,  aided  by  Bruce,  finally  unmasks  the 
killer  as  Ralph  Bellamy,  one  of  the  victim's  nephews. 
It  all  ends  with  Deanna  and  Bruce  embarking  on  a 
honeymoon. 

Edmund  Beloin  and  Robert  O'Brien  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Felix  Jackson  produced  it,  and  Charles 
David  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Dan  Duryea, 
George  Coulouris,  Allen  Jenkins,  Elizabeth  Patterson, 
Samuel  S.  Hinds  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Pride  of  the  Marines"  with  John  Garfield 
and  Eleanor  Parker 

(Warner  Bros.,  September  1;  time,  119  min.) 
This  is  a  sensitive  and  at  times  forceful  dramatiza- 
tion of  the  life  of  Marine-hero  Al  Schmid,  whose 
exploits  on  Guadalcanal  were  given  wide  publicity 
earlier  in  the  war.  Since  the  theme  deals  with  war  and 
with  the  rehabilitation  of  blinded  and  maimed  ser- 


vicemen, its  chances  at  the  box-office  will  depend  on 
whether  or  not  your  patrons  are  in  the  mood  for  this 
type  of  entertainment.  Aside  from  its  box-office  poten- 
tiality, the  story  is  of  the  sort  that  stirs  one's  emotions 
deeply,  particularly  in  the  sequences  that  deal  with 
the  hero's  cmbitterment  at  finding  himself  handi- 
capped by  blindness,  and  with  his  determination  to 
give  up  his  sweetheart  lest  she  become  his  "seeing-eye 
dog."  Worked  into  the  story  are  rather  lengthy  dis- 
courses by  hospitalized  servicemen  on  such  subjects 
as  the  G.I.  Bill  of  Rights,  racial  intolerance,  post-war 
employment,  and  other  matters  concerned  with  the 
future  of  returning  fighting  men.  Much  of  what  they 
say  on  these  subjects  is  meaningful,  but  the  discourses 
are  so  long  drawn  out  that  they  interrupt  the  flow  of 
the  story,  tending  to  tire  one.  John  Garfield,  as 
Schmid,  gives  an  effective  portrayal.  Eleanor  Parker, 
as  his  sweetheart,  is  very  good,  winning  one's  sym- 
pathy by  her  endeavors  to  give  him  courage  to  face 
the  future,  and  to  convince  him  that  his  handicap 
need  not  interfere  with  their  love.  Dane  Clark,  as 
Garfield's  buddy,  provides  some  good  comedy  relief : — 

Garfield,  a  fun-loving  young  man  with  an  aversion 
for  women,  falls  in  love  with  Eleanor  just  prior  to  the 
attack  on  Pearl  Harbor.  He  enlists  in  the  Marines  and, 
on  Guadalcanal,  distinguishes  himself  in  action  by 
exterminating  more  than  two  hundred  Japs  until 
blinded  by  an  enemy  grenade.  Sent  to  a  hospital  in 
San  Diego,  Garfield,  after  an  operation,  fails  to  regain 
his  sight.  He  becomes  embittered  and  asks  Rosemary 
DeCamp,  a  Red  Cross  nurse,  to  write  to  Eleanor, 
breaking  their  engagement  but  to  tell  her  nothing  of 
his  blindness.  Eleanor,  disturbed,  telephones  Garfield 
but  he  refuses  to  speak  to  her.  Rosemary  tells  her  the 
truth.  Shortly  after,  Garfield,  against  his  wishes,  is 
sent  home  to  Philadelphia  where  he  was  to  be  awarded 
the  Navy  Cross.  He  is  accompanied  on  the  trip  by 
Dane  Clark,  his  buddy,  who  finds  Eleanor  at  the 
station  waiting  for  them.  With  Clark's  cooperation, 
she  poses  as  a  nurse  and  takes  Garfield  home  with 
her.  He  soon  discovers  the  ruse  and  demands  that  she 
take  him  to  a  hospital.  Despite  his  insistence  that  she 
forget  him,  Eleanor  finally  wins  him  over,  convincing 
him  that  she  needed  him  as  much  as  he  needed  her. 

Albert  Maltz  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jerry  Wald 
produced  it,  and  Delmer  Daves  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  John  Ridgely,  Ann  Doran,  Ann  Todd  and 
others. 


"The  Shanghai  Cobra"  with  Sidney  Toler 

(Monogram,  October  1;  time,  63  min.) 

Differing  little  in  theme  or  in  treatment  from  the 
other  pictures  in  the  series,  this  latest  "Charlie  Chan" 
murder  mystery  melodrama  should  get  by  as  a  sup- 
porting feature  wherever  the  series  is  liked.  Sidney 
Toler,  as  the  Chinese  detective,  dominates  the  pro- 
ceedings, solving  the  crime  in  a  manner  that  is  hardly 
plausible,  but  his  deductions  will  probably  be  found 
acceptable  by  the  series'  followers.  It  has  a  fair  share 
of  suspense,  and  considerable  comedy  is  provoked  by 
the  well-intentioned  but  blundering  interference  of 
Benson  Song,  as  "Chan's"  son,  and  of  Manton  More- 
land,  as  his  chauffeur,  who  endeavor  to  help  him  solve 
the  mystery : — 

Because  of  his  experience  with  a  similar  case  in 
Shanghai,  Sidney  Toler  is  asked  by  the  police  to  in- 
vestigate the  poison  murders  of  three  employees  of  the 
Sixth  National  Bank,  where  a  priceless  stock  of  ra- 
dium had  been  stored  by  the  Government.  Toler 
visits  the  scene  of  the  last  murder,  where  he  learns 


August  11,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


127 


from  the  operator  of  a  "television  juke-box"  that 
James  Cardwell,  a  private  detective,  and  Joan  Bar- 
clay,  secretary  to  Roy  Gordon,  the  bank's  president, 
were  present  at  the  time  of  the  murder  but  had  escaped 
detection  by  the  police.  A  fourth  murder,  that  of  a 
police  investigator  posing  as  a  bank  porter,  convinces 
Toler  that  a  gang  of  thieves  were  bent  on  stealing  the 
radium.  Other  clues  lead  him  to  suspect  not  only 
Cardwell  and  Joan,  but  also  Arthur  Loft,  the  bank's 
vice-president,  and  Addison  Richards,  a  bank  guard. 
Through  the  bungling  interference  of  his  son  and  his 
colored  chauffeur,  Toler  finds  himself  on  the  trail  of 
James  Flavin,  a  chemical  engineer,  who  plotted  to 
blow  open  the  bank's  vaults.  To  make  Flavin  reveal 
his  hand,  Toler  announces  that  the  radium  would  be 
removed  from  the  bank  on  the  following  day.  Flavin 
and  his  henchmen  (Joe  Devlin  and  Gene  Stutenroth) 
decide  to  move  quickly.  There  follows  a  series  of  ad' 
ventures  in  the  sewage  system  passageways  beneath 
the  bank,  in  which  Toler  and  his  assistants  almost  lose 
their  lives  before  they  are  rescued  by  the  police,  who 
also  capture  the  criminals.  Toler,  positive  that  Flavin 
was  employed  by  someone  higher  up,  tricks  the  bank's 
Vice-president  into  revealing  that  he  was  the  brains 
behind  the  plot  to  steal  the  radium. 

George  Callahan  and  George  Wallace  Sayre  wrote 
the  screen  play,  James  J.  Burkett  produced  it,  and 
Phil  Karlson  directed  it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Strange  Affair  of  Uncle  Harry" 
with  George  Sanders,  Ella  Raines 
and  Geraldine  Fitzgerald 

(Universal,  August  17;  time,  80  min.) 

This  is  a  taut,  effective  melodrama,  but  the  surprise 
ending,  in  which  it  is  shown  that  the  difficulties 
George  Sanders  had  gotten  himself  into  had  been  a 
dream,  will  come  as  a  disappointment  to  most  specta- 
tors, for  it  is  contrived  and  false;  there  is  nothing  in 
the  action  to  indicate  that  he  had  fallen  asleep. 
Adapted  from  the  Broadway  play,  "Uncle  Harry," 
the  story  revolves  around  a  placid,  middle-aged  man, 
who  is  driven  to  murder  when  his  marriage  plans  are 
interfered  with  by  a  fanatical  spinster  sister.  The 
action  is  slow,  but  the  story  holds  one's  attention 
throughout  because  of  the  interesting  developments. 
The  performances  are  particularly  good,  and  the  di- 
rection is  skillful,  but  the  story  is  unpleasant : — 

George  Sanders,  a  pattern  designer  in  a  New  Eng- 
land textile  mill,  lives  a  cloistered  existence  with  his 
two  sisters,  Geraldine  Fitzgerald,  a  deliberate  invalid, 
and  Moyna  Maggill,  a  widow.  When  Sanders  falls  in 
love  with  Ella  Raines,  his  firm's  New  York  fashion 
designer,  Geraldine,  fanatically  devoted  to  him,  can- 
not conceal  her  unnatural  jealousy;  she  determines  to 
prevent  his  marriage  to  Ella.  With  crafty  guile  and 
tricks,  she  succeeds  in  prolonging  the  engagement 
until  Ella,  angered  at  her  trickery  and  at  her  influence 
over  Sanders,  demands  that  he  marry  her  immediately 
and  leave  town.  Geraldine,  feigning  serious  illness, 
influences  him  to  deny  Ella's  demands.  Ella  returns 
to  New  York,  and  some  weeks  later  Sanders  learns 
that  she  planned  to  wed  their  employer.  Realizing 
that  Geraldine's  possessiveness  had  ruined  his  happi- 
ness, Sanders  becomes  obsessed  with  an  overwhelming 
desire  to  kill  her.  One  night  he  drops  some  poison  in 
her  cup  of  cocoa,  but  through  a  strange  series  of  cir- 
cumstances his  widowed  sister  drinks  the  poisoned 
cup.  Because  of  Geraldine's  constant  quarreling  with 
her  sister,  a  fact  known  to  many  people,  she  is  charged 
with  the  murder  and  sentenced  to  death.  Sanders, 


unable  to  bear  the  strain,  writes  a  confession  and  takes 
it  to  the  warden  on  the  day  of  the  execution.  The 
warden  refuses  to  believe 'him,  and  Geraldine,  who 
was  aware  of  Sanders'  guilt,  has  her  revenge  on  him 
by  repudiating  the  confession  so  that  he  might  live 
with  a  maddening  conscience  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 
Sanders  awakes  to  find  that  both  his  sisters  are  alive, 
and  that  he  had  been  having  a  horrible  dream.  Ella, 
unable  to  deny  her  love  for  him,  returns  to  his  side  for 
a  happy  ending. 

Stephen  Longstreet  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the 
play  by  Thomas  Job,  Joan  Harrison  produced  it,  and 
Robert  Siodmak  directed  it.  It  is  a  Charles  K.  Feld- 
man  production.  The  cast  includes  Sara  Allgood, 
Samuel  S.  Hinds,  Harry  Von  Zell  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Kiss  and  Tell"  with  Shirley  Temple 

(Columbia,  September;  time,  90  min.) 

Adapted  from  the  Broadway  stage  play  of  the  same 
title,  "Kiss  and  Tell"  is  a  pretty  good  comedy-farce, 
more  suitable  for  adults  than  for  children  and  ado- 
lescents. The  story  deals  with  the  complications  a 
'teen-aged  girl  gets  herself  into  when,  to  keep  se- 
cret the  marriage  of  her  brother  to  her  girl-friend, 
she  allows  her  family  to  believe  that  she  was  going  to 
have  a  baby.  Some  of  the  situations  are  highly  hilari- 
ous, and  the  dialogue  in  spots  is  extremely  witty.  One 
is  kept  laughing  almost  throughout.  The  first  part  of 
the  picture  is  rather  slow,  but  it  gathers  speed  as  it 
goes  along.  Shirley  Temple,  as  the  "wayward"  girl, 
does  fairly  well,  but  top  acting  honors  go  to  Walter 
Abel  for  his  exaggerated  but  comical  portrayal  of  her 
excitable  father.  Darryl  Hickman,  too,  as  a  fresh 
kid-brother,  provides  some  choice  comedy,  as  does 
Jerome  Courtland,  as  the  "unwitting"  father  of 
Shirley's  "child."  The  production  values  are  moder- 
ate, the  action  being  confined  to  a  few  sets : — 

Shirley  Temple  and  her  chum,  Virginia  Welles,  sell 
kisses  at  a  Red  Cross  bazaar,  thereby  causing  a  feud 
between  their  families,  who  accuse  each  other  of  rear- 
ing the  girls  improperly.  Because  of  the  feud,  Shirley's 
soldier-brother,  Scott  Elliott,  home  on  leave,  finds  it 
difficult  to  romance  with  Virginia.  He  marries  her 
secretly.  Shirley  learns  of  the  marriage  but  promises 
under  oath  to  keep  it  a  secret.  Some  months  later, 
Virginia  discovers  that  she  was  going  to  become  a 
mother.  Matters  become  complicated  when  a  gossipy 
neighbor  sees  Shirley  leaving  an  obstetrician's  office 
after  accompanying  Virginia  there.  The  news  reaches 
Shirley's  parents  (Katherine  Alexander  and  Walter 
Abel),  who  link  it  with  a  clandestine  visit  Shirley 
had  with  a  soldier  (Scott  McKay) .  Lest  she  explain 
and  reveal  her  brother's  secret  marriage,  Shirley  ad- 
mits pregnancy  and  names  as  the  "father"  of  her  child 
Jerome  Courtland,  a  gawky  'teen-aged  suitor,  who 
lived  next  door.  Shirley  easily  induces  him  to  make  no 
denial.  Outraged,  the  families  of  both  youngsters  ar- 
range for  their  marriage,  much  to  Jerome's  delight  and 
Shirley's  distress.  Meanwhile  a  telegram  sent  to  Vir- 
ginia by  Elliott  reveals  to  Virginia's  parents  that  he 
was  her  husband  and  that  she,  not  Shirley,  was  expect- 
ing a  baby.  All  rush  over  to  Shirley's  home  where  they 
halt  her  marriage  to  Jerome  in  the  nick  of  time.  The 
feud  between  both  families  dies  in  a  blaze  of  cele- 
bration. 

F.  Hugh  Herbert  adapted  the  screenplay  from  his 
own  play,  Sol  C.  Siegel  produced  it,  and  Richard  Wal- 
lace directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Robert  Benchlcy, 
Porter  Hall,  Edna  Holland,  Tom  Tully  and  others. 


128 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  11,  1945 


for  him  to  arrange  with  the  Santa  Fe  railway  to  show  the 
famous  Super-Chief  pulling  in  elegantly  while  cameras 
ground  against  it  for  part  of  the  plot. 

This  recalls  his  most  embarrassing  experience  as  a  movie 
ad  pluggcr.  He  was  shooting  the  Chief,  disgorging  its  hand- 
some screen  characters  that  day  when,  on  an  adjoining  track 
the  Union  Pacific  Streamliner,  also  a  pretty  good  train, 
steamed  majestically  by,  stealing  the  spotlight. 

Kline  thinks  movie  plugging  is  great  because  it  swoops 
down  on  the  prospective  buyer  when  he's  relaxed  and  unsus- 
pecting. And  he  refuses  to  worry  about  increasing  com- 
plaints by  exhibitors  that  producers  should  put  a  stop  to  such 
advertising. 

"I  pay  nothing  to  the  producers,"  Kline  said.  "On  the 
other  hand  I  save  them  money  by  dressing  their  sets  and 
loaning  them  the  use  of  standard  items  and  props  they 
otherwise  would  have  difficulty  in  obtaining  quickly." 

Kline  is  performing  one  mission  gratis.  He  is  conducting  a 
crusade  to  stamp  out  use  of  the  word  "whiskey"  in  all 
dialog. 

"It  antagonizes  the  prohibition  folks  and  arouses  a  certain 
disgust  among  other  people,"  he  said.  "It's  much  more  dig- 
nified to  use  the  word  'drink,'  he  insists. 

Or,  of  course,  he  could  have  meant  bourbon. 


A  LITTLE  MORE  FREEDOM 
IN  EXHIBITION 

Monopolistic  practices  in  the  motion  picture  industry 
were  dealt  another  bitter  blow  last  week  when  the  U.  S. 
Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  for  the  Third  Circuit  filed  a 
unanimous  opinion  in  favor  of  the  William  Goldman  Thea- 
tres, Inc.,  of  Philadelphia,  holding  that  the  Warner  Brothers 
Theatre  Circuit  and  the  eight  major  distributors  were  guilty 
of  violating  the  anti-trust  laws. 

The  opinion,  written  by  District  Judge  Paul  Leahy  and 
concurred  in  by  Presiding  Judge  John  J.  Parker  of  the 
Fourth  Circuit,  and  by  Presiding  Judge  John  Biggs,  Jr.,  of 
the  Third  Circuit,  reversed  the  findings  of  U.  S.  District 
Judge  Willliam  H.  Kirkpatrick,  who,  in  April  1944,  had 
ruled  that  the  defendants  were  not  in  violation  of  the  anti- 
trust statutes. 

What  makes  this  decision  significant,  among  other  things, 
is  the  fact  that  it  does  away  with  the  possibility  of  Judge 
Kirkpatrick's  decision  endangering,  or  even  crippling,  the 
Government's  prosecution  of  the  different  anti-trust  suits 
now  pending,  involving  the  motion  picture  industry.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  was  because  of  this  danger  that  the  Govern- 
ment, represented  by  Robert  L.  Wright,  special  assistant  to 
the  U.  S.  Attorney-General,  intervened  in  the  suit  as  a 
friend  of  the  Court  at  the  time  Goldman  filed  his  appeal. 

In  order  that  you  may  understand  the  decision,  I  am  re- 
producing the  following  essential  facts  about  the  case,  to- 
gether with  appropriate  comment,  which  appeared  in  an 
August  4  bulletin  issued  by  Abram  F.  Myers,  general  counsel 
of  Allied  States  Association: 

"...  William  Goldman,  thoroughly  experienced  in  the 
motion  picture  business,  leased  for  10  years  the  Erlanger 
Theatre,  one  of  the  finest  in  Philadelphia.  At  that  time 
Warner  Bros,  operated  all  the  first-runs  in  that  city — Stan- 
ton, Stanley,  Aldine,  Earle,  Boyd  and  Fox.  Warner  Bros., 
therefore,  had  a  local  monopoly  of  first-run  theatres  and 
first-class  first-run  product.  Goldman  tried  to  license  pictures 
on  first-run  but  was  refused  by  all  major  distributors.  Be- 
cause of  the  favorable  terms  of  his  lease  he  was  able  to  offer 
higher  film  rentals  than  Warner  Bros,  was  paying,  but  he 
still  was  refused.  In  1942  Warner  Bros,  reopened  the  Mast- 
baum  Theatre,  which  had  been  closed  for  seven  years,  and 
began  to  operate  it  as  a  first-run  house.  The  distributors  had 
first-run  pictures  for  the  Mastbaum,  but  still  refused  to  sell 
to  the  Erlanger. 


"Goldman  filed  suit  against  the  distributors  and  the 
Warner  Bros.  Circuit  charging  violation  of  the  Sherman 
Act  and  asking  for  injunctive  relief  and  damages.  The  de- 
fendants were  cocky — they  did  not  offer  any  defense — and 
the  case  was  submitted  on  the  plaintiff's  prima  /acie  evidence. 
District  Judge  Kirkpatrick  dismissed  Goldman's  complaint 
in  an  opinion  that  did  violence  to  every  principle  of  anti- 
trust law,  .as  revealed  by  an  analysis  made  by  the  General 
Counsel  of  Allied.'  Goldman  appealed.  The  Department  of 
Justice,  sensing  that  an  affirmance  of  Judge  Kirkpatrick's 
decision  might  have  an  adverse  effect  on  pending  cases 
against  the  Big  Eight  and  the  Schine  and  Griffith  Circuits, 
filed  a  brief  as  arnicas  curia  [Ed.  Note:  friend  of  the  court] 
and  Mr.  Wright  made  an  oral  argument. 

"The  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  in  reversing  Judge  Kirk- 
patrick, concluded  that  Goldman  should  have  both  injunc- 
tive relief  and  damages  and  remanded  the  case  for  the  ascer- 
tainment of  damages  and  entry  of  an  appropriate  judgment. 

"The  distributors  relied  on  their  time-worn  contention 
that  a  private  trader  is  'free  to  exercise  his  own  independent 
discretion  as  to  the  parties  with  whom  he  will  deal.'  The 
Court  agreed  that  Goldman,  as  a  mere  lessee  of  a  theatre,  has 
no  right  to  demand  defendants'  products.  But  said  the 
Court,  'plaintiff  does  have  the  right  to  have  its  business  pro- 
tected if  there  is  concert  of  action  directed  at  plaintiff,  which 
results  in  his  removal  from  competition."  Defendants,  of 
course,  renewed  their  hoary  argument  that  the  mere  fact  that 
they  all  sold  to  the  circuit  and  would  not  6ell  to  the  inde- 
pendent did  not  constitute  proof  of  combination  or  con- 
spiracy. Apparently  they  would  suspect  nothing  wrong  if 
they  saw  eight  horses  run  a  dead  heat.  The  Court,  however, 
concluded  that  the  defendants  acted  in  concert  in  excluding 
the  plaintiff  and  quoting  from  the  Supreme  Court  in  the 
Interstate  Circuit  Case,  the  Court  added,  'it  is  elementary 
that  an  unlawful  conspiracy  may  be  and  often  is  formed 
without  simultaneous  action  or  agreement  on  the  part  of  the 
conspirators."  The  concluding  paragraph  of  the  opinion 
follows: 

"  'The  sum  of  this  results  from  the  addition  of  definite 
facts.  Plaintiff  is  qualified  to  operate  a  first-run  motion  pic- 
ture theatre  in  Philadelphia.  Defendants  control  the  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  more  than  80%  of  the  feature  pic- 
tures in  this  country,  and  no  exhibitor  can  successfully  oper- 
ate without  access  to  defendants'  product.  Plaintiff  asked  for 
the  product.  He  was  refused.  If  its  Erlanger  Theatre  had 
been  owned  or  controlled  by  Warner  Bros,  a  part  of  de- 
fendants' product  would  have  been  exhibited  at  the  Erlanger. 
Uniform  participation  by  competitors  in  a  particular  system 
of  doing  business  where  each  is  aware  of  the  others'  activities, 
the  effect  of  which  is  the  restraint  of  interstate  commerce,  is 
sufficient  to  establish  an  unlawful  conspiracy  under  the 
statutes  before  us.  In  the  case  at  bar  it  is  necessary  to  con- 
clude that  plaintiff  has  sustained  its  charges,  as  each  of  the 
distributor  defendants  knew  that  its  refusal  to  lease  pictures 
to  plaintiff,  together  with  the  refusal  of  all,  would  result  in 
the  creation  of  an  illegal  monopoly  in  the  business  of  ex- 
hibiting first-run  pictures  in  Philadelphia  by  Warner  Bros.; 
that  Warner  Bros,  have  attempted  to  and  are  monopolizing 
such  business;  that  distributor-defendants  have  aided  Warner 
Bros,  to  monopolize;  and  that  the  monoply  is  only  made 
possible  by  the  cooperation  between  Warner  Bros,  and  the 
distributors.'  " 

Mr.  Myers  concludes  by  stating  that  the  "decision  is 
another  in  a  long  list  of  developments  indicating  that  the 
Government  will  prevail  in  its  action  against  the  Big  Eight 
and  that  monopoly  and  monopolistic  practices  will  be  driven 
out  of  the  motion  picture  industry." 

Independent  exhibitors  have  good  cause  to  rejoice  because 
of  this  decision,  for  it  points  up  the  trend  of  recent  Court 
decisions  toward  fulfilment  of  the  true  purpose  of  the  Sher- 
man Act — the  maintenance  of  free  competition  between  in- 
dividuals and  corporations,  and  the  granting  to  every  one  of 
equal  freedom  of  economic  opportunity. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  18,  1945  No.  33 


THE  END  OF  THE  WAR 

"The  end  of  the  war,"  states  the  New  York  Times 
in  its  August  15  issue,  "brings  the  country  face  to  face 
with  its  most  difficult  economic  problems  since  the  de- 
pression. Most  experts  agree  that  war  mobiliza- 
tion,  gigantic  task  though  it  was,  will  prove  to  have 
been  simple  compared  with  the  task  of  returning  to 
peace  conditions  without  serious  economic  effects.  .  .  . 

"There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Administration  is 
keenly  aware  of  the  economic  dangers  ahead  and  that 
key  officials  are  struggling  desperately  to  head  off  ex- 
cessive  unemployment,  deflation,  or  inflation.  How' 
ever,  since  all  of  the  Government's  programming  was 
laid  down  on  the  assumption  that  the  war  in  the  Pa- 
cific  would  last  until  late  this  year,  the  shock  of  re 
adjustment  is  admittedly  terrific. 

The  article  points  out  also  that  the  Government's 
leading  economists  agree  that  temporary  unemploy- 
ment of  up  to  eight  million  persons  may  be  expected 
within  the  next  six  months. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  sudden  collapse  of 
Japan  has  caught  the  nation  unprepared  and  that  we 
are  headed  for  a  period  of  economic  stress  that  will 
have  a  serious  effect  on  our  national  economic  life  for 
many  months  to  come  until  a  transition  to  a  peace- 
time economy  is  completed. 

It  is,  therefore,  of  the  utmost  importance  for  the 
individual  exhibitor  to  make  his  plans  now  for  the 
coming  months.  He  must  learn  to  practice  economies 
he  did  not  consider  during  the  lush  period  of  the  past 
few  years,  and  he  must  learn  to  depend  on  his  own 
initiative  and  resourcefulness  to  carry  him  safely  over 
the  problems  of  the  coming  months.  Above  all,  he 
must  now  exercise  greater  care  than  ever  as  to  the 
prices  he  should  pay  for  pictures. 

Think  ahead!  Think  carefully! 

AGAIN  ABOUT  CONCEALED 
ADVERTISEMENTS  IN  FILMS 

Among  the  statements  made  by  Mr.  Harold  Heffer- 
nan  in  his  revealing  article  on  concealed  advertising 
in  feature  pictures,  which  was  reproduced  in  last 
week's  issue,  was  that  Walter  S.  Kline,  an  advertising 
agent  with  headquarters  in  Hollywood,  who  makes 
his  livelihood  out  of  "planting"  such  advertisements 
for  numerous  clients,  has  stated  that  he  pays  nothing 
to  the  producers  for  plugging  his  clients'  products. 
"On  the  other  hand,"  Mr.  Kline  is  credited  with  say- 
ing, "I  save  them  money  by  dressing  their  sets  and 
loaning  them  the  use  of  standard  items  and  props  they 
otherwise  would  have  difficulty  in  obtaining  quickly." 

Harrison's  Reports  has  been  exposing  concealed 
advertising  in  pictures  for  many  years,  and  it  has  often 
stated  that  such  advertising  was  apparently  paid  for, 
perhaps  not  to  the  studio  directly,  but  in  all  probabil- 


ity to  some  underling  who  accepted  compensation  in 
some  form  without  the  knowledge  of  his  superiors. 

A  few  times,  this  paper's  statements  have  been 
challenged  by  indignant  heads  of  the  different  studios. 
They  maintained  that  their  companies  had  not  re- 
ceived compensation  for  the  showing  or  mentioning 
of  a  nationally  known  commodity,  and  that,  if  such 
a  commodity  were  shown  or  mentioned,  it  was  for  the 
purpose  of  creating  atmosphere  or  authentic  back- 
grounds. 

Assuming  that  no  actual  money  was  paid  for  these 
concealed  ads,  what  else  can  it  be  but  payment  "in 
kind"  when  nationally  known  articles  of  commercial 
concerns  are  plugged  in  feature  pictures  in  exchange 
for  the  loan  of  props  from  either  Mr.  Kline  or  other 
advertising  agents?  And  the  fact  must  not  be  over- 
looked that  this  is  done  without  the  authority  of  the 
exhibitors  who  own  the  screens  on  which  the  pictures 
are  projected. 

The  fact  that  a  studio  does  not  receive  any  money 
for  the  mentioning  or  showing  of  nationally  known 
products  in  their  pictures,  however,  is  not  the  point 
at  issue.  What  counts  is  the  act  itself,  for  the  harm 
that  is  done  to  the  theatre  business  is  as  great  as  it 
would  be  if  the  studio  had  been  paid,  since  the  public 
has  no  way  of  distinguishing  the  one  from  the  other. 

In  his  article  Mr.  Heffernan  has  stated  also  that  Mr. 
Kline  thinks  that  plugging  a  commercial  product  in  a 
motion  picture  designed  for  entertainment  "is  great 
because  it  swoops  down  on  the  prospective  buyer 
when  he's  relaxed  and  unsuspecting." 

Harrison's  Reports  agrees  that  Mr.  Kline's  clients 
could  not  ask  for  a  more  perfect  setting  than  a  theatre 
filled  with  unsuspecting  patrons  to  put  over  a  subtle 
advertising  plug.  But  that  doesn't  mean  that  they  like 
it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  large  percentage  of  the  na- 
tion's movie-goers  resent  such  plugs,  for  they  rightfully 
feel  that  they  are  being  imposed  upon  and  even  duped 
after  paying  an  admission  price  to  see  and  hear  pure 
entertainment  only. 

The  exhibitor,  of  course,  is  the  one  who  suffers  the 
consequences  of  the  hostility  of  movie-goers  towards 
concealed  ads,  for  they  show  their  resentment  by  stay- 
ing away  from  his  theatre. 

My  motive  for  once  again  calling  attention  to  this 
unethical  practice  is  to  warn  the  producers  that  it 
must  be  checked  now  before  it  reaches  proportions 
serious  enough  to  cause  the  public  to  look  upon  mo- 
tion pictures  with  contempt. 

I  am  pleased  to  note,  and  to  call  your  attention  to 
it,  that  at  least  one  company  intends  to  take  every 
possible  precaution  in  an  endeavor  to  keep  out  of  its 
pictures  anything  that  might  be  misconstrued  as  con- 
cealed advertising.  That  company  is  Metro-Goldwyn- 
(Contmued  on  last  page) 


130 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  18,  1945 


"Follow  That  Woman"  with  William  Gargan 
and  Nancy  Kelly 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  70  min.) 

This  latest  of  the  Pine-Thomas  program  pictures  is 
a  passable  murder-melodrama  with  comedy.  The  story 
is  patterned  after  the  formula  of  the  "Thin  Man" 
pictures — that  is,  it  depicts  the  efforts  of  a  wife  to  help 
her  husband,  a  private  detective,  solve  a  mystery.  This 
theme,  however,  has  been  used  so  often  that  it  fails  to 
be  particularly  amusing,  and,  since  the  plot  develop- 
ments lack  freshness,  one's  interest  in  the  proceedings 
often  lags.  As  is  usual  in  pictures  of  this  type,  the 
comedy  is  provoked  by  the  complications  the  wife  gets 
herself  into.  The  picture  may  find  favor  with  audi- 
ences who  are  not  too  discriminating : — 

While  at  a  night-club  celebrating  his  wedding  anni- 
versary with  Nancy  Kelly,  his  wife,  William  Gargan, 
a  private  detective,  receives  an  urgent  note  from 
Audrey  Young,  the  club's  singer,  to  come  to  her  dress- 
ing room.  By  the  time  he  and  Nancy  reach  the  dressing 
room,  Audrey  is  murdered  mysteriously.  Gargan, 
scheduled  for  induction  into  the  army  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  does  not  want  to  bother  with  the  case,  and 
he  requests  Don  Costello,  the  club  owner,  to  forget 
that  he  had  any  knowledge  of  the  crime.  Immediately 
following  Gargan's  departure  for  camp,  Pierre  Wat- 
kin,  a  wealthy,  elderly  socialite,  telephones  his  assist- 
ant (Ed  Gargan)  and  asks  that  he  investigate  the  dis- 
appearance of  Audrey,  but  suggests  that  he  keep  it 
confidential.  Nancy,  present  in  the  office,  compels  the 
assistant  to  accept  the  assignment.  She  decides  to  in- 
vestigate the  crime  herself,  and  finds,  to  her  surprise, 
that  the  murder  had  not  been  reported,  and  that  the 
body  had  disappeared.  While  following  different 
clues,  Nancy  is  threatened  by  an  unknown  assailant. 
The  assistant,  fearing  for  her  safety,  notifies  Gargan, 
who  succeeds  in  obtaining  an  emergency  furlough  to 
solve  the  case  and  to  protect  his  wife.  Despite  Gar- 
gan's admonitions,  Nancy  insists  upon  carrying  on 
her  private  investigation,  and  she  obtains  most  of  her 
clues  from  Gargan,  who  talked  in  his  sleep.  Gargan, 
though  hindered  by  Nancy's  well-meaning  efforts, 
eventually  tracks  down  the  suspects,  all  of  whom  were 
present  at  the  club  at  the  time  of  the  murder,  and  who 
at  one  time  or  another  were  involved  romantically 
with  the  dead  singer.  After  several  narrow  escapes, 
Gargan  eventually  finds  the  body  and  traps  the  killer. 

Winston  Miller  and  Maxwell  Shane  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Mr.  Shane  produced  it,  and  Lew  Landers 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Regis  Toomey,  Byron 
Barr  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"I  Love  a  Bandleader"  with  Phil  Harris, 
"Rochester,"  and  Leslie  Brooks 

(Columbia,  Sept.  13;  time,  71  min.) 
A  fair  program  comedy  with  music.  The  story  is 
trite  and  thin;  but  it  has  several  situations  that  pro- 
voke laughter,  and  the  music,  which  is  of  the  popular 
variety,  is  tuneful.  To  most  spectators,  the  satisfying 
parts  of  the  picture  will  be  those  in  which  Phil  Harris 
sings  with  his  band;  he  is  talented  and  has  an  ingratiat- 
ing smile.  Harris,  who  appears  on  the  Jack  Benny 
radio  program,  is  a  popular  entertainer,  as  is  "Roch- 
ester," who,  too,  is  featured  on  the  Benny  show.  Their 
combined  popularity  should  be  of  help  at  the  box- 
office  : — 

Harris,  a  shy,  scenic  painter  in  a  New  York  night- 


club, tries  on  a  full  dress  suit  in  one  of  the  dressing 
rooms.  Proud  of  the  way  the  clothes  fitted  him,  he 
walks  about  the  empty  club  and  encounters  Leslie 
Brooks,  a  Buffalo  girl,  who  had  just  been  refused  a 
singing  job  by  the  club's  manager.  Leslie,  impressed 
by  Harris'  clothes,  believes  him  to  be  an  important 
figure  and  asks  him  to  listen  to  her  voice.  She  becomes 
self-conscious,  however,  and  hurries  away.  Harris, 
following  her,  trips  and  hurts  his  head.  He  becomes  an 
amnesia  victim.  To  help  Harris  re-establish  his  iden- 
tity, a  doctor  brings  him  back  to  the  night-club,  but 
no  one  recognizes  him.  Harris  starts  waving  his  arms 
when  the  orchestra  begins  to  play,  and  the  night-club 
manager  conceives  the  idea  that  he  may  have  been  a 
bandleader  prior  to  his  accident.  As  a  publicity  stunt, 
he  employs  Harris  to  lead  the  band.  Leslie  is  coerced 
by  her  agent  (Walter  Catlett)  to  "establish"  Harris' 
identity  by  posing  as  his  fiancee  from  Buffalo  so  that 
she  could  obtain  a  job  as  the  band's  vocalist.  Harris 
becomes  an  overnight  sensation.  Satisfied  with  his 
success,  Harris  becomes  disillusioned  when  he  over- 
hears Leslie  inform  a  friend  that  she  was  posing  as 
his  fiancee  as  part  of  a  publicity  stunt.  Embittered,  he 
runs  away.  Leslie,  sincerely  in  love  with  him,  refuses 
to  sing  unless  he  leads  the  band.  Eddie  "Rochester" 
Anderson,  Harris'  manservant,  decides  to  take  matters 
in  hand.  He  locates  Harris  at  the  railroad  station  and, 
by  accusing  him  of  stealing  the  dress  suit,  arranges  for 
two  policemen  to  escort  him  back  to  the  club.  There, 
"Rochester"  knocks  him  unconscious  when  he  insists 
upon  leaving.  The  blow  restores  Harris'  memory,  and 
the  club's  manager,  seeing  greater  publicity  in  this 
new  development,  induces  Harris  to  remain  as  his  star. 
It  ends  with  Harris  and  Leslie  in  each  other's  arms. 

Paul  Yawitz  wrote  the  screen  play,  Michel  Kraike 
produced  it,  and  Del  Lord  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes The  Four  Vs,  the  Jordan  Sisters,  Pierre  Watkin 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Tell  It  to  a  Star"  with  Ruth  Terry 
and  Robert  Livingston 

(Republic,  Aug.  16;  time,  67  min.) 

A  fairly  pleasant  program  comedy  with  music. 
There  is  not  much  to  the  story;  but,  since  it  moves 
along  at  a  steady  pace,  and  is  acted  engagingly  by  the 
leading  players,  it  serves  well  enough  as  an  hour's  light 
entertainment.  On  occasion,  it  is  quite  amusing, 
mainly  because  of  the  characterization  of  Alan  Mow- 
bray, a  suave  but  dishonest  gentleman,  who  lives  by 
his  wits.  Theatres  that  cater  to  audiences  that  are  not 
too  exacting  in  their  demands  so  long  as  a  picture  has 
comedy  and  tuneful  music  should  do  fairly  well  with 
this  supporting  feature : — 

Ruth  Terry,  a  cigar  counter  girl  in  a  swanky  Flor- 
ida hotel,  whose  ambition  it  was  to  sing  with  Robert 
Livingston's  band,  which  broadcast  from  the  hotel,  is 
visited  by  Mowbray,  her  uncle,  whom  she  believed  to 
be  an  influential  business  tycoon.  Learning  of  Ruth's 
aspirations,  Mowbray  decides  to  help  her.  He  moves 
into  the  hotel  and  makes  a  profound  impression  on 
Isabel  Randolph,  the  owner,  much  to  the  displeasure 
of  Franklin  "Pangborn,  her  hotel  manager.  He  then 
persuades  Ruth  to  quit  her  job,  and  outfits  her  with 
beautiful  clothes,  charging  them  to  his  hotel  bill.  Ruth 
soon  finds  herself  singing  with  Livingston's  band  when 
Mowbray  uses  his  charm  on  Miss  Randolph.  Her  sing- 
ing proves  sensational,  and  she  and  Livingston 


August  18, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


131 


fail  in  love,  arousing  the  jealousy  of  Adrian  Booth,  the 
bands  regular  singer.  When  Ruth  inadvertently 
learns  of  his  true  financial  status,  Mowbray  persuades 
her  to  keep  his  secret  for  a  few  days  so  that  he  could 
raise  funds  to  pay  his  hotel  bill.  Mowbray  next  em- 
barks on  a  scheme  to  insure  Ruth's  career  as  a  singer, 
and  to  get  himself  out  of  his  financial  difficulties.  Pos- 
ing  as  the  head  of  a  large  mattress  company,  he  signs 
a  contract  with  Livingston  for  a  weekly  radio  show, 
and  then  attempts  to  sell  Miss  Randolph  a  truck  load 
of  stolen  mattresses.  Adrian  and  Pangborn  learn  of  the 
scheme  and  expose  him.  Livingston  s  band,  realizing 
that  their  leader  had  been  duped,  deserts  him  upon 
Adrian's  urging.  It  all  turns  out  for  the  best,  however, 
when  Ruth  organizes  an  all-girl  band  to  appear  with 
Livingston  in  time  for  his  broadcast,  and  when  Mow- 
bray, using  his  charm  and  his  wits,  discredits  Pang- 
born  in  the  eyes  of  Miss  Randolph  and  induces  her  to 
appoint  him  as  the  new  manager. 

John  K.  Butler  wrote  the  screen  play,  Walter  H. 
Goetz  produced  it,  and  Frank  McDonald  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Frank  Orth,  Tom  Dugan,  Aurora 
Miranda  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Lost  Weekend"  with  Ray  Milland 
and  Jane  Wyman 

(Paramount,  J^lov.  23;  time,  99  mm.) 

From  an  artistic  point  of  view,  this  drama  is  im- 
pressive, for  the  direction  and  the  acting  are  of  the 
highest  order.  But  it  is  hardly  the  type  of  entertain- 
ment that  motion  picture-goers  want  to  see  today,  for 
it  is  grim  and  depressing.  Its  chief  appeal  will  prob- 
ably be  to  class  audiences  and  to  those  who  seek  the 
unusual  in  motion  pictures.  It  is  definitely  not  a  pic- 
ture for  children,  and  its  reception  by  women  is 
doubtful;  they  may  find  the  action  too  morbid  for 
their  tastes.  The  story,  which  is  based  on  the  widely 
read  novel  by  Charles  S.  Jackson,  revolves  around  a 
chronic  drunkard,  and  it  depicts  his  physical  and  men- 
tal sufferings  as  a  resut  of  his  inability  to  curb  his 
frenzied  desire  for  drink.  Were  it  not  for  the  effective 
way  in  which  Ray  Milland  portrays  the  alcoholic,  he 
would  be  an  extremely  unsympathetic  character,  for 
his  actions  are  unpleasant  almost  to  the  end;  one  can- 
not, however,  help  feeling  pity  for  him.  One  particu- 
lar sequence,  where  Milland,  in  a  state  of  delirium, 
sees  a  flying  bat  corner  and  kill  a  mouse,  is  so  starkly 
realistic  that  persons  with  sensitive  stomachs  will  be 
sickened.  Human  suffering,  whether  physical  or  men- 
tal, is  not  a  cheerful  theme,  and  this  picture  is  cer- 
tainly not  a  pretty  one : 

Having  just  recovered  from  a  severe  case  of  alco- 
holism, Milland,  an  aspiring  writer,  contrives  to  avoid 
spending  a  weekend  in  the  country  with  his  younger 
brother,  Phil  Terry,  whose  apartment  he  shared,  so 
that  he  could  resume  his  drinking.  Left  without  any 
money  for  drinks,  Milland,  frenzied  with  thirst,  steals 
ten  dollars  his  brother  had  hidden  for  a  cleaning 
woman,  and  purchases  two  quarts  of  rye  whiskey.  He 
drinks  himself  into  unconsciousnesss.  On  the  follow- 
ing day,  he  resolves  to  give  up  drink  and  get  to  work 
on  his  novel,  but  his  lust  for  alcohol  proves  so  strong 
that  he  gives  up  trying  to  write  and  resorts  to  purse 
snatching  to  raise  money  for  liquor.  Weak  from 
hunger  and  excessive  drinking,  he  collapses  in  the 
street  and  is  taken  to  the  alcoholic  ward  of  a  local 
hospital.  There,  a  male  nurse  chides  him  for  being  an 
incurable  drunkard.  Unable  to  stand  the  ravings  of 


the  other  alcoholics,  Milland  escapes  from  the  ward 
and  forces  a  liquor  store  proprietor  to  give  him  a 
bottle  of  rye  without  payment.  He  returns  home  and 
finds  Jane  Wyman,  his  sweetheart,  waiting  for  him. 
She  puts  him  to  bed.  On  the  following  morning, 
Milland,  ashamed,  determines  to  commit  suicide  in 
the  belief  that  he  would  be  better  off  dead  than  a  slave 
to  drink.  But  Jane,  who  had  long  made  sacrificial 
efforts  to  cure  him,  learns  of  his  intentions.  She  foils 
his  suicide  attempt  and  convinces  him  that  he  pos- 
sessed the  will  power  to  rehabilitate  himself. 

Charles  Brackett  and  Billy  Wilder  wrote  the  screen 
play.  Mr.  Brackett  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Wilder  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Howard  da  Silva,  Doris 
Dowling,  Frank  Faylen  and  others. 

"Duffy's  Tavern"  with  Ed  Gardner, 
Victor  Moore  and  Marjorie  Reynolds 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  97  min.) 

This  is  a  good  mass  entertainment.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  it  will  do  big  business,  for,  in  addition  to 
the  popularity  of  the  numerous  guest  stars  who  take 
part  in  the  action,  the  title  itself  is  a  big  drawing  card, 
for  the  radio  program  from  which  it  is  taken  is  one 
of  the  most  popular  in  the  country.  What  puts  the 
picture  over  are  the  gags,  some  of  which  are  extremely 
comical,  and  the  specialty  numbers  by  the  stars,  for 
the  story  itself  is  pretty  thin.  Ed  Gardner,  as  "Archie," 
the  manager  of  "Duffy's  Tavern,"  is  pretty  good;  he 
brightens  things  up  considerably  each  time  that  he 
appears,  provoking  hearty  laughter  by  his  misuse  of 
words.  Victor  Moore,  too,  contributes  much  to  the 
comedy.  Of  the  thirty-four  stars  that  appear  either  in 
skits  or  in  musical  numbers,  the  best  known  among 
them  include  Bing  Crosby,  Betty  Hutton,  Paulette 
Goddard,  Dorothy  Lamour,  Eddie  Bracken,  Cass 
Daley,  Alan  Ladd,  Sonny  Tufts,  Brian  Donlevy, 
William  Demarest,  Diana  Lynn,  Robert  Benchley 
and,  for  good  measure  Crosby's  four  young  sons.  All 
are  very  good,  but  outstanding  are  Crosby,  Cass 
Daley  and  Betty  Hutton,  who  sing  and  jest  in  their 
inimitable  styles.  Top  laughing  honors,  however,  go 
to  Eddie  Bracken  for  his  hilarious  portrayal  of  a  movie 
double  who  does  the  dirty  work  for  the  star. 

The  story  concerns  itself  with  the  difficulties  Gard- 
ner gets  himself  into  when  he  feeds  on  credit  fourteen 
ex-servicemen,  who  were  awaiting  the  re-opening  of 
a  phonograph  record  company,  owned  by  Victor 
Moore,  who  claimed  that  he  could  not  open  because 
of  shellach  shortage.  Actually,  Moore  was  in  financial 
straits,  and  his  credit  was  worthless.  Gardner's  trou- 
bles begin  when  his  employer  finds  a  discrepancy  in 
the  books,  a  means  Gardner  had  used  to  cover  up  the 
credit  he  was  extending  to  the  veterans.  With  the 
district  attorney  on  his  trail,  Gardner  undertakes  to 
enlist  a  group  of  Hollywood  stars  to  a  stage  benefit 
to  raise  funds  for  the  re-opening  of  the  factory  so  that 
the  veterans  could  return  to  work.  Everything  works 
out  satisfactorily  in  the  end,  but  not  before  Gardner 
gets  himself  in  and  out  of  numerous  situations  involv- 
ing the  stars  and  the  police. 

Worked  into  this  thin  plot  is  a  pleasant  romance 
between  Marjorie  Reynolds,  as  Moore's  daughter, 
and  Barry  Sullivan,  as  the  leader  of  the  unemployed 
men.  Melvin  Frank  and  Norman  Panama  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Danny  Dare  produced  it,  and  Hal  Walker 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Arturo  dc  Cordova,  Billy 
de  Wolfe,  Johnny  Coy  and  others. 


132 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  18,  1945 


Mayer.  In  a  letter  sent  to  me  last  week,  Mr.  William 
F.  Rodgers,  vice-president  and  general  sales  manager 
of  MGM,  had  the  following  to  say: 
"My  dear  Pete: 

"You  will  recall  sometime  ago  you  had  written  me 
concerning  what  you  choose  to  call  advertising  in  some 
of  the  pictures,  and  I  know  you  full  well  realize  that 
to  the  best  of  our  knowledge  no  one  in  our  organiza- 
tion has  benefitted  by  any  such  material  used  in  our 
pictures. 

"There  were  one  or  two  flagrant  examples  which 
were  called  to  our  attention  and,  as  I  mentioned  to 
you  in  my  last  letter,  it  was  our  opinion  that  there 
was  no  justification  for  the  Philip  Morris  sign  appear- 
ing in  THE  CLOCK;  on  the  other  hand,  our  technical 
people  seemed  to  think  that  authenticity  was  neces- 
sary, and  while  I  might  feel  that  sometimes  they  have 
gone  too  far  in  that,  nevertheless,  I  believe,  and  I  am 
sure  you  do,  too,  that  they  were  guided  by  the  best 
of  motives.  However,  of  one  thing  sure,  every  possible 
safeguard  will  be  made  for  the  future. 

"I  have  discussed  the  matter  with  Messrs.  Rubin 
and  Schenck  and  Mr.  Schenck  has  discussed  it  with 
Mr.  Mayer,  so  you  can  depend  upon  it,  as  I  men- 
tioned, that  a  complete  investigation  has  been  made 
and  every  possible  precaution  taken  for  the  future. 

"With  kindest  regards." 

Now  that  we  have  MGM  on  record  as  willing  to 
take  every  possible  precaution  against  commercial 
advertising  in  pictures  sold  as  entertainments,  let  us 
ask  every  other  company  to  make  its  stand  on  this 
issue  clear.  The  exhibitors  are  entitled  to  know 
whether  or  not  each  company  intends  to  keep  its  pic- 
tures free  from  subtle  advertising,  and  Harrison's 
Reports  will  be  more  than  pleased  to  publish  what- 
ever statement  they  wish  to  make  on  the  matter. 

In  the  meantime,  I  would  suggest  that  you  watch 
the  reviews  in  this  paper  closely  to  learn  which  pic- 
ures  contain  concealed  advertising  so  that  you  may 
guide  yourself  accordingly. 

*       *  * 

While  on  the  subject  of  concealed  advertising,  I 
should  like  to  call  your  attention  to  the  following  let- 
ter sent  to  me  this  week  by  a  prominent  New  York 
State  exhibitor : 
"Dear  Mr.  Harrison: 

"I  know  that,  in  the  past,  you  have  been  exposing 
advertising  in  pictures  released  by  film  companies,  so 
I  do  wish  you  would  look  at  the  two-reel,  Technicolor 
short  put  out  by  Warners  called  CONEY  ISLAND 
HONEYMOON. 

"This  should  be  a  free  reel,  as  practically  all  it 
does,  is  advertise  Pepsi-Cola." 

I  have  not  had  a  chance  to  see  the  aforementioned 
two-reel  subject,  but  since  the  exhibitor  who  sent  me 
this  information  is  known  to  me  personally  I  can  as- 
sure you  that  what  he  has  to  say  can  be  accepted  as 
accurate. 


A  SUGGESTION  CONCERNING 
TRAVELING  CARNIVALS 

Referring  to  our  editorial,  "Traveling  Carnivals," 
which  appeared  in  the  July  21  issue,  Mr.  Ernest  W. 
Cragin,  of  Cragin  and  Pike,  operators  of  the  El  Portal 
Theatre  in  Reno,  Nevada,  has  written  the  following 
letter  to  this  office : 

"The  City  of  Las  Vegas  passed  an  Ordinance  some 
years  ago  imposing  a  fee  of  $100.00  per  day  on  Car- 
nivals. This  was  very  effective  and  worked  fine  until 


a  few  years  ago  the  Veteran  organizations  of  the  State 
had  the  law  changed  making  it  possible  for  Carnivals 
to  show  in  the  State  without  a  license  providing  the 
Carnival  was  sponsored  by  one  of  the  Veteran  organi- 
zations. There  is  no  question  but  what  this  law  would 
be  declared  unconstitutional  if  any  group  would  take 
it  to  Court,  but  everyone  seems"  to  be  afraid  to  step  on 
their  toes  and  no  doubt  many  of  the  exhibitors  in  the 
State  are  Veterans  including  the  writer. 

"I  think  the  most  effective  way  to  handle  the  Car- 
nival situation  is  through  sanitation — if  the  City  will 
set  up  an  ordinance  requiring  so  many  toilets  to  so 
many  seats  or  if  they  will  have  the  Health  Department 
of  a  City  make  these  regulations — those  bringing 
Carnivals  into  a  city  will  find  it  hard  to  combat  rules 
and  regulations  for  health  and  safety." 

Mr.  Cragin's  suggestion  that  sanitation  laws  be  in- 
voked to  combat  the  Carnival  situation  is  indeed  a 
sound  one,  for  no  organization,  no  matter  how  power- 
ful politically,  would  conscientiously  seek  to  nullify 
rules  and  regulations  involving  the  public's  health  and 
safety.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  invocation  of  sanita- 
tion regulations,  as  well  as  of  fire  prevention  regula- 
tions, provided  both  are  made  sufficiently  strong,  may 
well  prove  to  be  more  of  a  deterrent  to  traveling  car- 
nivals than  an  ordinance  requiring  them  to  pay  a 
substantial  license  fee  for  the  privilege  of  operating 
within  the  City's  limits.  An  ordinance  combining  all 
these  requirements  would,  of  course,  be  ideal. 

Traveling  carnivals  that  stop  annually  in  different 
towns  have  long  been  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  established 
merchants  and  business  men,  for  not  only  do  they 
contribute  nothing  to  the  betterment  of  the  town,  but 
they  take  out  thousands  of  dollars  that  would  other- 
wise be  spent  among  established  businesses,  the  own- 
ers of  which  help  in  a  large  measure  to  support  the 
town  through  payment  of  license  fees  and  local  taxes. 
In  most  cases,  these  carnivals,  through  low-class  side 
shows  and  devious  gambling  devices,  are  often  re' 
sponsible  for  the  breeding  of  criminal  violations. 

Of  a  town's  established  business  men,  the  motion 
picture  exhibitor,  more  than  any  other,  suffers  from 
these  visiting  carnivals,  for  theatre  attendance  is  cut 
to  a  considerable  degree  every  time  one  of  them  stops 
in  town. 

Those  of  you  who  have  to  buck  this  undesirable 
competition  should  feel  no  qualms  about  trying  to 
induce  your  local  lawmakers  to  adopt  an  ordinance 
that  would  require  carnivals  to  abide  by  strict  sanita- 
tion regulations  and  fire  prevention  rules,  as  well  as 
to  pay  to  the  town  a  substantial  license  fee  to  cover, 
among  other  expenses  incurred,  the  cost  of  police  pro- 
tection. 

You  should  point  out  to  the  town's  officials  that  the 
law  demands  of  you  compliance  with  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  this  type,  and  that  unless  similar  demands 
were  to  be  made  of  traveling  carnivals,  they  (the  offi- 
cials) would  be  guilty  of  permitting  unfair  competi- 
tion to  be  practiced  against  you,  an  established  theatre- 
man,  who  contributes  steadily  to  the  city's  welfare, 
not  only  in  a  recreational  sense,  but  also  through  the 
payment  of  wages  to  local  help  and  through  the  pay- 
ment of  taxes  into  the  town's  treasury. 

No  fair-minded  body  of  lawmakers,  if  presented 
with  these  facts,  would  fail  to  recognize  the  justice  of 
an  exhibitor's  request  for  an  ordinance  to  regulate 
carnivals.  And,  in  all  probability,  few  carnivals  would 
find  it  profitable  to  operate  in  a  town  that  had  an  ef- 
fective ordinance  combining  the  aforementioned  re' 
quirements. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVII  NEW  YORK,  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  18,  1945  No.  33 

(Partial  Index  No.  4 — Pages  106  to  128  Incl.) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Adventures  of  Rusty,  The — -Columbia  (67  min.)  119 

Anchors  Aweigh— MGM  (139  min.)  115 

And  Then  There  Were  None — 20th  Century-Fox 

(97  min.)   110 

Arson  Squad— PRC  (64  min.)   106 

Beautiful  Cheat,  The— Universal  (59  min.)  110 

Both  Barrels  Blazing — Columbia  (57  min.)  . .  .not  reviewed 

Captain  Kidd — United  Artists  (88  min.)  124 

Carribean  Mystery,  The — 20th  Century-Fox  (65  min.) .  114 

Cheaters,  The— Republic  (87  mm.)   107 

Christmas  in  Connecticut— Warner  Bros.  (101  min.)  .  .  115 

Dangerous  Intruder — PRC  (62  min.)  122 

Dangerous  Partners — MGM  (78  min.)  123 

Easy  to  Look  At — Universal  (64  min.)  123 

Falcon  in  San  Francisco,  The — RKO  (66  min.)  114 

Frontier  Fugitives — PRC  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Gangs  of  the  Waterfront — Republic  (56  min.)  106 

George  White's  Scandals— RKO  (95  min.)  124 

Guest  Wife— United  Artists  (88  min.)  118 

Her  Highness  and  the  Bellboy— MGM  (108  min.)  ...  Ill 

Hidden  Eye,  The— MGM  (69  min.)  118 

Jealousy — Republic  (71  min.)  118 

Johnny  Angel— RKO  (79  min.)  123 

Kiss  and  Tell— Columbia  (90  min.)  127 

Lady  on  a  Train — Universal  (93  min.)  126 

Mama  Loves  Papa — RKO  (60  min.)  124 

On  Stage  Everybody — Universal  (75  min.)  Ill 

Our  Vines  Have  Tender  Grapes — MGM  (105  min.) . .  114 

Over  21— Columbia  (103  min.)  122 

Pride  of  the  Marines — Warner  Bros.  (119  min.)  126 

Radio  Stars  on  Parade — RKO  (69  min.)  122 

Rhythm  Roundup — Columbia  (66  min.)  not  reviewed 

Road  to  Alcatraz — Republic  (60  min.)  110 

Rustlers  of  the  Badlands — Columbia  (58  min.). not  reviewed 

Shanghai  Cobra,  The — Monogram  (63  min.)  127 

Stagecoach  Outlaws — PRC  (58  min.)   not  reviewed 

You  Came  Along — Paramount  (103  min.)  107 

Week-End  at  the  Waldorf— MGM  (128  min.)  119 

White  Pongo— PRC  (72  min.)   106 

RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 
Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

6037  Escape  in  the  Fog — Foch-Wright  Apr.  5 

6026  Eve  Knew  Her  Apples — Miller-Wright  Apr.  12 

6222  Rockin'  in  the  Rockies — Stooges-Hughes 

(67  m.)  Apr.  17 

6023  Power  of  the  Whistler — Dix-Carter  Apr.  19 

6206  Return  of  the  Rurango  Kid — Starrett  (58  m.)  Apr.  19 

6006  Counter-Attack — Muni-Chapman  Apr.  26 

6031  Boston  Blackie  Booked  on  Suspicion — Morris. May  10 

6207  Both  Barrels  Blazing — Charles  Starrett 

(57  m.)  May  17 

6010  The  Fighting  Guardsman — Parker-Louise. .  .  .May  24 

6029  Ten  Cents  a  Dance — Frazee-Lloyd  June  7 

6223  Rhythm  Round-Up — West,  musical  (66m.). June  7 
6036  Blonde  from  Brooklyn — Stanton-Merrick. .  .June  21 

6030  Boston  Blackie's  Rendezvous — Morris  July  5 

6004  A  Thousand  and  One  Nights — 

Wilde-Keyes  (reset)   July  26 

6042  You  Can't  Do  Without  Love — 

Lynn-Stewart  (reset)   July  26 

6020  The  Gay  Senorita — Falkenburg-Bannon  .  .  .  .Aug.  9 

6208  Rustlers  of  the  Badlands — Starrett  (58m.).. Aug.  16 
6001  Over  21— Dunne-Knox  Aug.  23 


Adventures  of  Rusty — Donaldson-Nagel  . . .  Sept.  6 
I  Love  a  Bandleader — Harris-"Rochester"  .  .Sept.  13 

Song  of  the  Prairie — Western  musical  Sept.  27 

Specials 

A  Song  to  Remember — Muni-Oberon  Mar.  1 

Kiss  and  Tell — Temple-Abel  Sept. 

Metro-Gold wyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 
Block  1 1 

522  Without  Love — Hepburn-Tracy  May 

523  Gentle  Annie — Craig-Reed  May 

524  The  Clock— Garland- Walker  May 

525  The  Picture  of  Dorian  Gray — 

Sanders-Hatfield   June 

526  Son  of  Lassie — Lawford-Crisp  June 

Block  12 

528  Thrill  of  a  Romance- — Johnson- Williams  July 

529  Twice  Blessed — Lee  and  Lynn  Wilde  July 

530  Bewitched — Thaxter-Gwenn   July 

Specials 

500  Dragon  Seed — Hepburn-Huston  Aug.  '44 

511  Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo — Tracy- Johnson .  .  January 

512  Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis — Garland-O'Brien  January 

521  National  Velvet — Rooney-Taylor  April 

527  Valley  of  Decision — Garson-Peck   June 

531  Anchors  Aweigh — Kelly-Sinatra-Grayson  ...Aug. '45 

Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  Vor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

406  G.  I.  Honeymoon — Storm-Cookson  Apr.  6 

418  The  Scarlet  Clue — Sidney  Toler  May  5 

430  In  Old  New  Mexico— Renaldo  (62  min.) .  .  .  .May  15 

462  Springtime  in  Texas — Wakely  (57  min.)  ...  .June  2 

424  Trouble  Chasers — Howard-Gilbert  June  2 

451  Flame  of  the  West — Brown-Woodbury  (70m.)  June  9 

411  Muggs  Rides  Again — East  Side  Kids  June  16 

405  China's  Little  Devils— Carey-Kelly  (re.)  July  14 

456  Stranger  from  Santa  Fe — J.  M.  Brown 

(53  min.)  (re.)   Aug.  4 

463  Saddle  Serenade — Wakely  (reset)   Aug.  11 

404  Divorce — Francis-Cabot   Aug.  18 

412  Come  Out  Fighting — East  Side  Kids  not  set 

415  The  Shanghai  Cobra — Toler  not  set 

Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway,  Hew  Yor\  18,  H  Y.) 
Block  5 

4421  Affairs  of  Susan — Fontaine-Brent  May  25 

4422  Murder,  He  Says — MacMurray-Walker  ....June  8 

4423  Scared  Stiff— Haley-Savage  June  22 

4424  A  Medal  for  Benny — Lamour-DeCordova. .  .June  29 

Block  6 

4426  Out  of  this  World — Bracken-Lynn  July  13 

4427  Midnight  Manhunt — Gargan-Savage 

(formerly  "One  Exciting  Night")  July  27 

4428  You  Came  Along — Scott-Cummings  Sept.  14 

Special 

4431  Incendiary  Blonde — Hutton-De  Cordova. .  .Aug.  31 

Reissues 

4432  Sign  of  the  Cross — Colbert-March.  .No  nat'l  rel.  date 

4433  Northwest  Mounted  Police — Cooper-Carroll .  Aug.  26 

4434  This  Gun  for  Hire— Ladd-Lake  Aug.  26 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
Block  1 

Duffy's  Tavern — Ed  Gardner  not  set 

Follow  That  Woman — Gargan-Kclly  not  set 

The  Lost  Weekend — Milland-Wyman  not  set 

Love  Letters — Joncs-Cottcn  not  set 


August  18,  1945  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  22,  H-  Y.) 
502  Crime,  Inc. — Tilton-Neal  Apr.  15 

558  Shadows  of  Death — Buster  Crahbc  (56  m.)..Apr.  19 

515  Hollywood  &  Vine— Ellison-McKay  Apr.  25 

521  Phantom  of  42nd  St. — O'Bnen-Aldridge  May  2 

561  Enemy  of  the  Law — Texas  Rangers  (56  m.).  .May  7 

522  The  Lady  Confesses — Hughes-Beaumont  ....May  16 
524  The  Missing  Corpse — Brombcrg-Jenks  June  1 

559  Gangsters'  Den — Buster  Crabbe  (55  m.)  June  14 

The  Silver  Fleet — English  cast  (reset)   July  1 

562  Three  in  the  Saddle — Texas  Rangers 

(60  min.)  (re.)  July  26 

Stagecoach  Outlaws — Buster  Crabbe  (58m.).  .Aug.  17 
Frontier  Fugitives — Texas  Rangers  (  55m.)  ...  Sept.  1 

Arson  Squad — Albcrtson-Armstrong  Sept.  1 1 

Dangerous  Intruder — Arnt-Borg   Sept.  21 

Apology  for  Murder — Savage-Beaumont  .  .  .  .Sept.  27 

Border  Badman — Buster  Crabbe  Oct.  10 

Shadow  of  Terror — Fraser-Gillern  Oct.  14 

Flaming  Bullets — Texas  Rangers  Oct.  15 

Fighting  Bill  Carson — Buster  Crabbe  Oct.  31 

Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway.  Hew  Vot\  19,  H-  Y.) 

414  Identity  Unknown — Ailcn-Walker  Apr.  2 

413  Earl  Carroll  Vanities — O'Kccfe-Moore  Apr.  5 

465  Corpus  Christi  Bandits — Lane-Watts  (55  m.).Apr.  20 

433  The  Phantom  Speaks — Arlen-Ridges  May  10 

3318  Lone  Texas  Ranger — Elliott-Blake  (56  m.) .  .May  20 

434  The  Vampire's  Ghost — Abbott-Stewart  May  21 

416  Three's  a  Crowd— Blake-Gordon  May  23 

415  Flame  of  the  Barbary  Coast — Wayne-Dvorak . May  28 

455  Santc  Fe  Saddle  Mates — Carson-Stirling 

(56  m.)  June  2 

420  A  Sporting  Chance — Randolph-O'Malley .  .  .  .  June  4 

442  Bells  of  Rosarita — Roy  Rogers  (68  m.)  June  19 

417  The  Chicago  Kid— Barry-Roberts  June  29 

422  Gangs  of  the  Waterfront — Armstrong- 

Bachelor   July  3 

423  Road  to  Alcatraz — Lowery-Storey  July  10 

466  Trail  of  Kit  Carson — Lane-London  (56  min.). July  11 

456  Oregon  Trail — Carson-Stewart  (56  min.) ...  .July  14 

421  The  Cheaters— Shildkraut-Pallette  July  15 

419  Hitchhike  to  Happiness — Pearce-Evans  July  16 

424  Jealousy — Loder-Randolph  July  23 

418  Steppin'  in  Society — Horton-George  July  29 

443  Man  from  Oklahoma — Roy  Rogers  (68  min.)  .Aug.  1 

425  Tell  It  to  a  Star — Livingston-Terry  Aug.  16 

426  Swingin'  on  a  Rainbow — Frazee-Taylor  Sept.  1 

RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  Y.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  4 

516  Zombies  on  Broadway — Brown-Carney  

517  The  Body  Snatcher — Karloff-Daniel  

518  Tarzan  and  the  Amazons — Weissmuller  

519  China  Sky— Scott- Warrick   

520  Those  Endearing  Young  Charms — Young-Day  

Block  5 

521  Two  O'Clock  Courage — Conway-Rutherford  

522  The  Brighton  Strangler — Loder-Duprez  

523  Back  to  Bataan — Wayne-Quinn  

524  West  of  the  Pecos — Mitchum-Hale  

Specials 

551  The  Princess  and  the  Pirate — Bob  Hope  

581  Casanova  Brown — Cooper-Wright   

582  Woman  in  the  Window — Bennett-Robinson  

583  Belle  of  the  Yukon — Scott-Lee  

584  It's  a  Pleasure — Henie-O'Shea  

591  The  Three  Caballeros— Disney  

552  Wonder  Man — Kaye-Mayo  

_  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
Block  1 

601  Mama  Loves  Papa — Leon  Errol  

602  George  White's  Scandals — Haley-Davis  

603  The  Falcon  in  San  Francisco — Tom  Conway  

604  Johnny  Angel — Raft-Trevor-Hasso  4 

605  Radio  Stars  on  Parade — Carney-Brown  

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper- Young  


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 


(444  W.  56th  St..  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

520  The  Song  of  Bernadette — Jennifer  Jones  Apnl 

521  A  Royal  Scandal — Bankhead-Eythe  April 

522  Molly  and  Me — Woolley-Fields  April 

524  Diamond  Horseshoe — Grable-Haymes  May 

525  The  Bullfighters— Laurel  (i  Hardy  May 

526  Where  Do  We  Go  from  Here — 

MacMurray-Lcslie   June 

527  Don  Juan  Quilligan — Bendix-Blondell  June 

523  Call  of  theWild — Gable-Young  (reissue)  June 

528  Within  these  Walls — Mitchell-Anderson  July 

529  Nob  Hill— Raft-Blaine  July 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

601  A  Bell  for  Adano — Hodiak-Tierney  Aug. 

603  Junior  Miss — Garner-Joslyn  Aug. 

606  The  Way  Ahead — David  Niven  Aug. 

604  Captain  Eddie —  MacMurray-Bari  Sept. 

605  Carribcan  Mystery — Dunn-Ryan  Sept. 

Special 

602  Wilson — Knox-Fitzgerald   Aug. 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Hew  York  19,  N..  T.) 

Brewster's  Millions — O'Keefc-Walker  Apr.  7 

It's  in  the  Bag — Fred  Allen  Apr.  21 

Colonel  Blimp — English  cast  May  4 

The  Great  John  L. — McLure-Darnell  June  29 

Story  of  G.I.  Joe — Meredith-Mitchum  July  13 

Guest  Wife — Colhert-Amcche  July  27 

The  Southerner — Scott-Field  (formerly  "Hold 

Autumn  in  Your  Hand")  Aug.  10 

Captain  Kidd — Laughton-Scott  Aug.  24 

The  Outlaw — Russell-Huston  Aug.  24 

Paris-Underground — Bennett-Fields   Sept.  14 

Spellbound — Bergman-Peck  Sept.  28 

Blood  on  the  Sun — Cagney-Sidney  June  15 

Bedside  Manner — Hussey-Carroll  June  22 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  T.) 

9027  PA  Remember  April — Jean-Grant  Apr.  13 

9040  Song  of  the  Sarong — Gargan-Kelly  Apr.  20 

9073  Salome— Where  She  Danced— DeCarlo- 

Bruce  Apr.  27 

9083  Beyond  the  Pecos; — Rod  Cameron  (59  m.) .  .Apr.  27 
9011  Patrick  the  Great — O'Connor-Ryan  May  4 

9028  Honeymoon  Ahead — Jones-McDonald  May  11 

9033  Swing  out  Sister — Cameron-Treacher  May  18 

9016  See  My  Lawyer — Olsen  &  Johnson  May  25 

9014  That's  the  Spirit — Oakie-Ryan  (re.)  June  1 

9084  Renegades  of  the  Rio  Grande — Rod  Cameron 

(57  min.)   June  1 

9041  I'll  Tell  the  World— Tracy-Preisser  June  8 

9042  Blonde  Ransom — Grey-Cook  (re.)   June  15 

9043  Penthouse  Rhythm — Collier-Grant  June  22 

9032  The  Frozen  Ghost — Chaney-Ankers  June  29 

9038  Jungle  Captive — Kruger-Ward   June  29 

9003  The  Naughty  Nineties — Abbott  ftf  Costello.  .July  6 

9015  On  Stage  Everybody — Oakie-Ryan  July  13 

9044  The  Beautiful  Cheat — Granville-Beery,  Jr  July  20 

902 5 A  The  Woman  in  Green — Rathbone-Bruce  .  .July  27 

9045  Easy  to  Look  At— Jean-Grant  Aug.  10 

Strange  Affair  of  Uncle  Harry — 

Sanders-Raines-Fitzgerald  (reset)   Aug.  17 

Lady  on  a  Train — Deanna  Durbin  (reset)  .  .Aug.  24 
Reissues 

9096  Imitation  of  Life— Claudette  Colbert  June  15 

9097  East  Side  of  Heaven — Bing  Crosby  June  15 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

501  Shady  Lady — Paige-Simms  Sept.  7 

502  Men  in  Her  Diary — Hall-Allbritton  Sept.  14 

503  River  Gang — Jean-Qualen  Sept.  21 

504  Night  in  Paradise- — Oberon-Bey  Sept.  28 

505  Strange  Confession — Chaney-Joyce  Oct.  5 

506  Senorita  from  the  West — Jones-Granville  Oct.  12 

507  That  Night  with  You — Tone-Foster  Oct.  19 


Page  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index  August  18,  1945 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St..  Hew  Yor\  18,  H-  T.) 

414  God  is  My  Co-Pilot — Morgan-Massey  Apr.  7 

415  The  Horn  Blows  at  Midnight— Jack  Benny.  .  .Apr.  28 

416  Escape  in  the  Desert — Dorn-Dantine  May  19 

417  Pillow  to  Post — Lupino-Prince  June  9 

418  Conflict — Bogart-Smith  June  30 

419  The  Corn  is  Green — Davis-Dall  July  21 

420  Christmas  in  Connecticut — Stanwyck-Morgan.  Aug.  11 

_  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

501  Pride  of  the  Marines — Garfield-Parker  Sept.  1 

502  Rhapsody  in  Blue — Alda-Leslie  Sept.  22 

Three  Strangers — Fitzgerald-Greenstreet  Oct.  13 

Mildred  Pierce — Crawiord-Carson-Scott  Oct.  20 

San  Antonio — Flynn-Smith  Oct.  27 

Devotion — Lupino-de  Havilland-Henreid  . . .  .Nov.  24 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 

Columbia — One  Reel 

6752  The  Egg  Yegg— Fox  &  Crow  (7|/2  m.)  May  4 

6663  Victory  Reel  (V-E  Day)  May  8 

6955  Lowe,  Hite  6?  Stanley— Film  Vodvil  (11m.)  .May  11 

6859  Screen  Snapshots  No.  9  (9i/2  m.)  May  17 

6901  A  Harbor  Goes  to  France — Panoramic 

(10  m.)  May  18 

6659  Community  Sings  No.  9  (10  m.)  May  25 

6502  Rippling  Romance — Col.  Rhap.  (8  m.)  . .  .  .June  21 

6660  Community  Sings  No.  10  (10m.)  June  29 

6704  Bobby  Socks — Phantasy  (6m.)  July  12 

6503  Fiesta  Time— Col.  Rhapsody  (7J/2  m.)  July  12 

6808  Hi  Ho  Rodeo— Sports  (9m.)  July  22 

6753  Kukunuts— Fox  &  Crow  (6[/2  m.)  July  26 

6661  Community  Sings  No.  11  (10  m.)  July  26 

6860  Screen  Snapshots  No.  10  (10  m.)  July  27 

6504  Hot  Foot  Light — Color  Rhap.  (7m.)  Aug.  2 

6809  Chips  and  Putts — Sports  (9m.)  Aug.  10 

6662  Community  Sings  No.  12  (10m.)  Aug.  23 

6754  Treasure  Jest — Fox  6<F  Crow  (6!/2m.)  Aug.  30 

6810  Salmon  Fishing — Sports  (9m.)  Sept.  2 

6505  Carnival  Courage — Col.  Rhap.  (7m.)  Sept.  6 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

7951  Milt  Britton  fe?  Band— Film  Vodvil  Aug.  30 

7851  Screen  Snapshots  No.  1  Sept.  7 

7751  Phoney  Baloney — Fox  &  Crow  I  Sept.  13 

7601  Catnipped — Flippy  Sept.  20 

7701  Simple  Siren — Phantasy  Sept.  20 

7651  Community  Sings  No.  1  Sept.  20 

7501  River  Ribber — Color  Rhapsody  Sept.  27 

7801  Champion  of  the  Cue — Sports  Sept.  27 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

6160  The  Monster  &  the  Ape  (15  episodes)  Apr.  20 

6433  Pistol  Packin'  Nitwits — Brendel  (17  m.)  .  .  .  .May  4 

6411  Wife  Decoy — Hugh  Herbert  ( 17  m.)  June  1 

6423  The  Jury  Goes  Round  'N  Round — Vera  Vague 

(18  m.)  June  15 

6405  Idiots  Deluxe— Stooges  (l7|/2  m.)  July  20 

_  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
7409  Vine,  Women  ii  Song — Musical  Gaiety  .  .  .  .Aug.  23 

7401  If  a  Body  Meets  a  Body — Stooges  Aug.  30 

7120  Jungle  Raiders — Serial  (15  episodes)  Sept.  7 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

1943-  44 

K-576  The  Seasaw  and  the  Shoes — Pass.  Par. 

(10  m.)  May  5 

(End  of  1943-44  Season) 

1944-  45 

T-6U  Shrines  of  Yucatan— Traveltalk  (9  m.)  Feb.  24 

T-612  See  El  Salvador— Traveltalk  (10  m.)  Mar.  31 

W-631  The  Mouse  Comes  to  Dinner — Cartoon 

(7  m.)  May  5 

W-632  Mouse'in  Manhattan — Cartoon  (8  m.) .  .  .  .July  7 

W-633  Tee  for  Two— Cartoon  (7m.)  July  21 

W-634  Swing  Shift  Cinderella — Cartoon  Aug.  25 

T-613  Modern  Guatemala  City— Traveltalk  Aug.  25 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 
1943-44 

A-502  Fall  Guy— Special  (18l/2  m.)   Apr.  14 

A-503  The  Last  Installment — Special  (18  m.)  May  5 


A-504  Phantoms,  Inc. — Special  ( 17  m.)  June  9 

(End  of  1943-44  Season) 

Paramount — One  Reel 

E4-4  Shape  Ahoy — Popeye  (6  m.)  Apr.  27 

R4-7  White  Rhapsody — Sportlight  (9  m.)  May  4 

P4-5  A  Lamb  in  a  Jamb — Noveltoon  (6  m.)  May  4 

L4-4  Unusual  Occupations  No.  4  (10  m.)  May  11 

Y4-4  Talk  of  the  Town — Speak,  of  Animals 

(9  m.)  May  18 

U4-5  Jasper's  Minstrels — Puppetoon  (9  m.)  May  25 

D4-5  Daffydilly  Daddy— Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  May  25 

J4-5  Popular  Science  No.  5  (10  m.)  June  1 

E4-5  For  Better  or  Nurse — Popeye  (6  m.)  June  8 

R4-8  Fan  Fare — Sportlight  (9  m.)  June  8 

D4-6  Snap  Happy — Little  Lulu  (7m.)   June  22 

P4-6  A  Self  Made  Mongrel — Noveltoon  (7m.)  . .  .June  29 

U4-6  Hatful  of  Dreams — Puppetoon  (9  m.)  July  6 

L4-5  Unusual  Occupations  No.  5  (10  m.)  July  13 

Y4-5  A  Musical  Way — Speaking  of  Animals  (8m.)  July  20 

R4-9  Canine-Feline  Capers — Sportlight  (9  m.)  July  27 

U4-7  Jasper's  Booby  Traps — Puppetoon  (8  m.)..Aug.  3 

J4-6  Popular  Science  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  10 

R4-10  Campus  Mermaids — Sportlight  (8m.)  ....Sept.  7 

L4-6  Unusual  Occupations  No.  6  (10m.)  Sept.  14 

Y4-6  From  A  to  Zoo — Speak,  of  Animals  (9m.)  .Sept.  21 
U4-8  Jasper's  Close  Shave— Puppetoon  (8m.)  .  .  .  .Sept.  28 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF4-4  Isle  of  Tabu— Musical  Parade  (17  m.)  Apr.  13 

FF4-5  Boogie  Woogie — Musical  Parade  (17  m.)..June  15 
FF4-6  You  Hit  the  Spot— Musical  Parade  (17  m.) .  Aug.  17 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 


Republic — Two  Reels 

482  Manhunt  of  Mystery  Island — Bailey-Stirling 

(15  episodes)  Mar.  17 

483  Federal  Operator  99  (12  episodes)  Lamont- 

Talbot   July  7 

484  Purple  Monster  Strikes — Morgan-Stirling 

(15  episodes)   Sept.  29 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

RKO — One  Reel 

54108  Dog  Watch— Disney  (7  m.)  Mar.  16 

54206  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  6  (8  m.)  Apr.  13 

54309  Timber  Doodles — Sportscope  (8  m.)   Apr.  20 

54110  African  Diary — Disney  (7  m.)  Apr.  20 

54111  Donald's  Crime — Disney  (7  m.)  May  11 

54310  West  Point  Winners — Sportscope  (7'/2m.).May  18 

54207  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  7  (7l/2m.)  May  25 

54311  Tee  Tricks — Sportscope  (8m.)   June  15 

54312  Mexican  Playland — Sportscope  (9m.)  July  13 

54112  Californy  'Er  Bust — Disney  (7m.)  July  13 

54113  Canine  Casanova — Disney  (7m.)  July  27 

RKO — Two  Reels 

53106  Guam-Salvaged  Island — This  is  America 

(17  min.)   Apr.  13 

53107  Dress  Parade — This  Is  America  (16  m.)  .  .  .May  4 

53704  Let's  Go  Stepping— Leon  Errol  (17  m.)  May  4 

53108  Battle  of  Supply — This  is  America  (18  m.).June  1 

53705  It  Shouldn't  Happen  to  a  Dog — 

Errol  (18  min.)   June  15 

53109  China  Lifeline — This  is  America  (16m.)  . .  .June  29 
53404  What,  No  Cigarettes?— E.  Kennedy  (18m.). July  13 


5259 
5516 

5517 
5354 
5518 
5902 

5519 

5201 

5520 
5261 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

Isle  of  Romance — Adventure  (8  m.)  May  4 

Mother  Goose  Nightmare — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   May  11 

Smoky  Joe — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  May  25 

Down  the  Fairway — Sports  (8m.)  June  1 

The  Silver  Streak — Terrytoon  (7  min.)  ...  .June  8 
Do  You  Remember? — Lew  Lahr  (8m.) 

(formerly  "Good  Old  Days".)  June  22 

Aesops  Fable — The  Mosquito — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   June  29 

What  it  Takes  to  Make  a  Star — Adventure 

(formerly  "Modeling  for  Money")  (8  m.)  .July  6 
Mighty  Mouse  6?  the  Wolf — Terry.  (7  m.) . .  .July  20 

The  Empire  State — Adventure  (8  m.)  July  27 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


August  18,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

6501  Mighty  Mouse  in  Gypsy  Life — Terry.  (6tn.) .  Aug.  3 

6251  Memories  of  Columbus — Adventure  Aug.  17 

6502  Aesop's  Fable — The  Fox  tV  the  Duck — Terry. Aug.  24 

6252  Magic  of  Youth — Adventure  Aug.  31 

6503  Swooning  the  Swooners — Terrytoon  Sept.  14 

6351  Ski  Aces — Sports  Sept.  21 

6504  Aesop's  Fable — The  Watch  Dog— Terry  Sept.  28 

6253  China  Carries  On — Adventure  Oct.  12 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.11  No.  9 — The  Returning  Veteran — March  of 

Time  (18  min.)   Apr.  20 

Vol.  11  No.  10 — Spotlight  on  Congress — 

March  of  Time  ( 16  m.)  May  18 

Vol.  1 1  No.  1 1— Teen  Age  Girls- 
March  of  Time  (17  m.)  June  15 

Vol.  11  No.  12— Where's  the  Meat?— 

March  of  Time  ( 17  min.)  July  13 

Vol.  11  No.  13— The  New  U.  S.  Frontier- 
March  of  Time  (  17  min.)  Aug.  10 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Universe! — One  Reel 

9355  Your  National  Gallery — Var.  Views  (9  m.).Apr.  23 
9238  Woody  Dines  Out— Cartunc  (7  m.)  May  14 

9375  Author  in  Babyland— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  May  14 

9376  Broadway  Farmer— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  May  28 

9356  Wingmen  of  Tomorrow — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  .June  4 
9238  Crow  Crazy— Cartunc  (7  m.)   July  9 

9357  Victory  Bound — Var.  Views  (9m.)  Aug.  6 

9317  School  for  Mermaids— Per.  Odd.  (9m.)  Aug.  13 

9358  Village  of  the  Past— Var.  Views  (9m.)  Aug.  20 

9378  Kanine  Aristocrats — Per.  Odd.  (9m.)  Aug.  27 

9240  Dippy  Diplomats— Cartune  (7m.)   Aug.  27 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 


Universal — Two  Reels 

9881  The  Master  Key— Stone  Wiley  (13 

episodes)  Apr.  24 

9127  Rockabye  Rhythm — Musical  (15  m.)  June  20 

9128  Artistry  in  Rhythm — Musical  (15  m.)  July  18 

1581  Secret  Agent  X-9 — 13  episodes  July  24 

9129  Waikiki  Melody— Musical  (15  m.)   Aug.  29 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

1723  Hare  Trigger — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  May  5 

1608  Circus  Band — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  May  5 

1507  Water  Babies— Sports  (10  m.)  May  19 

1705  Ain't  that  Ducky — Looney  Tune  (7  m.) .  .  .  .May  19 

1405  Overseas  Roundup  No.  2 — Varieties  (10  m.) .  May  26 

1706  Gruesome  Twosome — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  (re.)  June  9 

1508  Mexican  Sea  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  (re.).  .June  9 

1609  Bands  Across  the  Sea — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.) .  .June  22 

1509  Bahama  Sea  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  (re.)  .  .June  23 

1510  Flivver  Flying — Sports  (10  m.)  June  30 

1707  Tale  of  Two  Mice — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  .  .  .  .  June  30 

1406  Overseas  Roundup  No.  3 — Varieties  (10  m.)  .July  14 

1610  Yankee  Doodle  Daughters — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  m.)   July  21 

1311  Speakin' of  the  Weather — Hit.  Par.  (7  m.) . .  .  July  21 

1708  Wagon  Wheels— Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  July  28 

1310  I'm  a  Little  Big  Shot  Now — Hit.  Par.  (7  m.) .  Aug.  4 

1724  Hare  Conditioned — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  .  .  .  .Aug.  11 

1709  Fresh  Airedale — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Aug.  25 

1312  Old  Glory— Hit.  Par.  (7  m.)   Aug.  25 

1710  Bashful  Buzzard — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Sept.  15 

1711  Peck  Up  Your  Troubles— L.  Tune  (7  m.). .  .Sept.  22 

1311  Busy  Bakers— Hit.  Par.  (7  m.)  Sept.  22 

■  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

2402  Miracle  Makers — Varieties  (  10  m.)   Sept.  1 

2501  Sports  Go  to  War — Sports  Par.  ( 10  m.)  Sept.  1 

2601  Spade  Cooley  Band— Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  .  .  .Sept.  15 
2401  Alice  in  Jungleland — Var.  (10  m.)   Sept.  22 

2602  Here  Comes  the  Navy  Bands — 

Melody  Masters  (10  min.)  Sept.  29 


Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

1 1  1 1  Plantation  Melodies — Featurette  (20  m.)  .  .  .May  12 
1104  Coney  Island  Honeymoon — Special  (20  m.).June  16 
1112  Learn  and  Live — Featurette  (20  m.)   July  7 

1005  America  the  Beautiful — Special  (20  m.)  Aug.  4 

1006  Orders  from  Tokyo — Special  (20  m.)   Aug.  18 

>  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
2101  Barber  Shop  Ballads — Featurette  (20  m.)  ..Sept.  8 


NEWS  WEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 

551  103  Sat.  (O).  .Aug.  18 
552104  Wed.  (E)  Aug.  22 
(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46 
Season 

65101  Sat.  (O)  .  .Aug.  25 
65202  Wed.  (E)  .Aug.  29 
65103  Sat.  (O)  .  .Sept.  1 
65204  Wed.  (E)  .Sept.  5 
65105  Sat.  (O)  .  .Sept.  8 
65206  Wed.  (E)  .Sept.  12 
65107  Sat.  (O)  .  .Sept.  15 
65208  Wed.  (E)  .Sept.  19 
65109  Sat.  (O)  .  .Sept.  22 
65210  Wed.  (E)  .Sept.  26 
65111  Sat.  (O)  .  .Sept.  29 
65212  Wed.  (O)  .Oct.  3 


Universal 


424  Thurs.  (E). 

425  Tues.  (O)  . 

426  Thurs.  (E) 

427  Tues.  (O)  . 

428  Thurs.  (E) 

429  Tues.  (O)  . 

430  Thurs.  (E) 

431  Tues.  (O)  . 

432  Thurs.  (E)  . 

433  Tues.  (O)  .  , 

434  Thurs.  (E)  , 

435  Tues.  (O)  .  , 

436  Thurs.  (E)  , 

437  Tues.  (O)  . 

438  Thurs.  (E) 


.Aug.  16 
.Aug.  21 
.Aug.  23 
.Aug.  28 
.Aug.  30 
.Sept.  4 
.  Sept.  6 
.Sept.  11 
.Sept.  13 
.Sept.  18 
.Sept.  20 
.Sept.  25 
.Sept.  27 
..Oct.  2 
..Oct.  4 


Paramount  News 

100  Thurs.  (E) . .  .Aug.  16 

101  Sunday  (O)  .Aug.  19 

102  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  23 

103  Sunday  (O)  .Aug.  26 

104  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  30 
(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1 945-46 
Season 

1  Sunday  (O)  ..Sept.  2 

2  Thurs.  (E)  .  .  .Sept.  6 

3  Sunday  (O)  .  .Sept.  9 

4  Thurs.  (E)  .  .  .Sept.  13 

5  Sunday  (O)  .  .Sept.  16 

6  Thurs.  (E)  .  .  .Sept.  20 

7  Sunday  (O)  .  .Sept.  23 

8  Thurs.  (E)  . .  .Sept.  27 

9  Sunday  (O)  .  .Sept.  30 
10  Thurs.  (E)   . .  .Oct.  4 


Metrotone  News 

298  Thurs.  (E). .  .Aug.  16 

299  Tues.  (O)  . .  .  Aug.  21 

300  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  23 

301  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Aug.  28 

302  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  30 

303  Tues.  (O)  . .  .Sept.  4 
(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1 945-46 
Season 

200  Thurs.  (E) 

201  Tues.  (O)  . 

202  Thurs.  (E) 

203  Tues.  (O)  . 

204  Thurs.  (E) 

205  Tues.  (O)  . 

206  Thurs.  (E) 

207  Tues.  (O) 

208  Thurs.  (E) 


.Sept.  6 
.Sept.  11 
.Sept.  13 
.Sept.  18 
.Sept.  20 
.Sept.  25 
.Sept.  27 
.  .  Oct.  2 
.  .  Oct.  4 


Fox  Movietone 

100  Thurs.  (E). .  .Aug.  16 

101  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Aug.  21 

102  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  23 

103  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Aug.  28 

104  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  30 
(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1 945-46 
Season 


1 

Tues.  (O)  .  . 

.  .  Sept.  4 

2 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .  Sept.  6 

3 

Tues.  (O)  .  . 

.  .Sept.  11 

4 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .  Sept.  13 

5 

Tues.  (O)  . . 

.  .Sept.  18 

6 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .Sept.  20 

7 

Tues.  (O)  . . 

.  .Sept.  25 

8 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .Sept.  27 

9 

Tues.  (O)  ., 

.  .  .  Oct.  2 

10 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .  Oct.  4 

All  American  News 

147  Friday   Aug.  17 

148  Friday   Aug.  24 

149  Friday   Aug.  31 

150  Friday   Sept.  7 

151  Friday   Sept.  14 

152  Friday   Sept.  21 

153  Friday   Sept.  28 

154  Friday  Oct.  5 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1878. 


Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  25,  1945  No.  34 


A  Guide  to  Columbia's  1945-46  Product 


It  has  long  been  an  accepted  practice  in  the  motion  pic 
ture  industry  for  the  eleven  producer-distributor  companies 
to  announce,  prior  to  the  opening  of  each  new  season,  the 
number  of  pictures  they  planned  to  produce  and  distribvitc. 
At  the  same  time,  still  following  this  practice,  they  have  an- 
nounced also  the  names  of  the  stars,  producer  and  director 
to  be  connected  with  each  picture.  Moreover,  in  most  cases, 
each  picture  was  described  briefly  as  to  its  type. 

Invariably,  this  information  was  given  to  the  trade  press 
for  publication,  because  the  companies  were  just  as  eager 
to  publicize  their  forthcoming  product  as  the  exhibitors  were 
to  learn  about  it.  Moreover,  most  of  the  companies  bom- 
barded the  exhibitors  with  fancy  brochures  and  other  litera- 
ture descriptive  of  their  new  season's  product,  in  order  to 
prepare  them  for  the  salesmen's  visits. 

For  the  1945-46  season,  nine  of  the  eleven  companies 
have  already  announced  their  production  and  distribution 
plans.  Universal  and  Columbia  have  not. 

Universal,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  a  series  of  regional 
sales  meetings,  expects  to  have  its  announcement  ready 
within  a  few  days. 

Columbia,  however,  with  an  evasiveness  that  has  fre- 
quently marked  its  dealings  with  the  exhibitors,  will  not 
commit  itself  on  whether  or  not  an  announcement  of  its 
1945-46  program  will  be  made.  Neither  this  trade  paper, 
nor,  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge,  any  other  trade  paper, 
has  been  able  to  get  any  information  from  Columbia  re- 
garding its  plans  for  the  forthcoming  season. 

Ordinarily,  Harrison's  Reports  would  not  become 
alarmed  over  a  company's  delay  in  making  an  announce- 
ment of  its  new  season's  product,  for  the  conditions  that 
may  cause  the  delay  are  numerous  and  understandable.  But 
when  that  company  adopts  an  attitude  of  stubborn  silence 
about  its  delay,  one  is  bound  to  become  uneasy.  And  when, 
to  top  it  off,  the  company  in  question  is  Columbia,  there  is 
indeed  cause  for  alarm.  Experience  has  taught  that  when 
Columbia,  with  its  "elastic  thinking"  policy,  which  enables 
it  to  promise  much  and  deliver  little,  deviates  from  an 
accepted  practice,  one  should  examine  carefully  into  the 
possible  reasons  for  the  deviation. 

Delving  into  the  possible  motives  Columbia  might  have  for 
withholding  its  product  announcement,  this  paper,  through 
sources  that  have  proved  reliable  in  the  past,  has  come  across 
some  interesting  information,  which  it  would  like  to  pass  on 
to  its  readers  for  whatever  value  it  may  have  in  helping  them 
to  determine  just  how  to  deal  with  Columbia. 

According  to  this  paper's  informants,  Columbia  has  no 
intention  of  announcing  for  publication  the  list  of  pictures 
that  will  comprise  its  1945-46  program,  nor  does  it  intend  to 
follow  the  accepted  practice  of  sending  the  exhibitors 
brochures  outlining  the  pictures  it  hopes  to  produce  and 
distribute.  These  same  informants  advise  that  Columbia  has 
printed  a  limited  number  of  what  might  be  called  brochures 
or  sales  manuals,  which  have  been  distributed  to  its  sales 
forces  for  showing  to  prospective  customers  when  negotiat- 


ing for  a  deal.  The  salesmen  have  been  instructed  specifically 
to  keep  these  brochures  or  sales  manuals  in  their  possession 
at  all  times.  Under  no  circumstance  are  they  to  leave  one 
with  a  customer. 

Our  informants  advise  further  that  the  Columbia  salesmen 
have  been  selling  their  company's  1945-46  program  for  the 
past  two  months,  making  known  to  the  exhibitors  the  in- 
formation contained  in  the  manuals,  but  leaving  them  with 
no  evidence  of  what  the  company  promises  to  deliver. 

Harrison's  Reports  does  not  know  how  many  exhibitors, 
guided  by  nothing  more  than  the  glib  promises  of  a  salesman, 
who  has  been  instructed  to  leave  no  evidence  of  his  promises, 
have  thus  far  signed  with  Columbia  for  the  new  season. 
That  some  of  them  have  signed  contracts,  this  paper  has  no 
doubt.  We  are  inclined  to  believe,  however,  that  those  who 
did  sign  were  motivated,  not  by  the  faith  they  had  in  Colum- 
bia's way  of  doing  business,  but  by  the  scarcity  of  product 
that  has  existed  up  to  this  time,  and  by  some  unique  elements 
in  their  competitive  situations,  which  compelled  them  to  re- 
new their  franchises  for  better  or  for  worse.  Columbia,  being 
in  the  driver's  seat  in  such  situations,  probably  knew  that  it 
would  have  little  difficulty  inducing  such  exhibitors  to  sign 
contracts.  Whether  or  not  it  will  be  as  successful  with  other 
exhibitors  remains  to  be  seen,  particularly  since  scarcity  of 
product  may  soon  be  a  thing  of  the  past  in  view  of  the  Gov- 
ernment's lifting  of  raw  film  stock  restrictions. 

Perhaps  the  sudden  change  in  conditions  will  impel  Co- 
lumbia to  revert  to  the  accepted  practice  of  publicizing  its 
new  season's  plans.  In  the  event  it  holds  fast  to  a  hush-hush 
policy,  however,  every  potential  customer  should  put  the 
following  questions  to  the  Columbia  salesmen  and  demand  a 
satisfactory  answer  before  concluding  a  deal: 

1.  Why  has  Columbia  elected  to  follow  a  policy  of  secrecy 
in  connection  wjth  its  new  season's  plans? 

2.  Why  is  it  taking  precautions  to  see  that  neither  the 
exhibitors  nor  the  trade  publications  are  furnished  with 
official  information  regarding  the  new  product? 

3.  Does  the  new  program  include  pictures  that  were 
promised  to  customers  of  previous  seasons  but  not  delivered, 
and,  if  such  is  the  case,  does  Columbia  fear  that  a  few  of  the 
trade  papers  and  exhibitor  organizations  may  publicize  the 
fact  that  these  pictures  are  being  offered  for  the  second  or 
third  time? 

4.  Is  Columbia  afraid  to  go  on  record  because  it  does  not 
hope  to  deliver  what  it  is  promising? 

5.  Or,  is  it  a  fact  that,  from  the  viewpoint  of  story,  pro- 
duction, and  star  values,  Columbia  has  so  little  to  offer  that 
the  less  said  about  the  program  the  better? 

Until  Columbia  sees  fit  to  come  forward  with  an  announce- 
ment of  its  new  product,  Harrison's  Reports,  intends  to 
keep  its  subscribers  posted  with  respect  to  the  1945-46  pic- 
tures Columbia  has  completed,  as  well  as  the  pictures  that  arc 
in  work  or  in  preparation.  This  paper  will  also  give  its 
opinion  of  each  picture's  potential  box-office  worth,  based  on 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


134 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  25,  1945 


"State  Fair"  with  Jeanne  Crain,  Dana 
Andrews,  Dick  Haymes  and  Vivian  Blaine 

(20th  Century-Fox,  October;  time,  100  min.) 

Enhanced  by  the  charming,  tuneful  music  of 
Richard  Rodgers  and  Oscar  Hammerstein  II,  and  by 
the  gorgeous  Technicolor  photography,  this  remake 
of  "State  Fair,"  which  was  produced  originally  by 
Fox  in  1933,  is  a  very  good  entertainment;  it  should 
please  all  types  of  audiences.  The  story  remains  sub- 
stantially the  same,  it  being  a  homely,  human,  senti- 
mental type,  with  a  rural  background.  The  romantic 
interest  is  pleasant,  and  the  comedy  situations  amus- 
ing. Most  of  the  action  takes  place  at  a  state  fair,  and 
the  side  shows,  the  masses  of  people,  the  friendly 
rivalry  amongst  the  farmers  for  blue  ribbon  prizes 
for  their  live  stock,  and  the  general  carnival  spirit, 
have  been  reproduced  with  such  care  and  with  such 
lavishness  that  the  film  is  at  all  times  colorful  and  ex- 
citing. There  is  even  a  romance  between  a  boar  and  a 
sow  to  add  to  the  fun.  It  is  good,  wholesome  entertain- 
ment, capably  directed  and  well  acted. 

The  story  revolves  around  Charles  Winninger,  a 
farmer,  Fay  Bainter,  his  wife,  and  their  children,  Dick 
Haymes  and  Jeanne  Crain.  All  looked  forward  to 
the  opening  of  the  state  fair.  Winninger  concerned 
himself  chiefly  with  his  880-lb.  prize  boar,  which  he 
hoped  would  win  a  blue  ribbon;  his  wife  busied  her- 
self preparing  brandied  mincemeat  for  the  domestic 
arts  exhibit;  and  the  children  dreamt  of  finding 
romance  at  the  fair.  On  the  first  day  at  the  fair, 
Jeanne  meets  and  falls  in  love  with  Dana  Andrews, 
a  newspaperman,  and  Haymes  becomes  infatuated 
with  Vivian  Blaine,  a  singer  with  an  orchestra.  The 
rest  of  the  week  concerns  itself  with  the  romancing 
of  both  couples,  and  with  the  winning  of  prizes  by 
Miss  Bainter  for  her  foodstuffs,  and  by  Winninger 
for  his  massive  boar.  On  the  final  day  of  the  fair, 
Haymes  learns  that  Vivian  could  not  marry  him  be- 
cause she  had  a  husband  from  whom  she  was  sepa- 
rated, and  Jeanne  finds  her  romance  brought  to  an 
abrupt  halt  when  Andrews'  publisher  hurries  him 
off  to  Chicago  on  an  assignment  without  giving  him  a 
chance  to  explain  his  departure.  Disconsolate,  Jeanne 
and  Haymes  accompany  their  tired  parents  home. 
Jeanne,  her  thoughts  constantly  with  Andrews,  avoids 
Phil  Brown,  her  farmer  suitor.  But  happiness  reigns 
once  again  with  all  the  family  when  Andrews  comes 
to  the  farm  unexpectedly  to  claim  Jeanne  as  his  bride, 
and  when  Haymes,  overcoming  his  infatuation  for 
Vivian,  renews  his  romance  with  a  neighboring  farm 
girl. 

Oscar  Hammerstein  II  wrote  the  screen  play  from 
the  novel  by  Phil  Strong,  William  Perlberg  produced 
it,  and  Walter  Lang  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Donald  Meek,  Percy  Kilbride,  Frank  McHugh,  Henry 
Morgan  and  others. 

"Paris  Underground"  with  Constance 
Bennett  and  Gracie  Fields 

(United  Artists,  September  13;  time,  97  min.) 
A  fair  picture  of  its  type,  but  its  box-office  worth  is 
questionable  since  stories  dealing  with  "underground" 
activities  are  somewhat  outmoded  at  this  time.  Its 
chief  drawback  is  the  fact  that  it  is  too  draggy  in 
some  spots,  particularly  in  the  first  half;  it  takes  too 
much  time  in  establishing  the  story.  It  becomes  more 
interesting  as  the  story  develops,  but  every  now  and 


then  the  action  is  impeded  by  excessive  dialogue.  Sus- 
pense is  sustained  fairly  well  in  the  second  half  be- 
cause of  the  risks  taken  by  the  heroines  in  spiriting 
downed  British  aviators  out  of  France.  Another  draw- 
back is  the  poorly  edited  finish,  where  the  heroines, 
apprehended,  jailed,  and  tortured  by  the  Nazis,  are 
rescued  suddenly  by  a  detachment  of  American 
soldiers;  the  appearance  of  these  liberators  is  totally 
unexpected,  and  somewhat  ludicrous,  since  there  is 
nothing  in  the  preceding  action  to  indicate  that  Allied 
forces  were  fighting  on  French  soil,  thus  preparing  the 
spectator  for  the  possibility  of  a  rescue.  On  the  whole, 
the  picture's  ninety-seven  minutes  running  time  is 
much  too  long  for  the  story  it  has  to  tell : — 

Constance  Bennett,  an  American  woman  estranged 
from  her  French  husband  (Paul  Rigaud),  and  Gracie 
Fields,  her  British  companion,  unsuccessfully  try  to 
flee  Pans  when  the  Germans  gain  control  or  the  city. 
Turned  back  on  the  outskirts  of  Paris,  they  stop  their 
car  at  an  inn  owned  by  a  friend,  where  they  find  a 
wounded  RAF  flyer  in  hiding.  They  smuggle  the  flyer 
back  to  their  Pans  apartment,  and  offer  to  help  him 
find  a  means  of  escape.  Their  efforts  eventually  put 
them  in  touch  with  the  French  "underground,"  and 
they  succeed  in  smuggling  the  young  man  across  the 
border  to  unoccupied  France.  Pleased  with  their  suc- 
cess, and  eager  to  do  their  part  in  the  fight  against 
Nazism,  both  women  dedicate  themselves  to  the  task 
of  helping  other  hapless  Allied  flyers  to  escape.  Their 
perilous  work  leads  them  through  a  series  of  dangerous 
adventures  and,  after  numerous  close  brushes  with 
the  Gestapo,  both  are  caught  by  the  Nazis  and  sen- 
tenced to  hard  labor  for  life.  Months  later,  when  the 
Allied  forces  liberate  France,  both  women  are  found 
in  a  filthy,  medieval  prison,  starved  and  almost  out  of 
their  minds.  Nursed  back  to  health,  each  is  duly 
honored  for  her  patriotic  endeavors. 

Boris  Ingster  and  Gertrude  Purcell  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Miss  Bennett  produced  it,  and  Gregory  Ratoff 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Kurt  Kruger,  Leslie 
Vincent,  Charles  Andre  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Fatal  Witness"  with  Evelyn  Ankers 
and  Richard  Fraser 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  59  min.) 

A  passable  program  murder  melodrama,  with  a  plot 
that  is  developed  logically  and  fairly  interestingly 
until  the  finish,  where  it  veers  to  the  supernatural  for 
what  is  apparently  meant  to  be  a  surprise  ending; 
however,  it  makes  no  sense.  The  first  half  is  somewhat 
mystifying  since  the  murderer's  identity  is  concealed, 
but  once  his  identity  is  established  in  the  second  half 
the  spectator's  interest  lies  in  the  manner  in  which 
the  hero,  a  detective,  tricks  him  into  confessing.  The 
action  is  liesurely,  and  it  lacks  the  excitement  generally 
found  in  pictures  of  this  type.  The  romance  is  pleasant 
but  mild.  The  story's  locale  is  London,  and  the  pro- 
duction values  are  pretty  good : — 

On  the  morning  following  a  quarrel  with  George 
Leigh,  her  irresponsible  nephew  and  sole  heir,  Bar- 
bara Everest,  an  elderly  Englishwoman,  is  found 
strangled  to  death.  Scotland  Yard  Inspector  Richard 
Fraser  questions  Evelyn  Ankers,  the  dead  woman's 
secretary-companion,  about  the  events  preceding  the 
murder,  and  he  becomes  convinced  that  Leigh  had 
committed  the  crime,  despite  Evelyn's  insistence  that 
he  was  innocent.  Leigh  establishes  an  alibi  by  proving 


August  25,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


135 


that  he  was  in  jail  at  the  time  of  the  murder,  but  he 
fails  to  allay  Fraser 's  suspicions.  Actually,  Leigh  had 
bribed  his  jailer  (Barry  Bernard)  to  free  him  for  one 
hour,  long  enough  to  return  home,  strangle  his  aunt, 
and  return  to  jail  to  establish  his  alibi.  While  Fraser 
persistently  continues  his  investigation,  Leigh  finds 
himself  blackmailed  by  the  jailer.  He  murders  the 
man,  taking  pains  to  once  again  establish  an  alibi. 
Fraser,  however,  aided  by  Evelyn,  comes  across. evi' 
dence  indicating  that  Leigh  had  committed  both 
crimes.  Lacking  proof,  Fraser,  recalling  that  Leigh 
was  unusually  superstitious,  determines  to  trick  him 
into  a  confession.  He  arranges  for  an  actress  to  play 
Miss  Everest's  ghost  at  a  dinner  party  in  Leigh's 
home,  and  cautions  the  guests  to  pretend  that  they 
do  not  see  the  "ghost'''  as  it  hovers  over  Leigh.  When 
the  "ghost"  appears,  and  the  guests  pretend  not  to 
see  it,  Leigh  becomes  unnerved  and  confesses.  Fraser 
turns  to  congratulate  the  actress  only  to  find  that  she 
had  disappeared.  He  learns  that  the  actress,  ill  at 
home,  had  not  been  present,  and  realizes  that  Miss 
Everest's  ghost  had  actually  visited  the  party. 

Jerry  Sackheim  wrote  the  screen  play,  Rudolph  E. 
Abel  produced  it,  and  Lesley  Selander  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Abbott  and  Costello  in  Hollywood" 

(MGM,  no  releseae  date  set;  time,  84  min.) 

This  latest  Abbott  and  Costello  comedy,  the  final 
one  to  be  made  on  the  MGM  lot,  should  more  than 
satisfy  those  who  respond  easily  to  their  particular 
brand  of  slapstick  humor.  As  is  usually  the  case  with 
comedies  featuring  this  pair,  the  story  is  completely 
nonsensical,  but  there  are  enough  laughs  in  this  one 
to  keep  one  amused  throughout.  Some  of  the  situa- 
tions should  provoke  hilarious  laughter;  as,  for  in- 
stance,  the  one  in  which  Costello,  after  "crashing"  a 
studio  gate,  is  mistaken  for  a  dummy  on  a  movie  set 
and  is  given  a  terrific  mauling  by  the  studio  workers. 
Another  hilarious  sequence  is  the  one  in  which  Cos- 
tello battles  the  villain  during  a  wild  ride  on  a  roller- 
coaster.  Some  music  and  dancing  are  woven  into  the 
plot,  but  it  does  not  retard  the  action : — 

Bud  Abbott  and  Lou  Costello,  barber  and  porter, 
respectively,  in  a  Hollywood  tonsorial  parlor,  are  sent 
to  the  office  of  Warner  Anderson,  an  actors'  agent,  to 
give  him  a  haircut  and  a  shine.  While  performing  their 
duties,  the  boys  overhear  Anderson  offer  Bob  Stanton, 
an  unknown  singer,  a  leading  role  that  had  been  re- 
fused by  Carleton  Young,  a  fading  star.  Later,  Young 
informs  Anderson  that  he  had  decided  to  accept  the 
role,  and  orders  him  to  dispose  of  Stanton.  Abbott 
and  Costello,  impressed  by  the  lucrative  deals  Ander- 
son made  as  an  agent,  decide  to  become  agents  them- 
selves, and  they  induce  Stanton  to  become  their  first 
client.  The  boys  determine  to  obtain  for  Stanton  the 
leading  role  Anderson  had  offered  him.  They  drive  to 
the  studio  to  see  Donald  McBride,  the  picture's  pro- 
ducer, only  to  antagonize  him  by  crashing  into  his 
new  car.  McBride  orders  the  studio  police  to  keep 
them  off  the  lot.  Undeterred,  the  boys  crash  the  gate. 
This  leads  to  a  riotous  chase.  Meanwhile  Young  once 
again  declines  the  leading  role,  and  McBride  offers  to 
sign  Stanton,  but  the  young  singer  refuses  to  negotiate 
without  his  agents'  approval.  By  the  time  Abbott  and 
Costello  are  found,  Young  stops  the  deal  by  accepting 
the  role  once  again.  Determined  to  clinch  the  deal  for 
Stanton,  the  boys  decide  to  get  rid  of  Young.  Their 


plan  leads  them  into  a  series  of  wild  complications, 
during  which  Abbott  leads  Young  to  believe  that  he 
had  murdered  Costello.  In  the  interim,  however,  the 
picture  is  filmed  with  Stanton  in  the  lead. 

Nat  Perrin  and  Lou  Breslow  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Martin  M.  Gosch  produced  it,  and  S.  Sylvan  Simon 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Frances  Rafferty,  Jean 
Porter,  "Rags"  Raglund  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Love  Letters"  with  Jennifer  Jones 
and  Joseph  Cotten 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  99  min.) 

Fairly  good.  It  is  a  strong  romantic  drama,  with  a 
particular  appeal  for  women.  The  story,  which  con- 
cerns itself  with  the  unusual  romance  between  an 
honorably  discharged  British  officer  and  his  best 
friend's  widow,  an  amnesia  victim,  is  slow-moving 
and  somewhat  involved,  and  at  times  not  too  convinc- 
ing, but  it  manages  to  hold  one's  attention  through- 
out, mainly  because  of  the  fine  performances.  A  num- 
ber of  the  situations  are  warm  and  appealing,  and 
others  are  strongly  emotional.  The  main  characters 
are  sympathetic,  and  the  love  the  hero  and  heroine 
have  for  each  other  is  so  genuine  that  one  is  moved 
deeply  by  their  unhappiness.  The  direction  is  intel- 
ligent, and  the  settings  are  good : — 

As  a  favor  to  Robert  Sully,  a  gay,  irresponsible  fel- 
low officer  in  Italy,  Joseph  Cotten  reluctantly  writes 
beautiful  love  letters  to  Jennifer  Jones,  a  girl  in  Eng- 
land, signing  Sully's  name  to  them.  Sully,  granted 
leave,  returns  to  England  and  marries  Jennifer,  who 
believed  him  to  be  the  author  of  the  letters.  Months 
later,  Cotten,  wounded,  returns  to  England  to  recu- 
perate. There  he  learns  that  Sully  had  been  murdered 
under  mysterious  circumstances.  Cotten  meets  Jenni- 
fer at  a  house  party  and  learns  that  she  was  an  am- 
nesia victim,  the  result  of  her  husband's  murder. 
Checking  through  newspaper  files,  he  learns  that  her 
marriage  to  Sully  had  been  an  unhappy  one,  and  that 
Sully  had  been  stabbed  to  death  while  in  a  drunken 
mood,  during  which  he  had  tried  to  beat  Jennifer.  The 
shock  had  caused  her  to  lose  her  memory,  and  because 
she  could  not  testify  in  her  own  behalf  she  had  been 
sentenced  to  a  one  year  prison  term  for  manslaughter. 
The  only  other  witness  to  the  murder  had  been  Gladys 
Cooper,  her  foster  mother,  but  a  paralytic  stroke  suf- 
fered at  the  time  of  the  murder  had  left  her  speechless. 
Cotten  and  Jennifer  fall  in  love.  He  marries  her,  fully 
realizing  that  she  might  one  day  regain  her  memory, 
and  that  her  love  might  turn  to  hate  when  she  learns 
that  he  had  written  the  love  letters  that  had  brought 
tragedy  into  her  life.  They  lead  an  idyllic  life  together, 
but  different  incidents  soon  cause  Jennifer's  amnesia 
to  recede.  She  eventually  regains  her  full  memory,  but 
is  disturbed  by  her  inability  to  recall  if  she  had  stab- 
bed her  husband.  Her  foster  mother,  who  had  by  this 
time  regained  her  speech,  confesses  that  she  had  stab- 
bed Sully  to  death  to  stop  him  from  beating  Jennifer. 
Her  innocence  proved,  Jennifer  looks  forward  to  a 
happy  life  with  the  man  whose  love  letters  she  held 
dear. 

Ayn  Rand  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel  by 
Chris  Massie,  William  Dicterle  directed  it,  and  Hal 
Wallis  produced  it.  The  cast  includes  Ann  Richards, 
Anita  Louise,  Cecil  Kcllaway  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


136 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  25,  1945 


the  drawing  power  of  the  players  and  the  past  performances 
of  the  producer  and  the  director,  so  that  those  of  you  who 
may  contemplate  buying  Columbia  pictures  will  have  some 
information  as  a  guide.  The  1945-46  Columbia  production 
schedule  to  date  (westerns  excluded)  is  as  follows: 

COMPLETED  OR  SHOOTING 

TARS  AND  SPARS,  a  musical  based  on  the  Coast 
Guard  stage  show  of  the  same  title.  Alfred  Drake,  Janet 
Blair,  and  Marc  Piatt  head  the  cast.  Alfred  E.  Green  is  the 
director.  It  should  turn  out  from  fair  to  fairly  good  in  box- 
office  worth,  depending  on  whether  the  story,  which  has  a 
war  background,  is  revised  sufficiently. 

HAIL  THE  CHIEF,  a  comedy  dealing  with  railroad  life. 
Marguerite  Chapman,  Willard  Parker,  Janis  Carter  and 
Chester  Morris  are  the  featured  players.  Burt  Kelly  is  the 
producer,  and  Ray  Enright  the  director.  This  should  turn 
out  to  be  a  secondary  feature  with  just  fair  box-office  results. 

HIT  THE  HAY,  a  comedy  featuring  Judy  Canova  and 
Ross  Hunter.  Ted  Richmond  is  the  producer  and  Del  Lord 
the  director.  This  will  probably  appeal  chiefly  to  the  Judy 
Canova  fans  and,  as  such,  rates  lower-half  billing.  Box- 
office  returns  should  be  from  poor  to  fair. 

SONG  OF  BROADWAY,  a  musical  featuring  Marjorie 
Reynolds,  Fred  Brady,  and  Jinx  Falkenburg.  Burt  Kelly  is 
the  producer,  and  Leigh  Jason,  the  director.  This,  too,  will 
probably  end  up  as  the  lower  half  of  a  double  bill,  with 
average  box-office  results. 

PRISON  SHIP,  a  melodrama  dealing  with  American 
prisoners  on  a  Japanese  ship.  The  cast  includes  Nina  Foch 
and  Robert  Lowery.  Alexis  Thurn-Taxis  is  the  producer, 
and  Arthur  Driefus,  the  director.  Another  lower-half  pro- 
gram picture  of  doubtful  box-office  value  since  its  theme  is 
related  to  the  war. 

BANDIT  OF  SHERWOOD  FOREST,  a  legendary  melo- 
drama in  Technicolor,  dealing  with  Robin  Hood's  rescue  of 
the  boy-King  of  England,  whose  death  is  plotted  by  a  tyran- 
nical Regent.  Cornel  Wilde,  Anita  Louise,  and  Edgar 
Buchanan  head  the  cast.  Leonard  Picker  and  Clifford  San- 
forth  are  the  producers,  and  Henry  Levin,  the  director.  This 
should  do  from  fair  to  good  business  in  theatres  where 
children  and  adult  action-fans  make  up  a  large  part  of  the 
audience. 

PARDON  MY  PAST,  a  comedy  drama,  revolving  around 
the  misadventures  of  a  discharged  serviceman,  who  is  mis- 
taken for  a  notorious  playboy.  Fred  MacMurray  and  Mar- 
guerite Chapman  head  the  cast.  Leslie  Fenton  is  the  pro- 
ducer-director. It  may  do  fairly  good  business  on  the  strength 
of  MacMurray's  popularity. 

GIRL  OF  THE  LIMBERLOST,  a  drama,  based  on  the 
novel  by  Gene  Stratton  Porter.  It  is  a  remake,  having  been 
produced  twice  before — by  Film  Booking  Offices  in  1924, 
and  by  Monogram  in  1934.  The  cast  includes  Dorinda 
Clifton,  Ruth  Nelson,  Vanessa  Brown,  and  Warren  Miller. 
Alexis  Thurn-Taxis  is  the  producer,  and  Mel  Ferrer,  the 
director.  Properly  treated,  the  story  should  turn  out  enter- 
taining, but  since  it  has  been  produced  on  a  modest  budget, 
and  since  the  cast  lacks  marquee  strength,  it  will  probably 
end  up  as  the  lower-half  of  a  double  bill  with  only  moderate 
box-office  returns. 

CRIME  DOCTOR'S  WARNING,  a  mystery  melodrama, 
fifth  of  the  series,  starring  Warner  Baxter.  Rudolph  Fluthow 
is  the  producer,  and  William  Castle,  the  director.  It  should 
go  over  wherever  the  series  is  liked,  with  average  box-office 
results. 

RENEGADES,  a  Technicolor  western,  featuring  Evelyn 
Keyes,  Willard  Parker,  and  Larry  Parks.  Michel  Kraike  is 
the  producer,  and  George  Sherman  the  director.  Although 
weak  on  star  values,  it  may  do  fairly  well  wherever  pictures 
of  this  type  are  enjoyed. 


SNAFU,  a  farce-comedy,  based  on  the  Broadway  stage 
play  of  the  same  title.  As  a  play,  it  received  mixed  reviews, 
with  the  T^ew  Jor\  Times  critic  stating  that  it  "is  a  variation 
on  "Kiss  and  Tell"  and  the  others,  although  it  is  not  as  good 
as  most  of  them."  The  cast  includes  Nanette  Parks,  Conrad 
Janis,  Jimmy  Lloyd,  and  Robert  Benchley.  Jack  Moss  is  the 
producer-director.  Since  no  one  in  the  cast  means  anything 
at  the  box-office,  the  picture  will  have  to  depend  on  its  title, 
but  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  word  "Snafu"  is  military 
slang  of  coded  obscenity,  known  to  many  people,  its  box- 
office  value  is  questionable,  particularly  if  Parent-Teacher 
groups  raise  objections  to  it. 

WOMAN  IN  RED,  a  psychological  melodrama,  featur- 
ing Nina  Foch  and  George  Macready.  Wallace  MacDonald 
is  the  producer,  and  John  H.  Lewis,  the  director.  It  should 
turn  out  to  be  just  another  supporting  feature,  with  from 
poor  to  fair  box-office  results. 

VOICE  OF  THE  WHISTLER,  a  psychological  melo- 
drama, fourth  of  the  series  starring  Richard  Dix.  Rudolph 
Fluthow  is  the  producer,  and  William  Castle,  the  director. 
It  should  serve  as  a  fair  supporting  feature,  with  average 
box-office  results. 

IN  PREPARATION 

GILDA,  a  drama  dealing  with  a  gangster's  widow,  who 
is  kept  on  the  straight  and  narrow  path  by  one  of  his  former 
henchmen.  The  picture  stars  Rita  Hayworth,  this  being  her 
first  straight  dramatic  part.  Charles  Vidor  will  direct.  The 
possibilities  of  a  Rita  Hayworth  picture  without  music  is 
difficult  to  forecast,  but  on  the  basis  of  her  popularity  the 
picture  should  do  fairly  well. 

LIFE  WITH  BLONDIE,  a  domestic  comedy,  with  Penny 
Singleton  and  Arthur  Lake.  Burt  Kelly  is  the  producer,  and 
Abby  Berlin,  the  director.  It  should  get  by  as  a  supporting 
feature  wherever  the  series  is  liked,  doing  average  business. 

The  foregoing  list  of  pictures  adds  up  to  a  total  of  fifteen, 
or  more  than  one-third  of  the  total  pictures  one  may  expect 
Columbia  to  deliver  on  its  1945-46  program,  western  melo- 
dramas excluded. 

An  examination  of  this  list  as  to  box-office  possibilities 
leaves  one  with  the  impression  that  Columbia  has  little  to 
brag  about.  Perhaps  that  is  why  it  has  decided  to  do  away 
with  the  usual  "ballyhoo"  that  has  marked  the  announce- 
ment of  its  product  in  seasons  past. 

One  more  proposed  Columbia  picture  this  paper  would 
like  to  say  something  about  is  "Jacobowsky  and  the  Colonel," 
which  is  to  be  based  on  the  successful  Broadway  play  of  the 
same  title.  According  to  reports  in  the  trade  press,  Mr.  Sid- 
ney Buchman  is  now  making  plans  for  its  production.  If  the 
Columbia  salesman  promises  to  deliver  this  picture  as  part  of 
the  1945-46  program,  insist  that  he  put  that  promise  in 
writing  in  the  contract.  Otherwise,  if  the  picture  should  turn 
out  good,  you  should  not  be  surprised  if  Columbia  takes  it 
away  from  you  and  sells  it  separate  and  apart  from  any  pro- 
gram, a  cute  little  trick  it  used  on  its  customers  with  both 
"Kiss  and  Tell"  and  "A  Song  to  Remember." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  1944-45  season,  Columbia  fol- 
lowed the  accepted  practice  of  announcing  its  proposed  pro- 
gram. Now  that  the  season  is  drawing  to  a  close,  we  find  that 
Columbia  will  deliver  to  its  1944-45  contract-holders  only 
thirty-six  out  of  a  promised  forty-four  pictures.  Of  these 
forty-four,  Columbia  promised  that  twenty  would  be  top- 
bracket  films.  The  record  shows,  however,  that  it  will  finish 
the  season  with  only  fourteen  pictures  allocated  to  the  top- 
twenty  brackets  (six  will  not  be  delivered).  And  eight  of 
these  fourteen,  although  designated  as  top  pictures,  have 
played  circuit  houses  as  the  lower-half  of  double-bills. 

This  is  Columbia's  record  of  performance  following  an 
announcement  of  its  proposed  program.  What  then  may  we 
expect  from  Columbia  during  the  1945-46  season,  when  it 
refuses  to  give  even  an  inkling  of  what  its  proposed  program 
will  be? 


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Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  1,  1945  No.  35 

THEY  TALK  OF  SETTLEMENT 


Attorneys  for  the  major  companies  met  last  week 
(Friday)  in  Washington  with  U.  S.  Attorney  Gen' 
eral  Tom  C.  Clark  and  with  Assistant  Attorney 
General  Wendell  Berge,  head  of  the  Department  of 
Justice's  anti-trust  division,  to  discuss  problems  inci- 
dent  to  the  trying  of  the  New  York  anti-trust  case  on 
October  8. 

Reporting  on  this  meeting,  Film  Daily's  Washing- 
ton correspondent  states  that  the  industry  represen- 
tatives inquired  of  Clark  about  the  possibilities  for 
writing  a  new  decree.  Clark  is  reported  to  have  re- 
plied that  he  had  not  given  a  new  decree  any  thought, 
and  that  he  was  too  busy  preparing  to  try  the  case. 
When  the  distributors'  attorneys  asked  him  what  his 
main  objective  was,  Clark  is  said  to  have  replied, 
"Divestiture." 

Film  Daily  reports  further  that  the  possibility  of  a 
new  decree  has  not  been  ruled  out  since  the  defense 
attorneys  have  been  invited  by  Berge  to.  discuss  their 
ideas  for  a  new  decree  with  one  of  the  anti-trust  di- 
vision's representatives.  This  invitation  has  not  yet 
been  accepted. 

"Clark  and  Berge,"  adds  the  report,  "were  told  by 
industry  counsel  that  failing  agreement  on  a  new  de- 
cree, litigation  on  the  case  against  the  majors  will  take 
'from  one  to  five  years."  Berge  replied  that  he  thinks 
the  chances  are  excellent  that  the  whole  case  can  be 
settled  ^n  a  relatively  short  time — far  sooner  than  five 
years." 

It  is  apparent  that,  as  the  date  for  the  New  York 
anti-trust  trial  draws  near,  the  major  companies  are 
becoming  cognisant  of  their  perilous  position.  It 
comes,  therefore,  as  no  surprise  to  informed  industry- 
ites  that  they  should  make  a  final  desperate  attempt  to 
call  off  the  case  in  its  entirety.  In  all  probability,  they 
will  try  once  again  to  get  together  with  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice  to  work  out  a  new  decree,  and  it  can 
be  expected  that  they  may  offer  even  more  concessions 
than  they  have  offered  heretofore.  But  you  may  be 
sure  that  they  will  make  no  concessions  as  regards 
divorcement  from  their  theatre  holdings,  or  that  they 
will  agree  to  any  measures  that  may  seriously  en- 
danger the  power  and  privileges  they  now  enjoy  under 
their  monopoly. 

No  doubt  great  pressure  will  be  brought  to  bear 
against  the  Attorney  General  to  make  a  settlement, 
but  thus  far  there  has  been  no  indication  that  Clark 


intends  to  yield  any  ground,  particularly  in  the  matter 
of  divorcement.  As  a  matter  of  record,  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice,  ever  since  it  instituted  the  anti- trust 
action  against  the  majors  in  1939,  has  repeatedly  con- 
tended that  complete  separation  of  the  defendants' 
theatre  operating  business  from  their  production  and 
distribution  activities  was  the  only  remedy  needed  to 
drive  out  monopolistic  practices  from  the  motion  pic- 
ture industry.  Tom  Clark,  in  his  former  capacity  as 
assistant  attorney  general  in  charge  of  the  anti-trust 
division,  and  in  his  present  capacity  as  U.  S.  Attorney 
General,  has  frequently  subscribed  to  this  view.  It 
would,  therefore,  be  an  unwarranted  reflection  on 
Clark  for  anyone  to  suppose  that,  at  this  late  date,  he 
would  "back-track"  on  his  utterances  and  agree  to  a 
compromise  that  would  leave  the  producer- distribu- 
tors in  possession  and  control  of  their  theatre  interests. 

Now,  more  than  ever,  is  the  time  for  the  independ- 
ent exhibitors  to  make  known  their  feelings  against 
monopolistic  practices.  Don't  sit  back  and  wait  for  the 
outcome  of  the  forthcoming  trial,  feeling  assured  that 
all  will  be  well.  The  Department  of  Justice  has  car- 
ried on  and  is  still  carrying  on  a  valiant  fight  for  your 
right  to  equal  freedom  of  economic  opportunity,  and 
if  it  is  to  succeed  it  must  have  plentiful  information 
as  to  the  abuses  the  producer-distributors  have  prac- 
ticed on  you  over  a  period  of  years.  Such  information 
can  be  furnished  only  by  you,  the  independent  theatre 
owners.  And  unless  every  one  of  you  cooperates  with 
the  Department  and  gives  it  courage  to  continue  the 
fight,  no  matter  how  great  a  pressure  the  producer- 
distributor  interests  bring  to  bear  on  it,  your  chance 
to  shatter  the  chains  that  have  bound  you  for  so  many 
years  may  be  lost. 

Every  thoughtful  exhibitor  realizes  that  so  long  as 
the  producer-distributors  have  a  penny  invested  in 
theatres  they  will  always  have  the  incentive  to  grant 
special  favors  to  these  theatres  and  to  discriminate 
against  the  independent  theatres.  The  only  way  to  re- 
store free  competition  in  our  industry  is  to  deprive  the 
producer-distributors  of  their  ready-made  market,  so 
that  they  will  have  to  resort  to  honest  competition 
among  themselves  for  playing  time.  Only  then  will 
every  independent  exhibitor  be  regarded  and  treated 
as  a  prospective  customer  instead  of  as  a  rival.  More- 
over, a  free  competitive  market  will  make  for  better 
pictures,  and  it  will  also  serve  to  induce  additional 
producers  to  enter  the  field. 


138 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  1,  1945 


"Isle  of  the  Dead"  with  Boris  Karloff, 
Ellen  Drew  and  Marc  Cramer 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  71  min:) 

A  fairly  good  program  melodrama.  It  belongs  in 
the  horror  class  of  entertainment,  and  patrons  with 
strong  nerves  who  go  in  for  pictures  of  this  type 
should  find  it  fairly  exciting,  for  the  story  is  weird 
and  the  suspense  is  sustained  all  the  way  through. 
Some  of  the  action  will  bring  gasps  from  the  audience. 
As  is  usual  in  pictures  of  this  sort,  it  has  an  eerie  at- 
mosphere,  most  of  the  action  taking  place  on  a  lonely 
island  off  the  coast  of  Greece  in  a  dimly  lit,  creepy 
looking  house.  The  closing  scenes,  where  a  demented 
woman  stabs  two  persons  to  death  with  a  trident  (a 
three-pronged  fork) ,  are  so  gruesome  that  they  make 
the  picture  unsuitable  for  children.  The  action  takes 
place  during  the  Balkan  War  of  1912: — 

Accompanied  by  Marc  Cramer,  an  American  news- 
paperman,  Boris  Karloff,  an  iron-willed  Greek  gen- 
eral, visits  his  Wife's  tomb  on  a  tiny  island  off  the 
Greek  mainland  only  to  discover  the  body  missing. 
They  start  a  search  for  the  violators  and  come  across 
a  house  occupied  by  Jason  Robards,  a  Swiss  antique 
collector,  and  by  Helenc  Thimig,  his  housekeeper,  a 
superstitious  old  Greek  woman.  Inhabiting  the  house- 
hold also  as  guests  were  Alan  Napier,  a  British  Con- 
sul; Katherinc  Emery,  his  wife;  Skelton  Knaggs,  a 
Cockney  salesman;  and  Ellen  Drew,  a  Greek  girl,  who 
was  Miss  Emery's  devoted  companion  and  nurse.  The 
general  learns  that  unscrupulous  natives  had  been  rob- 
bing the  graves,  but  the  superstitious  housekeeper 
blames  it  on  "vampires."  Karloff  and  Cramer  spend 
the  night  at  the  house.  In  the  morning,  the  Cockney 
salesman  is  found  dead  from  an  island  plague.  The 
general  quarantines  the  house  and  directs  that  all,  in- 
cluding himself,  must  remain  on  the  island  lest  the 
disease  spread  to  his  armies.  The  British  Consul  is 
next  to  die,  and  the  housekeeper,  discounting  the 
plague,  accuses  Ellen  of  being  a  "vampire"  and  blames 
the  deaths  on  her.  The  others  express  their  contempt 
for  her  ancient  superstitions.  Soon  after,  Miss  Emery 
falls  into  a  cataleptic  trance,  is  pronounced  dead  and 
put  into  a  coffin.  When  the  general  himself  is  stricken, 
he  gives  credence  to  the  housekeeper's  superstitions 
and,  in  the  interest  of  those  still  living,  resolves  to  kill 
Ellen.  Meanwhile  Miss  Emery  regains  consciousness 
and  escapes  from  the  coffin.  Delirious  with  plague  and 
fearful  for  Ellen's  safety,  she  seizes  an  old  brass  trident 
and  kills  both  the  general  and  the  housekeeper  as  they 
prepare  to  dispose  of  Ellen.  Miss  Emery  then  throws 
herself  over  a  cliff.  On  the  following  morning,  a  strong 
wind  blows  away  the  plague,  and  Ellen  and  Cramer 
leave  the  island  to  start  life  anew. 

Ardel  Wray  and  Josef  Mischel  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Val  Lewton  produced  it,  and  Mark  Robson  di- 
rected it.  Jack  J.  Gross  was  executive  producer. 

Adult  entertainment. 

"The  Gay  Senorita" 
with  Jinx  Falkenburg  and  Jim  Bannon 

(Columbia,  August  9;  time,  70  min.) 
Routine  program  fare,  the  sort  that  will  serve  to 
round  out  the  lower  half  of  a  double  bill  wherever 
something  light  is  needed.  If  your  patrons  enjoy  Latin- 
American  music  and  dances,  they  should  find  it  a 
pleasant  hour's  entertainment,  the  kind  one  forgets 
soon  after  leaving  the  theatre.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
music  and  dancing  are  its  main  attractions,  for  the 


story  is  trite  and  its  treatment  unimaginative,  causing 
one's  interest  to  lag.  Not  much  can  be  said  for  either 
the  direction  or  the  acting,  which  is  uninspired.  The 
production  values  are  modest: — 

Thurston  Hall,  a  wealthy  contractor,  plans  to  build 
a  huge  warehouse  in  the  Mexican  quarter  of  a  large 
California  city,  but  Marguerita  Sylva,  leader  of  the 
Mexican  people  in  the  district,  plans  to  rebuild  the 
quarter  with  gay  shops  and  cafes  as  a  monument  to 
the  spirit  of  the  early  Mexicans.  She  urges  her  people 
to  refuse  to  sell  their  properties  to  Hall,  and  then,  ac- 
companied by  Jinx  Falkenburg,  her  granddaughter, 
visits  the  contractor  to  persuade  him  to  forget  his 
plans.  Hall  refuses,  but,  realizing  that  he  was  in  for  a 
fight,  asks  Jim  Bannon,  his  architect-nephew,  to  use 
his  charm  on  the  ladies  in  an  attempt  to  get  them  to 
sell.  Bannon  accepts  the  assignment  with  delight.  He 
conceals  his  identity  and  manages  to  become  friendly 
with  Jinx.  But  he  soon  falls  in  love  with  her  and  finds 
himself  sympathetic  toward  her  plans.  Jinx,  learning 
that  he  was  an  architect,  arranges  to  have  the  deeds 
to  all  the  properties  turned  over  to  him,  and  asks  him 
to  draw  plans  to  rebuild  the  quarter  in  accordance 
with  her  grandmother's  wishes.  Hall,  learning  of  Ban- 
non's  intentions,  discloses  to  Jinx  that  he  was  his 
nephew.  Jinx  and  her  people  feel  that  Bannon  had 
befriended  them  falsely  to  get  hold  of  the  deeds,  but 
the  young  man  soon  convinces  them  of  his  sincerity. 
Aided  by  Jinx  and  the  others,  Bannon  embarks  on  a 
campaign  to  break  down  his  uncle's  resistance.  Hall, 
unable  to  stand  the  good-natured  pressure,  finally 
agrees  to  build  his  warehouse  elsewhere. 

Edward  Eliscu  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jay  Gorney 
produced  it,  and  Arthur  Dreifuss  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Steve  Cochran,  Isabclita  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Swingin'  On  a  Rainbow" 
with  Jane  Frazee  and  Brad  Taylor 

(Republic,  Sept.  1 ;  time,  72  min.) 
Just  a  moderately  entertaining  program  comedy 
with  music.  Here  and  there  it  has  situations  that  will 
provoke  laughs,  but  for  the  most  part  the  comedy, 
some  of  it  slapstick,  is  so  forced  that  it  fails  to  make 
much  of  an  impression.  In  its  favor  are  the  tuneful 
songs  and  the  swift-moving  pace,  as  well  as  the  very 
pleasant  singing  of  Jane  Frazee.  The  story,  which  re- 
volves around  Miss  Frazee 's  efforts  to  outwit  an  un- 
scrupulous bandleader  who  had  plagiarized  one  of  her 
songs,  is  rather  complicated  and  contrived,  but  it  will 
probably  amuse  audiences  that  are  not  too  hard  to 
please : — 

Jane,  an  unknown  singer  with  a  talent  for  writing 
tousic,  submits  an  original  song  to  a  contest  conducted 
by  Richard  Davies,  a  prominent  bandleader,  who  each 
week  awarded  a  $  1 ,000  prize  to  the  composer  of  the 
song  selected.  Although  Jane  receives  notice  that  her 
song  had  been  rejected,  she  hears  Davies  play  it  on  the 
radio  as  one  of  his  own  tunes.  She  rushes  to  New  York 
to  claim  the  prize,  but  Davies  leaves  town  to  avoid  her.  ■ 
Without  funds  to  continue  her  stay  in  New  York, 
Jane,  determined  to  get  the  prize  money,  represents 
herself  as  Davies'  niece  and  manages  to  gain  the  use 
of  his  swank  hotel  apartment  during  his  absence. 
There,  sight  unseen,  she  carries  on  a  wall-pounding 
feud  with  Brad  Taylor,  her  neighbor,  a  wealthy  but 
striving  lyric  writer.  Through  a  series  of  circum- 
stances, Jane,  posing  as  Davies'  collaborator,  submits 


September  1, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


139 


her  songs  for  a  proposed  radio  show  sponsored  by 
Minna  Gombell,  a  manufacturer  of  beauty  aids,  on 
which  Amelita  Ward,  Taylor's  fiancee,  was  to  be  the 
star  singer.  Taylor,  through  Amelita's  influence,  is 
hired  to  write  the  lyrics  for  Jane's  music.  Jane  and 
Taylor  fall  in  love,  much  to  Amelita's  displeasure. 
Meanwhile  Davies,  learning  that  Jane  was  posing  as 
his  collaborator,  rushes  back  to  New  York.  After  a 
series  of  incidents,  in  which  Amelita  withdraws  from 
the  show  on  the  night  of  the  premiere,  and  in  which 
Jane,  substituting  for  her,  proves  a  sensation,  Davies, 
who  had  threatened  to  stop  the  show,  changes  his  mind 
and  willingly  accepts  Jane  as  his  collaborator.  With 
Amelita  out  of  the  way,  Jane  and  Taylor  plan  to 
marry. 

Olive  Cooper  and  John  Grey  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Eddy  White  produced  it,  and  William  Beaudine  di- 
rected  it.  The  cast  includes  Harry  Langdon,  Tim 
Ryan,  Paul  Harvey  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


TWO  IMPORTANT  EXHIBITOR 
MEETINGS 

(Continued  from  bac\  page) 
resenting  the  participating  exhibitor  units,  and  with 
such  exhibitors  he  deemed  necessary,  to  cooperate  with 
and  support  the  Government  in  such  matters  and  to 
such  extent  as  may  be  agreeable  to  the  Department  of 
Justice. 

To  bring  the  participating  units  closer  together  on 
matters  of  mutual  interest,  it  was  proposed  that  the 
scope  of  the  Conference,  which  was  originally  con' 
fined  to  the  Consent  Decree,  be  enlarged  to  include 
such  matters  as  exorbitant  and  discriminating  film 
rentals,  and  taxation.  Without  taking  formal  action, 
it  was  agreed  that  the  General  Counsel  should  notify 
the  participating  units  whenever  tax  hearings  are 
scheduled,  so  that  arrangements  might  be  made  for 
joint  representation. 

Jesse  L.  Stern,  of  the  Unaffiliated  Exhibitors  of 
New  York  City,  was  elected  Moderator,  and  Nathin 
Yamins,  of  the  Independent  Exhibitors  of  New  Eng- 
land,  treasurer. 

The  following  is  a  report  on  the  meeting  of  Allied's 
Board  of  Directors : 

The  resolutions  adopted  and  the  other  action  taken 
by  the  CLE.  were  approved. 

The  Goldman  case  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  the 
U.  S.  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  held  that  the  eight 
major  companies  were  guilty  of  violating  the  anti-trust 
laws,  was  discussed  by  Mr.  Myers,  who  explained 
that,  under  the  decision,  exhibitors  who  could  not 
qualify  for  relief  under  Section  X  of  the  Consent 
Decree  could  now  file  suit  with  good  prospect  of 
success. 

In  the  matter  of  "jack-rabbit"  16mm  shows,  re- 
ports  were  made  of  conditions  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the  situation  was 
getting  out  of  hand.  It  was  reported  also  that  four 
distributors  have  directed  their  managers  to  prepare 
for  handling  of  16mm  prints.  The  committee  in  charge 
of  this  matter  was  requested  to  question  again  the 
distributors  about  their  intentions  as  regards  16mm 
distribution  in  the  domestic  market.  During  the  dis- 
cussion,  it  was  suggested  that  exhibitors  in  situations 
that  draw  patronage  from  small  towns  without  thea- 
tres  should  protect  themselves  by  running  16mm 
shows  in  such  towns. 


The  Board  adopted  unanimously  a  resolution  to  be 
sent  to  President  Truman  congratulating  him  on  the 
victorious  ending  of  the  war,  and  pledging  support 
and  cooperation  in  the  post-war  era. 

A  discussion  was  held  on  pre-fabricated  theatres, 
and  it  was  the  consensus  of  opinion  that  they  were 
more  of  a  menace  than  a  boom.  Leo  Yassenoff,  of  the 
ITO  of  Ohio,  who  has  had  extensive  experience  in 
theatre  construction,  doubted  if  pre-fabricated  thea- 
tres could  be  manufactured,  transported,  and  erected 
as  cheaply  as  theatres  constructed  on  the  site. 

A  brief  discussion  was  held  on  the  Mead  Bill 
(S.1320),  which  involves  Government  financing  of 
small  business.  The  General  Counsel  was  requested  to 
keep  the  Board  informed  on  the  progress  of  the  meas- 
ure. 

A  resolution  was  adopted  approving  in  principle  a 
plan  introduced  recently  by  Mrs.  Arretus  Burt,  mo- 
tion picture  chairman  of  the  General  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs,  calling  for  the  curbing  of  juvenile 
delinquency  through  suitable  motion  picture  pro- 
grams. 

Taking  exception  to  a  story  in  the  August  14  issue 
of  Film  Daily,  which  listed  by  names  a  large  number 
of  exhibitors  and  leaders,  including  many  present  at 
the  meeting,  as  having  written  letters  approving 
MGM's  "19  point"  sales  policy,  the  Board,  after  es- 
tablishing that  neither  the  leaders  present,  nor  any 
Allied  regional  association  as  a  body,  had  endorsed  or 
approved  the  MGM  policy  as  represented  in  the  story, 
passed  a  resolution  protesting  MGM's  release  of  the 
story.  (Editor's  Note:  Following  announcement  of 
this  resolution,  William  F.  Rodgers,  MGM's  vice- 
president  and  general  sales  manager,  stated  that  the 
trade  papers  had  misinterpreted  the  fact  that  twenty- 
eight  exhibitor  leaders  had  written  to  him  in  answer 
to  his  invitation  to  present  to  him  subjects  for  discus- 
sion at  the  recent  MGM  sales  meeting  in  Chicago.) 

In  the  matter  of  film  prices,  the  Board  adopted 
unanimously  a  resolution,  applicable  to  all  the  com- 
panies, to  the  effect  that  no  exhibitor  should  be  com- 
pelled or  required,  against  his  will  or  judgment,  to 
submit  to  any  of  the  following  practices  as  a  condition 
to  the  right  to  obtain  pictures:  (1)  Blind  pricing;  (2) 
Percentage  arrangements;  (3)  Practices  that  deprive 
an  exhibitor  of  control  over  the  operating  policies  of 
his  theatre,  chief  among  which  are  preferred  playing 
time,  extended  runs,  and  increased  admission  prices. 

Considerable  attention  was  given  to  the  subject  of 
checking,  particularly  with  reference  to  Confidential 
Reports,  Inc.  It  was  reported  that  facts  gathered 
during  an  investigation  of  this  company  disclosed  that 
the  principal  complaints  related  to  the  use  of  local 
checkers,  as  well  as  of  incompetent  checkers.  It  was 
reported  also  that  considerable  evidence  was  gathered 
tending  to  show  collusion  between  the  distributors 
owning  and  using  the  service  of  Confidential  Reports. 
A  resolution  was  adopted  directing  the  General  Coun- 
sel to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  complaints 
with  a  view  to  lodging  such  information  with  the 
proper  authorities,  should  the  facts  developed  warrant 
such  action. 

Some  of  the  directors  expressed  the  view  that  check- 
ing as  practiced  was  antiquated,  unsatisfactory,  and 
an  unnecessary  drain  on  the  industry.  Different  sub- 
stitutes for  checking  were  suggested  and,  without 
passing  on  the  merits  of  these  suggestions,  the  Board 
authorized  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  in- 
vestigate the  subject. 


140 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  1,  1945 


16MM  "JACK-RABBIT"  SHOWS 

Arthur  M.  Locw,  president  of  Loew's  International 
Corporation,  announced  recently  that  his  company 
would  organize  a  special  division  for  the  distribution 
in  foreign  markets  of  MGM  features  and  short  sub- 
jects in  16mm  film. 

Mr.  Loew  said  that  the  16mm  prints  would  supple 
ment  rather  than  supplant  the  foreign  markets  now 
served  with  35mm  prints,  the  purpose  of  the  new 
division  being  to  open  up  a  new  field  by  bringing  film 
entertainment  to  people  who  live  in  isolated  commu- 
nities or  in  towns  that  are  too  small  to  support  a 
regular  theatre. 

He  made  it  clear,  however,  that  the  new  division 
would  confine  its  activities  to  foreign  markets,  and  that 
the  distribution  of  16mm  prints  was  not  contemplated 
by  MGM  in  cither  the  United  States  or  Canada.  Mr. 
Locw  stated  also  that  the  distribution  of  16mm  prints 
in  foreign  markets  would  in  no  way  compete  with  the 
territories  now  being  served  with  35mm  prints. 

"For  several  years,"  said  Mr.  Loew,  "I  have  ob- 
served and  studied  the  increasing  use  of  16mm  film. 
The  war  has  given  tremendous  impetus  to  the  im- 
provement of  16mm  projectors,  sound,  and  film,  and 
today  narrow-guage  film  approaches  35mm  quality 
when  projected  before  audiences  of  less  than  1,000. 

"I  do  not  believe  that  35mm  will  be  discarded  in 
favor  of  16mm;  far  from  it.  What  will  happen,  in  my 
opinion,  is  that  16mm  will  open  up  a  new  audience 
for  pictures  that  35mm  has  cither  never  reached  or 
barely  touched.  .  .  . 

"Mobile  projector  units  will  be  used,  similar  to  the 
mobile  units  that  have  followed  our  soldiers  wherever 
they  have  gone.  By  this  means  no  location  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  is  too  remote  to  be  reached  by  16mm  film." 

According  to  present  plans,  Mr.  Loew  expects  to 
have  every  current  MGM  picture  reduced  to  16mm, 
with  prints  available  for  release  in  foreign  markets  by 
January  1. 

MGM's  entrance  into  the  16mm  distribution  field 
makes  it  the  first  of  the  large  motion  picture  companies 
to  take  this  step.  That  some  of  the  other  companies  will 
soon  follow  MGM  into  this  field  is  almost  a  foregone 
conclusion,  for  there  is  apparently  a  tremendous  audi- 
ence potential  in  territories  throughout  the  world  that 
can  now  be  reached  by  mobile  16mm  projection  units. 

Although  MGM  has  given  assurances  that,  insofar 
as  entertainment  films  are  concerned,  it  will  confine 
its  16mm  activities  to  foreign  fields,  the  question  arises 
as  to  whether  or  not  the  other  companies,  in  the  event 
that  they  should  enter  16mm  distribution,  will  give 
similar  assurances. 

Just  how  lucrative  will  be  the  new  markets  acces- 
sible by  mobile  projection  units  remains  to  be  seen, 
but,  assuming  that  these  markets  turn  out  highly  prof- 
itable, there  is  a  possibility  that  some  of  the  companies 
may  decide  to  establish  mobile  units  to  service  rural 
areas  within  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Then  the 
16mm  business  would  indeed  become  a  threat  to 
theatre  exhibition.  It  might  not  be  entirely  objection- 
able if  the  mobile  units  confined  their  showings  to 
purely  rural  districts  that  do  not  have  ready  access  to 
established  theatres.  And  in  that  case,  care  would  have 
to  be  exercised  to  keep  the  mobile  units  out  of  small 
towns,  even  though  they  have  no  theatres,,  but  from 
which  many  exhibitors  draw  patronage. 

No  one  can  say  at  this  time  just  how  intensified  the 
use  of  16mm  entertainment  films  will  become  as  re- 


gards their  exhibition  by  mobile  units.  No  one  can 
deny,  however,  that  it  poses  a  serious  competitive 
threat  to  the  established  exhibitor. 

The  exhibitors  can  expect  little  if  any  protection 
from  mobile  units  exhibiting  entertainment  films  that 
arc  produced  by  independent  people  exclusively  for 
the  16mm  market.  But  when  it  comes  to  entertainment 
films  produced  for  established  theatres  in  35mm,  and 
then  reduced  to  16mm  for  what  is  known  in  the  trade 
as  "jack-rabbit"  shows,  then  the  exhibitors  can  and 
should  take  steps  to  protect  their  interests. 

In  the  first  place,  they  should  demand  of  the  differ- 
ent distributors  an  expression  of  their  plans  and  inten- 
tions regarding  16mm  films.  Then,  again,  they  should 
insist  upon  the  inclusion  in  their  film  contracts  of  a 
clause  to  the  effect  that  the  pictures  they  license  for 
exhibition  will  not  be  furnished  to  others  in  16mm 
prints  for  exhibition  within  the  area  serviced  by  their 
theatres. 


TWO  IMPORTANT  EXHIBITOR 
MEETINGS 

On  August  21,  22  and  23,  the  Conference  of  Inde- 
pendent Exhibitors  and  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
Allied  States  Association  met  in  session,  separately, 
in  Pittsburgh,  to  discuss  current  as  well  as  post-war 
problems  affecting  independent  exhibition. 

Because  the  C  LE.  and  National  Allied  reflect  the 
opinions  of  truly  independent  exhibitors,  Harrison's 
Reports  believes  that  a  summary  of  the  business 
transacted  and  the  decisions  made  at  both  meetings 
will  be  of  interest  to  its  subscribers. 

The  following  is  a  report  on  the  meeting  of  the 
CLE.: 

Present  were  representatives  of  the  Independent 
Exhibitors  of  New  England;  Allied  Theatres  of 
Conn.;  Allied  Theatre  Owners  of  New  Jersey;  Mo- 
tion Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Maryland;  Allied 
Ind.  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pa.;  Allied  Motion 
Picture  Owners  of  Western  Pa.;  ITO  of  Ohio;  Allied 
Theatres  of  Michigan ;  ITO  Protective  Association  of 
Wisconsin  and  Upper  Michigan;  Allied  Theatre 
Owners  of  Texas;  Associated  Theatre  Owners  of  In- 
diana; Allied  Theatre  Owners  of  Illinois;  Unaffiliated 
Independent  Exhibitors  of  New  York  City;  Allied- 
Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Iowa-Nebraska; 
North  Central  Allied  Independent  Theatres;  and  the 
Pacific  Coast  Conference,  which  is  comprised  of  the 
ITO  of  Northern  California  and  Nebraska,  ITO  of 
Southern  California  and  Arizona,  ITO  of  Washing- 
ton, Northern  Idaho,  and  Alaska,  and  the  ITO  of 
Oregon. 

Abram  F.  Myers,  Allied's  General  Counsel,  re- 
ported on  the  status  of  the  Government's  anti-trust 
suit  against  the  major  companies,  the  investigations 
carried  on  by  the  Department  of  Justice  in  the  field, 
and  the  procedure  to  be  followed  at  the  trial. 

A  resolution  addressed  to  the  Attorney  General 
was  adopted  by  the  conference  expressing  confidence 
in  and  appreciation  of  the  manner  in  which  the  suit 
has  been  and  is  being  handled,  and  pledging  the  Con- 
ference's continued  cooperation  and  support. 

The  delegates  expressed  the  unanimous  view  that 
the  Conference  should  be  continued  at  least  until  a 
final  decree  had  been  entered.  Mr.  Myers  was  ap- 
pointed General  Counsel  of  the  Conference,  and  he 
was  authorized  to  associate  himself  with  counsel  rep- 
(Continued  on  inside  page) 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  8,  1945  No.  36 


A  FORMIDABLE  THREAT  FROM 
16MM  EXHIBITION 

There  is  a  growing  concern  among  many  exhibitors 
over  the  possibility  of  the  1 6mm  film  business  becom- 
ing a  serious  competitive  threat  to  the  established 
motion  picture  theatre.  In  fact,  so  great  has  become 
this  concern  that  the  subject  was  given  the  attention 
of  National  AlliecTs  board  of  directors  at  its  meeting 
held  in  Pittsburgh  two  weeks  ago.  As  reported  in  last 
week's  issue  of  this  paper,  Allied's  board  of  directors, 
after  hearing  reports  of  conditions  in  different  parts 
of  the  country  as  regards  "jack-rabbit1''  16mm  shows, 
agreed  that  the  situation  was  getting  out  of  hand. 

Just  how  the  expansion  of  the  16mm  film  business 
poses  a  threat  to  established  exhibition  is  contained 
in  a  series  of  two  very  informative  articles,  written 
recently  by  James  M.  Jerauld,  editor  of  Boxoffice, 
which  appeared  in  the  August  4  and  25  issues  of 
that  paper.  Following  are  some  of  the  highlights  in 
Mr.  Jerauld's  articles  concerning  the  expansion  of 
the  1 6mm  field : 

In  seven  years,  the  16mm  film  business  has  ex- 
panded to  a  national  enterprise  with  more  projec- 
tion outlets  than  the  35  mm  standard  theater  film. 
This  is  in  spite  of  the  war,  which  diverted  an  esti- 
mated 25,000  16mm  projectors  to  the  armed  services. 

Distributors  of  narrow  gauge  film  say  that  they 
are  on  the  verge  of  a  tremendous  expansion,  and  that 
large  scale  plans  for  the  production  of  entertainment 
films  exclusively  for  16mm  use  are  now  under  way, 
with  no  restrictions  on  their  exhibition. 

Jack  Seaman,  president  of  Planet  Pictures,  a  new 
1 6mm  entertainment  project,  estimates  that  the  num- 
ber of  16mm  projectors  now  in  use  is  about  70,000, 
and  he  says  that  certain  financial  groups  are  planning 
to  open  circuits  of  16mm  theatres.  These  same  groups 
will  rely  also  upon  portable  equipment  for  smaller 
communities.  Seaman  estimates  that  there  is  a  poten- 
tial audience  of  10,000,000  persons  in  the  United 
States  alone. 

According  to  those  in  the  16mm  field,  any  com- 
munity of  at  least  500  persons  is  a  profitable  stopping 
place  for  a  mobile  unit  using  portable  16mm  equip- 
ment. 

The  most  important  element  still  lacking  in  the 
16mm  business  is  a  system  of  national  distribution, 
but  two  companies  are  now  in  the  process  of  working 
out  a  method  of  supplying  this  element. 

"Anybody  with  a  projector,"  writes  Mr.  Jerauld, 
"can  get  a  complete  entertainment  program  any- 
where by  simply  writing  a  letter  to  one  of  the  dozens 
of  distributing  companies  and  enclosing  a  check  after 
specifying  the  subjects.  These  subjects  run  from  the 
latest  newsreels  made  from  combat  footage  furnished 
free  by  the  Government,  through  old  cartoons  and 


20-minute  name  band  numbers  to  features.  Longest 
feature  in  circulation  in  the  16mm  field  is  John  Stein- 
beck's 'Of  Mice  and  Men,'  104  minutes.  Rental  prices 
range  from  $2.75  to  $17.50  per  subject,  some  out- 
standing features  correspondingly  higher. 

"Many  projector  owners  who  started  out  with 
home  entertainment  for  their  families  and  friends  are 
now  exhibitors  on  a  small  scale.  One  California  man 
has  a  big  bus  with  52  seats.  Some  furnish  shows  to 
organisations  for  which  they  are  paid  fees;  others 
tour  with  their  own  shows  and  charge  their  own  ad- 
missions. A  book  has  been  published  on  how  to  do  this. 

"As  no  operators  license  is  required,  the  stock  being 
non-inflammible,  and  there  is  no  overhead,  the  admis- 
sions are  nominal.  This  puts  the  16mm  business  into 
the  free  and  easy  era  of  the  early  35  mm  days  40 
years  ago,  with  admissions  often  as  low  as  15  cents." 

Elsewhere  in  his  articles,  Mr.  Jerauld  writes  of  the 
progress  made  by  the  16mm  business  in  the  educa- 
tional, religious,  and  advertising  fields,  and  he  indi- 
cates that  the  success  of  these  operations  has  given 
many  of  the  16mm  distributors,  as  well  as  operators, 
new  ideas  for  expansion  in  the  entertainment  field. 
He  points  out  also  that  some  sizeable  organizations 
have  decided  to  go  into  16mm  distribution  on  a  na- 
tional scale.  He  reports  that  Ross  Federal,  for  exam- 
ple, plans  to  maintain  film  libraries  in  its  thirty-one 
offices  throughout  the  country,  and  to  handle  projec- 
tion equipment  and  supplies  for  all  comers.  Another 
one  mentioned  is  George  Hirliman,  head  of  Inter- 
national Theatrical  and  Television  Corporation,  who 
intends  to  establish  thirty  exchanges.  In  addition  to 
distribution,  Mr.  Hirliman  is  said  to  plan,  not  only  to 
produce  16mm  films  for  entertainment,  but  also  to 
market  a  new  16mm  projector  for  $149.50,  as  com- 
pared with  the  current  price  of  $379. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  rapid  progress  made  by 
the  16mm  interests  in  the  past  seven  years,  together 
with  their  ambitious  plans  for  expansion  in  the  com- 
ing years,  may  develop  into  a  serious  competitive 
threat  to  established  exhibition,  particularly  to  ex- 
hibitors in  situations  that  depend  upon  rural  patron- 
age from  the  outlying  districts  of  the  areas  they  serve. 

As  it  has  already  been  said  in  these  columns  last 
week,  there  remains  to  be  seen  just  how  lucrative  will 
be  the  new  markets  accessible  to  mobile  16mm  pro- 
jection units.  However,  since  the  indications  are  that 
these  markets  may  turn  out  profitable,  the  thoughtful 
exhibitor  will  begin  now  to  form  his  plans  to  counter- 
act whatever  competition  16mm  exhibition  may  offer 
in  his  territory. 

Because  some  of  the  large  motion  picture  com- 
panies may  think  of  entering  16mm  distribution  in 
this  country  themselves,  this  paper  suggested  last 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


142 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  8,  1945 


"A  Sporting  Chance"  with  Jane  Randolph 
and  John  O'Malley 

('Republic,  June  4;  time,  56  min.) 

Although  it  offers  little  that  is  novel,  this  comedy 
melodrama  should  provide  a  diverting  hour's  enter- 
tainment as  the  lower  half  of  a  mid-week  double  bill 
in  secondary  theatres.  The  story,  which  is  just  another 
version  of  the  "spoiled  young  heiress  proves  her 
worth"  theme,  is  ordinary,  and  its  treatment  is  con- 
ventional, but  it  has  enough  comedy,  romantic  com- 
plications, and  exciting  action  to  please  those  who  are 
not  too  fussy.  The  melodramatic  part  of  the  story  is 
rather  contrived,  but  it  serves  to  give  the  picture  an 
exciting  climax.  Considering  the  material,  the  direc- 
tion and  the  acting  arc'  adequate : — 

When  Robert  Middlcmass,  a  wealthy  shipbuilder, 
dies,  he  leaves  his  fortune  to  Jane  Randolph,  his 
flighty  niece,  with  a  condition  that,  during  the  course 
of  a  year,  she  hold  down  a  job  at  the  shipyards  solely 
on  her  own  merit  and  ability.  The  wiH  stipulated  also 
that  John  O'Malley,  manager  of  the  shipyards  and 
executor  of  the  estate,  was  to  be  the  sole  judge  of 
Jane's  right  to  inherit  the  estate.  Jane  accuses 
O'Malley  of  influencing  her  uncle  against  her,  but 
she  accepts  the  challenge  of  the  will  and  determines 
to  make  good.  She  moves  to  a  cheap  boarding  house 
tenanted  by  other  shipyard  workers,  and  accepts  a 
menial  job  at  the  yards.  Without  revealing  her  iden- 
tity, she  labors  hard  and  is  advanced  gradually.  Ste- 
phen Barclay,  a  fellow  boarder,  becomes  attracted  to 
her,  but  although  Jane  treats  him  pleasantly  she  finds 
that  her  feelings  toward  O'Malley  had  become  more 
favorable.  O'Malley,  having  noticed  that  Jane  had 
become  more  human  and  generous,  finds  himself  fall- 
ing in  love  with  her.  Barclay,  considering  him  a  rival, 
becomes  insanely  jealous.  Their  rivalry  eventually 
leads  to  a  fist  fight  on  the  deck  of  a  ship  under  con- 
struction, during  which  Barclay  accidentally  falls  into 
a  hold  that  had  been  set  on  fire.  O'Malley,  disregard- 
ing his  own  safety,  extinguishes  the  blaze  and  rescues 
Barclay.  Jane  ends  the  rivalry  by  declaring  her  love 
for  O'Malley. 

Dane  Lussier  wrote  the  screen  play,  Rudolph  E. 
Abel  produced  it,  and  George  Blair  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Edward  Gargan,  Isabel  Withers  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Come  Out  Fighting"  with 
the  East  Side  Kids 

(Monogram,  Sept.  29;  time,  62  min.) 
A  satisfactory  program  entertainment  for  followers 
of  the  "East  Side  Kids"  pictures,  of  which  this  is  the 
latest.  The  plot  follows  faithfully  the  usual  pattern 
employed  in  the  series,  with  the  "Kids,"  led  by  Leo 
Gorcey,  their  cocky  leader,  becoming  involved  with 
racketeers  but  working  on  the  side  of  law  and  order. 
Despite  the  story's  flimsiness,  however,  it  moves  along 
at  a  rapid  pace  and  has  plentiful  comedy.  Consider- 
able laughter  is  provoked  by  Gorcey 's  misuse  of  big 
words  and  by  the  usual  rowdy,  mischievous  antics  of 
the  "Kids."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  comedy  is  better 
than  it  has  been  in  most  of  the  recent  pictures  in  the 
series: — 

Because  of  their  rowdyism  while  training  for  a  box- 
ing tournament,  the  "Kids"  are  punished  by  a  neigh- 
borhood policeman,  who  padlocks  their  clubroom. 


Gorcey,  however,  arranges  with  June  Carlson,  his 
girl  friend,  whose  father  was  a  police  sergeant,  to 
intercede  with  Addison  Richards,  the  police  com- 
missioner, to  countermand  the  closing  order. 
Richards,  taking  a  liking  to  the  "Kids,"  agrees  to 
open  the  clubhouse.  He  then  arranges  for  them  to 
accept  Johnny  Duncan,  his  pampered  son,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  club  "to  make  a  man  out  of  him."  Mean- 
while George  Meeker,  a  gambling  racketeer,  plots  to 
discredit  the  commissioner  and  to  put  Pat  Gleason, 
his  gambling  competitor,  out  of  business;  he  arranges 
with  Amclita  Ward  to  vamp  the  commissioner's  son 
and  to  lure  him  to  Gleason 's  gambling  club  on  a  night 
set  for  a  police  raid.  Gorcey,  who  was  employed  by 
Gleason  as  a  chauffeur,  learns  of  the  plot  and  leads 
the  "Kids"  to  the  club  to  spirit  Duncan  away  before 
the  police  arrive.  Although  he  succeeds  in  saving 
the  young  man,  Gorcey  himself  is  caught  in  the  raid 
and  jailed.  The  subsequent  notoriety  given  the  inci- 
dent results  in  Gorcey 's  disqualification  from  the 
boxing  tournament.  The  commissioner's  son,  how- 
ever, substitutes  for  Gorcey  in  the  boxing  match,  and 
wins.  The  young  man  then  reveals  the  truth  to  his 
father,  who  sees  to  it  that  Gorcey  is  vindicated 
publicly. 

Earle  Snell  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sam  Katzman 
and  Jack  Dictz  produced  it,  and  William  Beaudine 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Huntz  Hall,  Billy  Bene- 
dict, Gabriel  Dell,  Robart  Homans,  Davidson  Clark 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Girl  of  the  Limberlost"  with 
Dorinda  Clifton  and  Ruth  Nelson 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  60  min.) 

A  moderately  entertaining  human-interest  drama, 
the  sort  that  should  appeal  to  the  family  trade.  The 
lack  of  star  names,  however,  and  the  extremely  mod- 
est production  values  relegate  the  picture  to  lower 
half  billing  in  small-town  and  neighborhood  houses. 
The  story,  which  is  based  on  Gene  Stratton- Porter's 
well-known  novel,  has  been  produced  twice  before — 
by  FBO  in  1924,  and  by  Monogram  in  1934.  It  deals 
with  the  trials  and  tribulations  of  a  young  girl,  who 
is  hated  and  tyrannized  by  her  unreasonable  mother. 
One  feels  considerable  sympathy  for  Dorinda  Clifton, 
the  heroine,  because  of  the  suffering  brought  to  her 
by  her  mother's  cruel  attitude.  Ruth  Nelson,  as  the 
mother,  has  an  unsympathetic  part,  but  she  handles 
it  well.  The  closing  scenes,  in  which  mother  and 
daughter  are  reconciled,  are  touching.  Discriminating 
patrons  may  find  the  story  old-fashioned  and  over- 
sentimental  : — 

Living  in  self-imposed  poverty  on  a  lonely  farm, 
Ruth  Nelson  hated  her  daughter  Dorinda  because 
she  felt  that  the  girl  had  been  the  cause  of  her  hus- 
band's death.  He  had  met  with  an  accident  years  pre- 
viously, and  Ruth  had  been  unable  to  save  him  be- 
cause of  her  pregnant  condition.  Despite  her  mother's 
cruelties  and  her  refusal  to  pay  for  her  high  school 
tuition,  Dorinda  determines  to  better  herself.  She 
raises  money  for  her  education  by  selling  her  collec- 
tion of  butterflies,  and  through  the  kindly  aid  of  her 
principal  becomes  a  star  pupil.  He  even  teaches  her 
to  play  the  violin.  Peggy  Converse,  an  ill  neighbor, 
gives  Dorinda  a  violin  that  had  belonged  to  her  father, 
but  makes  her  vow  that  she  will  keep  the  instrument 


September  8, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


143 


hidden  from  her  mother.  Ruth  eventually  comes  upon 
Dorinda  playing  the  violin  secretly  in  the  woods,  and 
she  recognizes  it  as  the  one  owned  by  her  late  hus- 
band. Enraged,  she  smashes  the  instrument.  Dorinda, 
heartbroken,  leaves  home  and  goes  to  live  with  a 
neighbor.  Ruth,  learning  that  Peggy  had  given  the 
violin  to  Dorinda,  visits  the  sick  woman's  home.  There 
she  learns  that  her  husband  had  been  untrue  to  her, 
and  that  he  had  been  in  love  with  Peggy.  Realizing 
that  she  had  been  worshipping  the  memory  of  an 
unworthy  man,  Ruth  changes  her  ways  and  bestows 
upon  her  daughter  the  motherly  love  due  her. 

Erna  Lazurus  wrote  the  screen  play,  Alexis  Thurn- 
Taxis  produced  it,  and  Mel  Ferrer  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  James  Bell,  Loren  Tindall  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"First  Yank  in  Tokyo"  with  Tom  Neal 
and  Barbara  Hale 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time  82  min.) 

Because  of  its  timely  title,  and  of  the  fact  that  the 
story  has  been  tied  in  with  the  atomic  bomb,  "First 
Yank  in  Tokyo"  may  do  exceptional  business,  depend' 
ing  on  how  well  the  picture  is  exploited.  As  entertain- 
ment, however,  it  is  no  more  than  a  fairly  exciting  spy 
melodrama,  with  a  story  that  is  highly  implausible. 
Yet  it  should  go  over  pretty  well  with  those  who  are 
willing  to  overlook  the  incredibilities  of  a  plot,  for 
the  action  is  never  permitted  to  lag,  and  suspense  is 
sustained  all  the  way  through.  Tom  Neal,  as  the 
American  soldier  who,  through  plastic  surgery, 
changes  his  facial  features  to  that  of  a  Japanese  in 
an  effort  to  contact  an  American  war  prisoner  in 
Japan,  gives  a  very  acceptable  performance,  despite 
the  fantastic  demands  of  his  part.  As  is  to  be  expected 
in  pictures  of  this  type.  Japanese  bestiality  is  empha- 
sized. On  the  whole,  it  is  a  picture  that  should  appeal 
more  to  men  than  to  women : — 

Neal,  a  Major  in  the  American  Air  Force,  who 
had  lived  in  Japan  and  spoke  the  language  well,  is 
asked  by  his  superiors  to  volunteer  for  an  important 
but  dangerous  mission  — •  that  of  making  contact  with 
Marc  Cramer,  an  Army  ordnance  expert,  held  pris- 
oner in  Japan,  to  obtain  from  him  secret  information 
needed  to  complete  the  atomic  bomb.  Neal  accepts 
the  assignment  and  agrees  to  submit  to  plastic  surgery 
to  change  his  facial  features,  fully  realizing  that  he 
would  look  like  a  Japanese  for  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  After  months  of  intensive  training,  Neal  is 
smuggled  into  Japan  by  the  Korean  "underground" 
and,  posing  as  a  discharged  Japanese  war  hero,  makes 
his  way  to  the  prison  camp  where  Cramer  was  held. 
There,  he  is  shocked  to  find  Barbara  Hale,  his  sweet- 
heart, whom  he  believed  had  died  on  Bataan,  acting 
as  head  nurse  in  the  prison  hospital.  Barbara,  how- 
ever, fails  to  recognize  him.  To  aggravate  his  perilous 
position,  Neal  discovers  that  the  commandant  of  the 
camp  (Richard  Loo)  was  his  former  roommate  at  an 
American  college.  Loo  fails  to  recognize  Neal,  but 
suspects  that  they  had  met  previously.  Neal,  aided 
by  Keye  Luke,  a  Korean  agent,  contacts  Cramer  and 
obtains  from  him  the  secret  data.  On  the  night  he 
plans  to  return  home,  Neal  learns  that  Loo  was  forc- 
ing his  unwanted  attentions  upon  Barbara.  He  re- 
solves to  take  both  Barbara  and  Cramer  back  with 
him,  but  in  the  attempt  he  inadvertently  reveals  his 
identity  to  Loo.  There  follows  a  series  of  breathtak- 


ing events,  in  which  Neal  succeeds  in  spiriting  Bar- 
bara and  Cramer  aboard  a  waiting  British  submarine 
while  he  and  Luke  hold  off  the  attackers  at  the  cost 
of  their  lives. 

J.  Robert  Bren  wrote  the  screen  play  and  produced 
it.  Gordon  Douglas  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Leonard  Strong,  Benson  Fong  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally* 

"Shady  Lady"  with  Ginny  Simms, 
Robert  Paige  and  Charles  Coburn 

(Universal,  Sept.  6;  time,  93  min.) 

A  fairly  good  comedy-melodrama,  with  music,  but 
it  does  not  rise  much  above  the  level  of  program  grade. 
The  production  is  not  pretentious,  nor  does  the  or- 
dinary story  take  any  unexpected  twists,  but  it  has 
enough  good  comedy  situations  and  witty  dialogue 
to  put  it  across  with  average  audiences.  Charles  Co- 
burn,  by  his  expert  handling  of  the  comedy  lines, 
makes  more  of  the  material  than  what  it  really  offers. 
In  addition  to  playing  the  romantic  lead,  Ginny 
Simms  sings  several  songs  in  her  usual  good  voice, 
but  the  tunes  are  not  the  sort  that  will  linger  in 
one's  mind  after  leaving  the  theatre.  A  short  but 
amusing  sequence  is  the  one  in  which  Joe  Frisco,  as 
a  tramp  on  a  park  bench,  offers  advice  on  love  to  the 
romancing  hero  and  heroine: — 

Released  from  a  Kentucky  prison,  Charles  Coburn, 
a  professional  card  sharp,  is  met  by  Ginny  Simms,  his 
niece,  singer  in  a  Chicago  night-club,  who  determines 
to  make  him  go  "straight."  On  the  train  to  Chicago, 
Ginny  has  an  unpleasant  encounter  with  Robert 
Paige,  a  deputy  state's  attorney,  when  he  mistakenly 
enters  her  drawing  room.  Coburn  is  delighted  to 
find  that  the  club  Ginny  sang  in  had  a  back-room 
poker  game,  one  of  several  rackets  operated  by  Alan 
Curtis,  who  owned  the  club,  but  before  he  can  join 
the  game  it  is  stopped  by  Curtis,  who  had  been  in- 
formed that  Paige  was  about  to  stage  a  raid.  Unknown 
to  Paige,  his  sister,  Martha  O'Driscoll,  had  been 
photographed  in  a  compromising  position  with  Curtis, 
and  the  racketeer  was  using  the  negative  to  compel 
Martha  to  reveal  Paige's  moves  against  him.  When 
Paige  arrives  to  raid  the  club  he  finds  no  evidence  of 
gambling,  but  it  gives  him  an  opportunity  to  renew 
acquaintances  with  Ginny,  with  whom  he  soon  falls 
in  love.  Coburn,  in  turn,  finds  romance  with  Kath- 
leen Howard,  Paige's  elderly  aunt.  Paige  eventually 
succeeds  in  uncovering  Curtis'  racketeering  activities, 
but  he  finds  himself  stumped  when  the  gambler  sends 
him  a  print  of  the  compromising  photograph  and 
threatens  to  publish  it  unless  he  drops  the  investiga- 
tion. Ginny,  learning  of  Paige's  dilemma,  deduces  that 
Curtis  had  hidden  the  negative  in  an  expensive  cigar- 
ette case  he  always  carried.  She  enlists  the  aid  of 
Coburn,  who,  applying  his  special  technique,  wins 
the  cigarette  case  from  Curtis  in  a  crooked  poker 
game,  thus  enabling  Paige  to  retrieve  the  negative. 
It  all  ends  with  Martha's  reputation  saved,  Ginny  and 
Paige  in  each  other's  arms,  and  Coburn  and  Miss 
Howard  beaming  upon  one  another. 

Curt  Siodmak,  Gerald  Geraghty,  and  M.  M. 
Musselman  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  George 
Waggner  produced  and  directed  it.  Joe  Gershenson 
was  executive  producer.  The  cast  includes  James 
Burke  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


144 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  8,  1945 


week  that  the  exhibitors  should  demand  of  all  the 
distributors  an  expression  of  their  plans  and  inten- 
tions. It  was  suggested  also  that  the  exhibitors  should 
insist  upon  the  inclusion  in  their  film  contracts  of  a 
clause  to  the  effect  that  the  pictures  they  license  for 
exhibition  will  not  be  licensed  to  others  in  16mm 
prints  for  exhibition  within  the  area  serviced  by 
their  theatres.  Such  a  clause  would,  of  course,  pro- 
tect  the  exhibitor  only  with  respect  to  the  product  he 
buys  from  a  particular  distributor. 

But  there  are  other  problems  that  may  confront  an 
exhibitor  as  regards  16mm  competition.  One,  for 
example,  is  entertainment  films  produced  exclusively 
for  the  16mm  field.  In  this  case,  there  will  probably 
be  no  restrictions  as  to  where  the  pictures  shall  be 
shown,  but  an  exhibitor  might  combat  this  competi- 
tion along  the  following  lines:  First,  as  regards  the 
competition  in  his  own  town,  he  should  try  to  have 
an  ordinance  passed  by  his  local  lawmakers  requir- 
ing traveling  16mm  motion  picture  operators  to  pay 
a  specified  license  fee  for  the  privilege  of  operating 
within  the  city's  limits,  and  to  abide  by  strict  sanita- 
tion regulations  and  fire  prevention  rules.  Those  of 
you  who  have  read  our  recent  editorials  on  restrict- 
ing traveling  carnivals  might  incorporate  some  of  the 
suggestions  contained  therein  if  you  should  try  to 
induce  your  City  Council  to  pass  an  ordinance  regu- 
lating "jack-rabbit"  exhibitors. 

Secondly,  as  regards  the  competition  in  localities 
that  have  no  theatres,  but  from  which  an  exhibitor 
draws  patronage,  he  might  follow  the  suggestion 
offered  at  the  recent  Allied  meeting,  namely,  that  he 
should  protect  himself  by  running  16mm  shows  in 
such  communities.  In  keeping  with  this  suggestion, 
Harrison's  Reports  would  like  to  add  that  exhibi- 
tors in  such  situations  should  include  in  their  film 
contracts  for  35  mm  pictures  a  clause  that  would  give 
them  the  exclusive  right  to  exhibit  the  same  pictures 
in  16mm  prints  in  the  outlying  districts  normally 
served  by  their  theatres.  Since  pictures  produced 
exclusively  for  16mm  exhibition  will  undoubtedly 
not  match  the  quality  of  pictures  produced  for  the 
35mm  market,  the  exhibitor  who  shows  regular  na' 
tionally  advertised  feature  pictures  in  16mm  in  out- 
lying districts  will  certainly  have  an  advantage  over 
the  traveling  showman  exhibiting  inferior  product. 

There  is  still  another  possible  problem  —  a  mighty 
serious  one,  for  if  it  should  come  to  pass  it  may  de- 
velop into  one  of  the  rankest  abuses  the  exhibitors 
have  ever  experienced.  I  refer  to  the  possibility  of 
some  of  the  distributors  using  16mm  exhibition  of 
current  pictures  as  a  threat  against  recalcitrant  ex- 
hibitors either  in  an  attempt  to  force  them  to  accede 
to  inequitable  rental  terms,  or  in  an  attempt  to  gain 
playing  time  for  some  of  their  pictures  in  situations 
where  an  exhibitor  can  use  only  a  limited  number  of 
pictures  each  season  and  must  of  necessity  eliminate 
the  product  of  some  companies. 

There  was  a  time  when  a  film  salesman,  to  whip 
an  exhibitor  into  line,  threatened  to  build  a  com- 
petitive theatre  across  the  street,  or  used  other  tricks 
and  ruses,  most  of  which  are  too  numerous  to  recount 
here;  besides,  most  of  you  are  familiar  with  them. 
Now  16mm  exhibition  may  serve  as  a  new  weapon 
for  them;  whenever  a  salesman  fails  to  conclude  a 
deal  with  an  established  theatre,  he  may  threaten  to 
have  his  company's  pictures  reduced  to  16mm  size 
and  exhibited  by  mobile  16mm  units  right  in  the 


town.  Or  he  may  threaten  to  have  the  pictures  ex- 
hibited by  the  town's  churches,  Elks,  Kiwanis,  or 
Rotary  Clubs,  war  veterans'  posts,  and  other  similar 
organizations,  which  would  be  only  too  happy  to 
grasp  the  opportunity  to  raise  funds  for  their  indi- 
vidual purposes.  And,  in  the  event  any  of  these  or- 
ganizations do  not  have  16mm  projection  equipment, 
it  would  be  relatively  simple  and  inexpensive  for 
the  distributor  to  furnish  them  with  their  needs. 

Harrison's  Reports  does  not  pretend  to  have  the 
solution  for  the  variety  of  problems  that  may  beset 
the  exhibitors  as  the  result  of  the  16mm  field's  expan- 
sion. It  merely  seeks  to  bring  to  the  exhibitors'  atten- 
tion the  fact  that  the  16mm  business  has  graduated  to 
long  pants  and  now  seeks  to  make  a  mark  for  itself 
in  the  entertainment  world.  The  exhibitors  and  their 
organizations  should  promptly  give  the  subject  thor- 
ough study  with  a  view,  not  only  toward  protecting 
the  established  35mm  theatre  from  undesirable  16mm 
competition,  but  also  toward  using  16mm  operation 
to  the  advantage  of  the  35mm  exhibitor. 

*       *  * 

While  on  the  subject  of  possible  competitive 
threats  to  exhibition,  I'd  like  to  call  your  attention 
to  the  following  news  item,  which  appeared  in  the 
September  5  issue  of  the  Tiew  Yor\  World-Telegram 
under  a  Washington  dateline: 

"The  pessimists  who  fear  that  Uncle  Sam  will 
be  stuck  with  billions  of  dollars  of  unsalable  surplus 
war  goods  should  tell  it  to  the  Marines.  Also,  to  an 
ever-increasing  group  of  idea-packed  soldiers  and 
sailors. 

"These  men,  including  both  veterans  and  many  still 
in  the  service,  are  full  of  schemes  for  making  use  of 
surpluses.  So  enthusiastic  arc  they  that  they're  bom- 
barding the  Surplus  Property  Board  with  a  thousand 
letters  a  week. 

"  'Who  could  have  thought,'  a  board  spokesman 
said  today,  'that  anybody  would  be  interested  in 
acquiring  any  of  those  round-topped  quonset  huts 
that  the  Army  used  in  the  Arctic?  Well,  we've  al- 
ready had  lots  of  suggestions  for  their  use  from  vet- 
erans.' 

"One  chap,  for  example,  got  to  thinking  about 
those  huts  after  returning  to  his  home  in  Phoenix, 
Ariz.  They'd  be  just  the  thing,  he  decided,  to  help 
him  start  a  chain  of  low-priced  movie  houses  in  small 
towns  which  never  before  boasted  a  movie  theatre." 

This  chap,  states  the  article,  was  advised  to  get 
in  touch  with  the  Reconstruction  Finance  Corpora- 
tion. 

Whether  or  not  any  one  will  follow  through  on 
this  veteran's  idea  for  the  use  of  quonset  huts  is 
something  that  only  time  will  tell.  But  even  if  the 
use  of  quonset  huts  should  prove  to  be  unfeasible, 
the  idea  has  been  sown.  And,  in  view  of  a  recent 
estimate  by  the  U.  S.  Office  of  Education  that  the 
armed  services  will  have  some  40,000  to  50,000  16mm 
projectors  available  for  civilian  use,  this  idea,  which 
at  first  blush  may  seem  ridiculous,  cannot  be  laughed 
off;  it  begins  to  assume  substantial  proportions. 

Exhibitors  must  face  the  reality  that  returning  sol- 
diers, as  well  as  civilians  with  war-time  nest-eggs,  are 
full  of  ideas  for  post-war  careers,  and  that  many  of 
them  look  to  the  motion  picture  exhibition  field, 
where  they  will  become  an  unmistakable  competitive 
factor.  Now  is  the  time  for  the  established  exhibitor 
to  prepare  to  meet  these  new-comers. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH   AVENUE  Published     Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  Ro/«ri1«19  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  i\wm  loii  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  .  „,  ..          .       _  .      _  .   

rroM  Britain                     l^7<;  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New"  Zealand'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe  Asia  ....  17.50      Ug  EdUoria]  policy.  No  probiem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

6i>c  a  t-opy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  15,  1945 


No.  37 


DIVIDED  OPINION  ABOUT  GROSSES 

Hardly  a  day  goes  by  without  a  story  being  pub- 
lished in  some  of  the  trade  papers  about  record' 
breaking  box-office  receipts  in  different  parts  of  the 
country. 

Motion  Picture  Daily,  for  example,  publishes  in 
its  September  12  issue  an  item  stating  that  "strong 
film  attractions,  offered  to  coincide  with  the  pre- 
school opening  rush  just  prior  to  Labor  Day  and 
with  the  return  of  vacationists,  aided  also  by  some 
cool  and  wet  weather,  made  the  five  weeks  just  ended 
the  most  consistently  lucrative  period  of  1945  to 
date." 

Basing  its  information  on  reports  from  "field  cor- 
respondents covering  as  many  as  147  key  houses," 
Motion  Picture  Daily  states  that,  except  for  a  single 
week  early  in  March,  the  average  grosses  per  week 
for  the  key  city  houses  reported  on  have  not  been 
equaled  during  any  other  week  in  1945.  It  does  not 
say  whether  the  figures  quoted  are  accurate  or 
whether  they  are  merely  approximated.  It  may  be 
assumed,  however,  that  they  fit  into  the  latter  cate- 
gory, because  the  grosses  are  reported  in  "round" 
numbers;  fractions  of  a  dollar,  or  of  one  hundred 
dollars,  are  not  shown. 

Let  us  compare  this  report  with  another  report — 
one  that  quotes  accurate  figures.  It  comes  from  a 
bulletin  issued  recently  by  the  Independent  Theatre 
Owners  of  Ohio.  The  report  follows: 

"The  Ohio  3%  admissions  tax  for  eight  months 
ending  August  31,  1945,  amounted  to  $1,446,487.02, 
as  against  $1,676,309.49  for  the  same  period  of  1944, 
a  drop  of  nearly  15%,  BUT  for  the  month  of  August, 
1945,  the  tax  amounted  to  $128,341  as  against  $232,- 
958  for  the  same  month  of  1944,  a  drop  of  45%." 

The  publishing  by  the  trade  papers  of  "stupen- 
dous" weekly  grosses  and  daily  box-office  receipts 
has  never  been  of  any  value  to  the  exhibitor;  its  only 
effect  is  to  lure  him  into  paying  rentals  far  in  excess 
of  what  the  pictures  are  worth.  That  the  figures  pub- 
lished are  generally  unreliable  can  be  judged  by  the 
fact  that  Motion  Picture  Daily,  in  the  same  afore- 
mentioned story,  states:  "The  comparable  late  Sum- 
mer-early Fall  period  of  1944,  although  high  for  that 
year,  ran  way  behind  the  five  weeks  just  ended."  Yet 
the  ITO  of  Ohio,  quoting  accurate  admission  tax 
figures,  shows  that  August,  1945,  which  is  included 
in  the  five  weeks  reported  on  by  the  Daily,  ran  45% 
behind  August,  1944. 

Here  are  conclusive  figures  of  but  one  state.  It  is 
regrettable  that  the  tax  figures  of  the  other  states  are 
not  available  at  the  moment.  When  they  become 
available,  and  if  they  should  show  a  trend  similar  to 


the  trend  in  Ohio,  the  industry  would  have  an  un- 
equivocal answer  to  the  question  of  whether  box- 
office  grosses  are  rising,  falling,  or  remaining  sta- 
tionary. 

In  the  meantime,  this  paper  can  report  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  prominent  independent  exhibitors,  box- 
office  grosses  have  passed  their  peak  and  are  definitely 
on  the  decline.  These  exhibitors  insist  that  now  is 
the  time  to  begin  exercising  the  greatest  care  in  de- 
termining, not  only  what  pictures  to  buy,  but  also 
what  prices  to  pay  for  them. 


A  CONSOLATION 
OF  MINOR  SIGNIFICANCE 

The  Surplus  Property  Board  in  Washington  an- 
nounced last  week  that  16mm  projectors  and  films 
used  by  the  Armed  Forces  and  other  Government 
agencies  will,  when  no  longer  needed  for  war  ser- 
vice, be  made  available  at  low  cost  to  schools  that 
cannot  afford  to  buy  them  at  retail  prices.  The  Board 
said  that  it  does  not  contemplate  selling  16mm  equip- 
ment to  educational  institutions  that  are  financially 
able  to  buy  from  regular  dealers. 

No  estimate  has  been  made  of  the  number  of  1 6mm 
sound  projectors  that  will  eventually  become  avail- 
able as  surplus  property,  but  it  is  known  that  the  mil- 
itary services  alone  had  ordered  approximately  forty 
thousand.  Many  of  these  have  undoubtedly  been  lost 
or  damaged  beyond  repair,  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  others  will  probably  require  extensive  servicing 
and  repairs. 

Those  of  you  who  have  been  concerned  about  what 
disposition  the  Government  may  make  of  surplus 
16mm  equipment  will  be  relieved  to  learn  that  none  of 
it  will  go  to  the  "jack-rabbit"  exhibitors  who  com- 
pete with  regular  theatres.  This  fact  alone,  however, 
is  not  sufficient  to  remove  the  threat  of  16mm  compe- 
tition. 

As  pointed  out  in  these  columns  last  week,  regular 
dealers  will  make  available  to  prospective  traveling 
showmen  16mm  projectors  that  will  range  in  price 
from  $149.50  to  $379.  The  cost  of  these  projectors 
is  so  low  that  those  who  plan  to  enter  the  16mm 
exhibition  field  will  probably  shed  few  tears  over 
the  Surplus  Property  Board's  decision  to  make  the 
Government's  surplus  projectors  available  to  edu- 
cational institutions  only. 

The  field  of  16mm  exhibition  of  entertainment 
films  seems  to  be  on  the  verge  of  expanding  both 
fast  and  wide;  it  looms  as  a  formidable  competitive 
threat  to  established  exhibition.  To  cope  with  it,  be- 
fore it  grows  out  of  all  bounds,  requires  immediate 
planning  and  action. 


146 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  15,  1945 


"Men  in  Her  Diary"  with  Peggy  Ryan, 
Louise  Allbritton  and  Jon  Hall 

(Universal,  Sept.  14;  time,  73  min.) 

A  moderately  amusing  light  comedy,  of  program 
grade.  It  deals  with  a  young,  romantically  frustrated 
secretary,  who  records  in  her  diary  imaginary  love 
affairs  with  men  she  had  met  casually.  The  diary,  of 
course,  falls  into  the  wrong  hands,  causing  a  series 
of  turbulent  events  in  the  lives  of  the  men  mentioned. 
The  idea  of  the  story  is  fair,  but  as  presented  it  is 
a  rather  mixcd-up  affair,  with  little  human  interest. 
A  few  of  the  situations  are  laugh-provoking,  but 
much  of  the  comedy  is  dull.  Peggy  Ryan,  as  the 
secretary,  does  not  sing  or  dance  in  this  picture.  The 
doings  of  the  different  characters  are  not  the  sort 
that  will  arouse  one's  sympathy.  Even  Peggy  fails  to 
arouse  one's  emotions,  for  she  is  made  to  appear  more 
foolish  than  pathetic: — 

Jon  Hall,  a  wealthy  publisher,  is  devoted  to  Louise 
Allbritton,  his  unreasonably  jealous  wife.  When  his 
secretary  goes  on  a  vacation,  Louise  insists  that  an 
unattractive  substitute  take  her  place;  she  selects 
Peggy  Ryan,  one  of  the  office  girls.  Peggy,  a  roman- 
tically frustrated  girl,  kept  a  diary  in  which  she 
wrote  of  the  imaginary  romances  she  had  with  men 
who  had  no  more  than  a  nodding  acquaintance  with 
her.  While  acting  as  Halls  secretary,  she  enters  in 
the  diary  highly  colored  accounts  of  the  "attentions" 
he  paid  her  daily.  The  diary  eventually  falls  into 
Louise's  hands,  and  she  starts  divorce  proceedings 
against  Hall,  naming  Peggy  as  corespondent.  Vir- 
ginia Grey,  Hall's  ex-sweetheart  and  star  of  a  show 
he  was  financing,  sees  in  the  divorce  proceedings  a 
chance  to  re-kindle  the  old  affection  between  Hall 
and  herself;  she  takes  Peggy  in  hand  and,  without 
Hall's  knowledge,  transforms  her  from  a  drab-look- 
ing girl  to  a  glamorous-looking  woman.  At  the  trial, 
the  judge,  impressed  by  Peggy's  appearance,  grants 
Louise  the  divorce.  Peggy,  heartbroken,  accuses  Vir- 
ginia of  scheming  to  break  up  Hall's  marriage.  Her 
accusations  bring  Louise  to  the  realization  that  Peggy 
was  innocent,  and  she  reunites  with  Hall.  Mean- 
while Peggy  finds  real  romance  with  William  Terry, 
Virginia's  press  agent. 

F.  Hugh  Herbert  wrote  the  screen  play,  and 
Charles  Barton  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Ernest  Truex,  Alan  Mowbray,  Eric  Blore, 
Maxie  Rosenbloom,  Sig  Ruman,  Samuel  S.  Hinds 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Love,  Honor  and  Goodbye" 
with  Virginia  Bruce,  Edward  Ashely, 
Nils  Asther  and  Victor  McLaglen 

(Republic,  Sept.  15;  time,  88  min.) 

Patrons  who  are  not  too  hard  to  please  may  find 
this  domestic  farce  fairly  amusing.  Other  picture- 
goers,  however,  will  probably  find  it  quite  tiresome, 
for  the  story  is  thin  and  the  players  struggle,  not  too 
successfully,  to  make  something  out  of  their  individ- 
ual roles.  Moreover,  the  action  is  draggy,  causing 
one's  interest  to  lag.  The  story's  theme — that  of  a 
suspicious  wife  posing  as  another  woman  to  compro- 
mise her  husband — has  been  used  many  times,  and 
this  version  does  not  present  any  novel  twists.  It 
hasn't  much  human  interest  since  the  characters  in- 
volved are  not  the  types  that  arouse  sympathy.  It  has 
been  produced  on  a  fairly  lavish  scale,  but  rich  trap- 
pings cannot  reclaim  a  picture  as  dull  as  this  one: — 

To  rid  his  wife  (Virginia  Bruce)  of  her  desire  to 


become  a  great  actress,  Edward  Ashley,  a  wealthy  at' 
torncy,  finances  secretly  a  play  she  was  to  appear  in; 
he  felt  assured  that  it  would  be  a  "flop."  The  critics 
treat  the  play  brutally,  and  Ashley,  delighted,  orders 
it  closed.  Virginia,  though  hurt,  admits  her  failure 
and  agrees  to  settle  down  as  Ashley's  wife.  But  when 
Nils  Asther,  her  leading  man,  informs  her  that  Ashley 
had  financed  and  closed  the  play,  she  accuses  him  of 
deliberately  ruining  her  career  and  leaves  him.  Ashley 
takes  to  drink  and,  through  a  series  of  circumstances, 
meets  up  with  Victor  McLaglen,  a  tatoo  artist  in  a 
penny  arcade,  Veda  Ann  Borg,  his  girl  friend,  and 
four-year-old  Jacqueline  Moore,  whom  McLaglen 
wanted  to  adopt  but  could  not  bdcause  the  Child 
Welfare  League  insisted  that  she  have  proper  home 
environment.  Ashley,  in  his  cups,  takes  them  home 
with  him.  Meanwhile  Virginia,  learning  from 
Ashley's  secretary  (Helen  Brodcrick)  that  he  was 
ill,  decides  to  return  home.  There  she  finds  Veda  and 
the  baby,  and  concludes  that  Ashley  had  been  leading 
a  double  life.  Asther,  elated  at  this  news,  talks  Vir- 
ginia into  seeking  grounds  for  a  divorce.  She  disguises 
herself  as  a  French  nurse  and  obtains  employment  at 
the  house  as  the  baby's  governess.  Ashley  sees  through 
her  disguise  immediately,  but  he  allows  her  to  believe 
that  he  was  being  fooled.  After  a  series  of  farcical 
events,  in  which  Virginia  makes  numerous  attempts 
to  compromise  Ashley  to  secure  evidence  for  her 
divorce,  McLaglen,  disturbed  by  their  "indecent" 
behaviour,  leaves  with  the  baby.  Virginia,  believing 
that  the  baby  had  been  kidnapped,  calls  the  police. 
In  the  confusion  that  follows,  Virginia's  disguise  is 
exposed  and  all  are  happily  reunited. 

Arthur  Philips,  Lee  Locb  and  Dick  Irving  Hyland 
wrote  the  screen  play,  Harry  Grey  produced  it,  and 
Albert  S.  Rogell  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"River  Gang"  with  Gloria  Jean 
and  John  Qualen 

(Universal,  Sept.  21 ;  time,  63  min.) 
A  mediocre  murder-mystery  melodrama,  the  sort 
that  will  just  about  get  by  as  a  supporting  feature  in 
small-town  and  neighborhood  theatres.  Although 
Gloria  Jean,  as  the  heroine,  is  a  sympathetic  character, 
the  story  is  so  thin  and  so  unoriginal  that  one's  interest 
in  the  outcome  is  barely  held.  The  picture  will  prob- 
ably have  some  appeal  to  youthful  audiences,  for  a 
considerable  part  of  the  action  revolves  around  a 
"dead-end"  gang  of  boys  who  capture  the  murderer 
and  save  Gloria  from  harm.  As  is  generally  the  rule 
in  pictures  of  this  type,  the  one  least  suspected  is 
proved  guilty.  It  has  some  comedy,  but  it  is  not  very 
bright  :• — 

Having  been  brought  up  on  fairy  stories  by  John 
Qualen,  her  uncle,  a  kindly  pawnbroker,  Gloria  Jean 
is  laughed  at  by  young  folks  her  own  age  because  of 
her  fear  of  ghosts  and  witches.  Keefe  Brasselle,  how- 
ever, young  leader  of  a  group  of  mischevious  but 
well-intentioned  boys,  is  more  understanding  and 
friendly  towards  her.  One  night  Sheldon  Leonard, 
an  uncouth,  peg-legged  individual,  brings  a  violin 
into  the  shop  for  safekeeping  by  her  uncle.  On  the 
following  morning  the  newspaper  headlines  announce 
that  a  noted  composer  had  been  murdered  and  that 
his  expensive  violin  had  been  stolen.  Gloria,  con- 
necting Sheldon's  visit  on  the  previous  night  with 
the  murder,  searches  for  the  violin  only  to  find  that  it 
had  disappeared.  Qualen  insists  upon  reporting  the 
loss  to  the  police,  but  Keefe  stops  him  lest  he  become 


September  15,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


147 


involved  in  the  crime.  Presuming  that  Sheldon  had 
committed  the  murder  and  theft,  Keefe  orders  his 
"gang"  to  search  for  him.  While  the  boys  round  up 
Sheldon  and  take  him  to  a  neighborhood  garage, 
Keefe  is  kidnapped  by  two  ruffians  who  take  him  to 
a  hideout.  There,  Keefe  comes  face  to  face  with 
Qualen,  who  reveals  himself  as  the  secret  head  of  a 
gang  of  thieves  whose  stolen  goods  were  disposed  of 
through  his  pawnshop.  Qualen  orders  his  confeder- 
ates  to  kill  Keefe  lest  he  reveal  his  secret  to  the  police. 
Meanwhile  Keefe's  gang  learns  of  his  predicament 
and  come  to  his  rescue.  Qualen  and  the  crooks  escape. 
Back  in  the  pawnshop.  Gloria,  who  by  this  time  had 
learned  of  her  uncle's  dual  life,  finds  herself  facing 
death  at  his  hands.  She  is  saved  by  the  timely  arrival 
of  Keefe  and  his  "gang,"  who  capture  Qualen  and 
turn  him  over  to  the  police. 

Lester  Charteris  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Charles 
David  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Bill  Goodwin,  Gus  Schilling  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  House  on  92nd  Street"  with 
William  Eythe,  Lloyd  Nolan 
and  Signe  Hasso 

(20th  Century-Fox,  October;  time,  91  mm.) 

Very  Good!  It  is  a  capably  directed,  well-acted, 
highly  exciting  spy  melodrama,  centering  around  a 
Nazi  spy  ring  in  New  York  City  whose  members 
were  bent  on  obtaining  for  transmission  to  Germany 
secret  information  dealing  with  the  development  of 
the  atomic  bomb.  The  story,  which  is  based  on  factual 
data  obtained  from  the  FBI's  files,  and  which  was 
produced  in  close  cooperation  with  that  agency,  to 
assure  its  authenticity,  has  been  given  a  most  effec- 
tive  treatment,  one  that  combines  brilliantly  the  tech- 
niques  of  documentary  and  entertainment  films;  it 
grips  one's  attention  from  start  to  finish.  The  picture 
is,  in  fact,  a  glowing  tribute  to  the  FBI,  for  it  reveals 
to  the  public  in  minute  detail  some  of  the  amazing 
counter-espionage  methods  employed  by  that  organi- 
zation in  combating  the  vast  Nazi  spy  system  that  had 
been  built  up  in  this  country  prior  to  World  War  II. 
Woven  into  the  picture  are  some  highly  interesting 
actual  scenes  filmed  by  the  FBI,  showing  how  it  kept 
a  close  watch  on  visitors  to  the  German  embassy  in 
Washington  before  the  start  of  the  war.  These  same 
scenes  helped  the  FBI  to  round  up  known  Nazi  agents 
at  the  start  of  hostilities.  The  picture  should  do  very 
well  at  the  box-office,  for  it  is  the  sort  that  patrons 
will  talk  about  after  seeing  it. 

The  story  presents  William  Eythe,  as  a  young 
American  engineer,  of  German  descent,  who  is  ap- 
proached by  Nazi  agents  with  an  offer  to  do  espionage 
work  for  Germany.  Eythe  agrees,  but  imparts  this 
information  to  the  FBI  secretly.  Lloyd  Nolan,  an  FBI 
inspector,  arranges  with  Eythe  to  join  the  spies  in 
order  to  help  the  FBI  break  up  the  ring.  Eythe  goes 
to  a  Hamburg  espionage  school  and,  upon  completion 
of  his  studies,  is  sent  back  to  the  United  States  to 
contact- the  Nazi  agents  and  to  build  a  secret  radio 
station  for  the  transmission  of  information  gathered 
by  them.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  FBI,  with  which 
he  always  maintained  contact,  Eythe  meets  the  agents 
at  their  headquarters  on  92nd  Street,  a  private  home 
operated  as  an  exclusive  dress  shop  by  Signe  Hasso, 
one  of  the  spies.  Although  they  suspect  his  creden- 
tials, which  had  been  altered  by  the  FBI,  the  spies  give 
Eythe  their  full  cooperation.  Through  Eythe,  the  FBI 
learns  of  the  spies  movements  and  of  the  fact  that 


they  were  accumulating  secret  information  about  the 
atomic  bomb.  They  arrange  with  Eythe  to  transmit 
false  information  to  Germany,  thus  giving  them  time 
to  investigate  and  stop  the  source  of  the  spies'  infor- 
mation. Meanwhile,  the  spies  learn  conclusively  that 
Eythe  was  a  fraud.  There  follows  a  series  of  exciting 
events  in  which  they  capture  Eythe  and  try  to  kill 
him,  only  to  be  caught  themselves  by  FBI  agents  who 
arrive  in  the  nick  of  time. 

Barre  Lyndon,  Charles  G.  Booth  and  John  Monks, 
Jr.  wrote  the  screen  play,  Louis  de  Rochemont  pro- 
duced it,  and  Henry  Hathaway  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Gene  Lockhart,  Leo  G.  Carroll,  Lydia 
St.  Clair  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Three's  a  Crowd"  with  Pamela  Blake 
and  Charles  Gordon 

(Republic,  May  23;  time,  58  min.) 
Passable  program  fare.  Those  who  enjoy  murder- 
mystery  melodramas,  but  who  are  not  too  analytical, 
should  get  satisfaction  out  of  it.  The  plot  is  a  familiar 
one,  but  it  holds  one's  interest  to  a  fair  degree  since 
suspense  is  sustained  fairly  well  throughout,  and  since 
the  guilty  person's  identity  is  concealed  until  the  very 
end.  The  story  moves  rather  slowly,  given  more  to 
talk  than  to  action.  The  closing  scenes,  in  which  the 
murderess  reveals  her  identity  and  attempts  to  murder 
the  heroine,  are  gripping.  Her  reasons  for  her  crimes, 
however,  are  not  too  convincing.  It  is  a  heavy  type  of 
melodrama,  with  practically  no  comedy  to  relieve  the 
tension : — 

Because  of  her  mother's  objections  to  Roland 
Varno,  a  charming  but  weak  fellow,  Pamela  Blake,  a 
young  heiress,  decides  to  marry  Charles  Gordon,  a 
reputable  man,  who  loved  her  sincerely.  On  the  eve 
of  her  wedding,  Pamela  receives  a  call  from  Varno 
begging  her  for  a  last  meeting.  She  hesitates,  but  Ger- 
trude Michael,  her  brother's  widow,  whom  she  sup- 
ported, encourages  her  to  see  him.  At  Varno's  apart- 
ment, Pamela  becomes  alarmed  at  his  strange  behavior 
and  leaves  hurriedly.  On  the  following  morning 
Varno  is  found  murdered.  Gordon,  suspecting 
Pamela  of  the  crime,  rushes  her  into  a  hasty  marriage 
to  protect  her.  Pamela,  however,  learns  that  he  had 
gone  to  Varno's  apartment  shortly  after  she  left,  and 
she  in  turn  believes  that  he  had  been  implicated  in 
the  crime.  Despite  their  suspicions  of  one  another, 
however,  Pamela  and  Gordon  are  drawn  closer  to- 
gether. Subsequent  events  lead  to  the  murder  of  Pierre 
Watkin,  Pamela's  attorney,  and  of  a  blonde  woman 
who  is  revealed  as  Varno's  widow.  Both  murders  are 
committed  under  circumstances  that  lead  the  police 
to  suspect  both  Pamela  and  Gordon.  One  night,  Ger- 
trude, through  a  ruse,  manages  to  get  Gordon  out  of 
the  house  so  that  she  could  be  left  alone  with  Pamela. 
She  then  reveals  to  the  young  heiress  that  she  was  the 
one  who  had  committed  the  crimes  as  part  of  a  plan 
to  gain  control  of  her  fortune.  Watkin  and  Varno 
had  been  co-schemers,  but  they  had  failed  to  carry 
out  her  orders.  Just  as  Gertrude  prepares  to  shoot 
Pamela,  the  young  heiress'  mother,  who  had  over- 
heard the  confession,  shoots  her  down.  The  crimes 
solved,  Pamela  and  Gordon,  their  mutual  trust  re- 
stored, look  forward  to  a  happy  life. 

Dane  Lussier  wrote  the  screen  play,  Walter  H. 
Goetz  produced  it,  and  Lesley  Selandcr  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Virginia  Brissac,  Ted  Hecht  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


148 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  15,  1945 


THE  NATIONAL  POLICY  MYTH 

One  of  the  chief  arguments  most  film  salesmen  use, 
when  demanding  unreasonable  rental  terms  for  pic 
tures,  is  that  the  terms  conform  with  their  companies' 
national  sales  policies.  Those  of  you  who  may  have 
wondered  whether  there  is  any  such  thing  as  a  na' 
tional  sales  policy  will  be  interested  in  what  Pete 
Wood,  secretary  of  the  Independent  Theatre  Owners 
of  Ohio,  has  to  say  on  the  subject  in  an  organization 
bulletin  dated  September  5.  Says  Wood: 

"At  the  Board  Meeting  of  National  Allied  held 
in  Pittsburgh  during  the  week  of  August  20th,  we 
had  the  privilege  of  examining  the  reports  received 
by  the  National  Caravan  Committee  from  all  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  and  it  is  quite  evident  that  film 
is  being  sold  mostly  under  the  rigid  policy  of  "GET- 
ALL-THE-TARRIF- WILL-BEAR."  With  the  ex- 
ception of  perhaps  one  company,  none  of  the  film 
distributors  has  anything  that  resembles  a  national 
sales  policy  .  .  ." 

Stating  that  the  figures  he  saw  in  Pittsburgh 
"could  fill  a  fair  sized  book,"  Pete  Wood  then  gives 
his  members  some  of  the  highlights  in  the  hope  that 
the  figures  will  be  of  some  value  to  them  in  their 
dealings  with  the  different  distributors. 

In  the  belief  that  the  information  will  be  of  value 
to  its  subscribers,  either  in  connection  with  the  deals 
they  have  already  made,  or  for  use  as  a  reference  in 
pending  negotiations  for  deals,  Harrison  Reports 
is  reproducing  the  following  deals  cited  by  Pete 
Wood: 

Metro-Gold  wyn-Mayer 

"Without  Love" — Second  bracket 
"Gentle  Annie" — Fourth  bracket 
"The  Clock" — Second  bracket 
"Picture  of  Dorian  Gray" — Third  bracket 
"Son  of  Lassie" — Second  bracket 
"Valley  of  Decision"- — First  bracket 
"Thrill  of  a  Romance" — First  bracket 
"Twice  Blessed"- — Fourth  bracket 
"Bewitched" — Fourth  bracket 
Paramount 
"Affairs  of  Susan" — Top  flat  rental 
"Murder,  He  Says" — 60%  of  top  flat  rental 
"A  Medal  for  Benny" — 60%  of  top  flat  rental 
"Incendiary  Blonde" — Percentage  split,  starting 
at  25% 

"Northwest  Mounted  Police"  (reissue) — 40%  of 
top  flat  rental 

"This  Gun  for  Hire"  (reissue) — 20%  of  top  flat 
rental 

RKO 

"Back  to  Bataan" — 60%  of  top  flat  rental 
"Along  Came  Jones" — Top  flat  rental 
Twentieth  Century-Fox 

"Song  of  Bernadette" — 75%  of  top  flat  rental 

"Wilson" — 75%  of  top  flat  rental 

"Diamond  Horseshoe" — Sliding  scale,  25%  to 
40% 

"Nob  Hill"— 25% 

"Junior  Miss" — Top  flat  rental 

"A  Bell  for  Adano" — Top  flat  rental 

"Call  of  the  Wild"  (reissue) — 25%  of  top  flat 
rental 


United  Artists 

"Its  in  the  Bag" — 40%  of  top  flat  rental 
"Bedside  Manner" — 30%  of  top  flat  rental 
"The  Great  John  L" — 80%  of  top  flat  rental 
"The  Southerner" — 30%  of  top  flat  rental 
"Colonel  Blimp" — 25%  of  top  flat  rental 
"Blood  on  the  Sun"— 30%  to  40% 
"The  Story  of  G.I.  Joe"— 30%  to  40% 
"Guest  Wife"— 30%  to  40% 
Universal 

1945-46  product.  Four  on  percentage.  The  other 
fifty-one  are  being  sold  flat  rental  in  so  many  differ- 
ent ways  that  it  is  impossible  to  list  all  of  them.  All 
we  can  say  is  that  these  flat  rental  prices  range  from 
100%  of  top  flat  rental  down  to  12j/2%  of  top  flat 
rental. 

Warner  Brothers 

"The  Corn  is  Green" — 100%  of  top  flat  rental 
"Christmas  in  Connecticut"- — 100%  of  top  flat 
rental 

"Pillow  to  PosC — 65%  of  top  flat  rental 
Explanation:  "65%  of  top  flat  rental"  means 
that  if  your  top  flat  rental  is  $100,  Warner  Brothers' 
"Pillow  to  Post"  at  65%  of  top  flat  rental  would  be 

$65. 

While  Wood  docs  not  quote  any  deals  on  Colum- 
bia pictures,  he  has  this  to  say,  in  part,  about  that 

company : 

"In  our  opinion  it  is  a  waste  of  space  to  comment 
in  any  manner  whatsoever  on  this  gang  of  'elastic' 
thinkers  (?).  Their  record  of  unfilled  promises  is  so 
long  that  we  are  beginning  to  lose  sympathy  for  all 
exhibitors  who  do  business  with  them.  .  .  . 

"Here  is  an  incident  indicative  of  the  manner  in 
which  they  do  business: 

"Trade  papers  showed  "A  Thousand  and  One 
Nights"  as  Production  No.  6005.  Many  exhibitors 
bought  the  1944-45  product  on  the  basis  of  the  top 
four  (No.  6001-6004)  on  percentage.  We  are  now 
informed  that  under  Columbia's  'flexible'  method  of 
doing  business,  this  production  is  being  billed  as  No. 
6004." 


SPECIAL  COMMITTEE  COMPLETED 

The  Conference  of  Independent  Exhibitors  on  the 
Consent  Decree  has  selected  a  special  committee  to 
follow  the  trial  of  the  Government's  anti-trust  suit 
against  the  major  companies,  which  is  scheduled  to 
get  under  way  on  October  8.  The  Committee  is  to 
cooperate  with  the  Department  of  Justice  in  such 
ways  and  to  such  extent  as  may  be  agreeable  to  the 
Department. 

Members  of  the  special  committee  include  Jesse 
L.  Stern,  Moderator  of  the  Conference  and  President 
of  the  Unaffiliated  Independent  Exhibitors  of  New 
York;  Robert  H.  Poole,  Executive  Secretary  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  Conference  of  Independent  Exhibitors; 
Nathan  Yamins,  Chairman  of  Independent  Exhibi- 
tors, Inc.,  of  New  England;  Sidney  E.  Samuelson, 
General  Manager,  Allied  Independent  Theatre 
Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania;  Irving  Dollinger, 
Eastern  Regional  Vice-President,  Allied  States  Asso- 
ciation; Maxwell  Anderson,  Secretary,  Allied  Thea- 
tres of  Connecticut;  and  Abram  F.  Myers,  General 
Counsel  of  Allied  States  Association  and  of  theC.I.E. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  p  1010  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  ivoom  lOl^  Publisher 

Canada   16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

GreafBHtain'  ^ S  S  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New"  Zealand,'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Ug  Editoria,  Policy:  No  probiem  Too  Pig  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Penefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  22,  1945 


No.  38 


THE  SPENDERS  ARE  BEGINNING 
TO  RETRENCH 

Since  the  war  ended,  people  are  saving  more  money 
than  before,  according  to  a  report  in  the  financial 
section  of  the  September  19  issue  of  the  J^lew  Tor\ 
Times,  which  bases  this  statement  on  deposit  figures 
from  New  York's  fourteen  largest  savings  banks, 
for  the  first  fifteen  days  of  September. 

"These  banks,"  states  the  Times,"  report  a  net 
gain  of  $24,366,000  in  savings  deposits  for  the  first 
half  of  this  month,  which  is  a  larger  gain  than  for 
any  fifteen-day  period  reported  by  them  this  year. 
It  is  20  per  cent  higher  than  the  deposit  gain  in  the 
first  fifteen  days  of  August  and  is  almost  double  the 
$13,422,000  gain  for  the  comparable  period  is  Sep- 
tember last  year.  This  continues  a  trend  which  be- 
came evident  in  August  when  the  net  gain  in  sav- 
ings deposits  in  all  of  New  York  State's  131  savings 
banks  was  $131,629,000,  a  record  figure." 

In  view  of  the  fact  that,  since  this  country  started 
to  convert  from  a  war-time  to  a  peace-time  economy, 
income  payments  to  individuals  have  been  on  a  steady 
decline,  the  aforementioned  report  indicates  very 
forcibly  that  people  have  come  to  the  realization  that 
the  days  of  abnormal  incomes  and  easy-spending 
are  gone,  and  that  from  now  on  it  will  be  smart  to 
be  thrifty. 

And  when  people  become  thrifty,  they  become 
also  discriminating  about  the  things  they  buy  and 
careful  about  the  prices  they  pay.  This  will  certainly 
be  true  of  these  thrifty  people  in  their  quest  for 
entertainment,  particularly  motion  picture  entertain- 
ment. 

For  the  past  few  years,  the  pent  up,  war-weary 
public,  in  search  of  some  recreation,  has  patronized 
the  motion  picture  theatre  with  an  amazing  disregard 
for  the  poor  quality  of  many  pictures.  Exhibitors 
everywhere  agree  that  these  pictures  earned  more 
money  than  they  deserved. 

But  the  "honeymoon"  is  over  now,  and  the  pro- 
ducers had  better  take  heed;  poor  pictures  will  not 
be  tolerated  by  a  "choosey"  public.  The  producers  will 
have  to  stop  underestimating  the  intelligence  of  the 
picture-going  public;  it  is  remarkable  how  people  can 
"scent"  the  good  pictures. 

During  the  lush  war  period,  the  film  rentals  de- 
manded by  the  distributors  rose  to  staggering  heights, 
and  the  exhibitors,  in  order  to  meet  these  high  rentals, 
were  compelled  to  raise  their  admission  prices  to  sums 
never  dreamed  of.  While  the  spending-craze  was  on, 
the  public  paid  these  higher  prices  either  without  de- 
mur or  with  some  mutterings.  But  now  that  the  spirit 
of  retrenchment  prevails,  the  public  will  probably 


become  much  more  selective  about  the  type  of  pic- 
tures for  which  they  are  willing  to  pay  a  high  admis- 
sion price. 

If  the  industry  is  to  come  through  this  wave  of 
retrenchment  unscathed,  the  quality  of  pictures  will 
have  to  go  up  and  film  rentals  will  have  to  come  down. 


GOLDMAN  FILES  ANOTHER 
ANTI-TRUST  SUIT 

Apparently  encouraged  by  his  recent  victory  over 
eight  of  the  major  companies  in  his  anti- trust  action 
against  them,  William  Goldman,  head  of  the  William 
Goldman  Theatres  in  Philadelphia,  has  filed  another 
anti-trust  suit  in  the  U.  S.  District  Court  in  that 
city  against  twelve  major  producers,  distributors,  and 
circuits,  namely,  Loew's,  Inc.,  Paramount,  RKO, 
Twentieth  Century-Fox,  Columbia,  Warner .  Bros., 
Vitagraph,  Inc.,  Warner  Bros.  Management  Corp., 
Stanley  Co.,  of  America,  Universal,  and  United 
Artists. 

Goldman  charges  that  his  Keith's  and  Karlton 
Theatres  in  Philadelphia,  which  he  purchased  in  the 
past  two  years,  and  which  were  operated  formerly 
by  Stanley- Warner  on  a  lease,  "were  frequently  used 
for  exhibition  on  first-run  of  first-class  features,"  but 
that  since  his  acquisition  of  the  theatres  "the  defend- 
ants, acting  in  concert,  refused  to  allow  him  to  have 
any  pictures  whatsoever  for  first-run  exhibition." 

In  his  complaint,  Goldman  cites  the  opinion  handed 
down  by  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  for  the 
Third  Circuit,  which  concluded  that,  in  a  similar 
action  brought  by  him  against  the  same  defendants  in 
behalf  of  his  Erlanger  Theatre,  "each  of  the  distribu- 
tor defendants  knew  that  its  refusal  to  lease  pictures 
to  the  plaintiff,  together  with  the  refusal  of  all,  would 
result  in  the  creation  of  an  illegal  monopoly  in  the 
business  of  exhibiting  first-run  pictures  in  Philadel- 
phia by  Warner  Brothers."  (Ed.  7<[ote:  An  Analysts 
of  the  Erlanger  case  and  of  the  decision  was  published 
in  our  August  11,  1945  issue.) 

In  the  Erlanger  action,  the  District  Court  dismissed 
the  suit,  but  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  reversed 
the  decision  and  ruled  in  favor  of  Goldman,  instruct- 
ing the  lower  court  to  assess  the  damages  claimed. 

In  the  new  suit,  Goldman  is  seeking  an  injunction 
only,  and  is  not  asking  for  monetary  damages. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Allied  exhibitor  leaders 
are  of  the  opinion  that,  under  the  decision  in  the 
Erlanger  case,  exhibitors  who  could  not  qualify  for 
relief  under  Section  X  of  the  Consent  Decree  could 
now  file  suit  with  good  prospect  of  success,  it  will  be 
interesting  to  watch  for  the  ultimate  decision  in 
Goldman's  new  suit,  which,  as  it  has  already  been 
pointed  out,  is  similar  to  the  Erlanger  action. 


150 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  22,  1945 


"Blithe  Spirit"  with  Rex  Harrison 
and  Constance  Cummings 

(United  Artists,  release  date  not  set;  time,  94  min.) 

Very  Good!  Based  on  Noel  Coward's  highly  suc- 
cessful Broadway  and  London  stage  play,  of  the 
same  title,  this  British-made  Technicolor  production 
is  an  extremely  brilliant  sophisticated  farce.  It  is 
strictly  adult  entertainment,  however,  and  it  will 
probably  appeal  more  to  class  audiences  than  to  the 
masses.  It  should  find  its  best  reception  in  big  cities; 
small-town  and  neighborhood  family  audiences  may 
find  the  caustic  humor  of  its  macabre  comic  tale  a 
bit  too  deep  for  them.  The  story,  which  deals  with 
death  and  life  after  death,  is  fantastic  but  not  eerie. 
Pictures  in  which  the  spirits  of  dead  characters  walk 
through  the  story  have  seldom  succeeded  in  providing 
enjoyment  to  most  movie-goers,  but  the  treatment 
given  to  this  story  is  so  competent  and  so  witty  that 
one  is  kept  chuckling  all  the  way  through.  It  has  been 
excellently  produced,  with  direction,  acting,  settings 
and  photography  of  the  highest  order: — 

To  accumulate  information  about  spiritualism  and 
about  fake  mediums  for  a  novel  he  was  writing,  Rex 
Harrison  invites  Margaret  Rutherford,  an  eccentric 
psychic,  to  hold  a  seance  in  his  home.  Nothing  spec- 
tacular happens  during  the  seance,  but,  shortly  after 
she  leaves,  the  spirit  of  Harrison's  first  wife  (Kay 
Hammond),  who  had  died  seven  years  previously, 
floats  into  the  drawing  room  and  tells  him  of  her 
intention  to  stay  for  a  protracted  visit.  Since  only 
Harrison  could  see  or  hear  Kay,  Constance  Cum- 
mings, his  second  wife,  fails  to  understand  his  odd 
behaviour  and  his  apparently  irrelevant  remarks  ad- 
dressed into  space;  she  concludes  that  he  was  either 
drunk  or  mad.  Desperate  over  his  predicament,  Har- 
rison explains  to  Constance  that  he  was  talking  to 
his  first  wife's  spirit,  and  he  has  Kay  prove  her  pres- 
ence by  carrying  a  vase  about  the  room  in  hands  that 
could  not  be  seen  by  Constance.  The  presence  of 
Kay's  spirit  in  the  house  causes  Constance  to  suffer 
many  embarrassments,  much  to  Kay's  delight.  Both 
Constance  and  Harrison  prevail  upon  the  psychic  to 
send  Kay  back  to  her  spirit  world,  but  every  device 
the  medium  tries  fails  to  work.  Kay  eventually  be- 
comes bored  with  her  former  household,  but,  being 
loath  to  return  to  the  spirit  world  alone,  she  devises 
a  scheme  whereby  Harrison  would  be  killed  so  that 
his  ghost  could  return  with  her.  Her  plans,  however, 
go  awry,  with  the  result  that  Constance  is  killed. 
Harrison  soon  finds  himself  harried  by  the  ghosts  of 
both  his  wives.  He  eventually  gets  rid  of  them  with 
the  aid  of  the  medium,  but  the  persistent  ghosts 
succeed  in  bringing  about  his  death,  compelling  him 
to  join  them. 

Noel  Coward  produced  the  picture,  and  David 
Lean  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Jacqueline  Clarke, 
Joyce  Carey  and  Hugh  Wakefield. 

(Ed.  T^ote:  The  dialogue  includes  two  obvious 
advertising  plugs  —  one  for  Ovaltine  and  the  other 
for  Al\a' Seltzer.) 

"That  Night  with  You"  with  Franchot  Tone 
and  Susanna  Foster 

(Universal,  Sept.  28;  time,  84  min.) 
This  light  comedy  with  music  will  have  to  depend 
on  the  drawing  power  of  Franchot  Tone  and  Susanna 
Foster,  for  as  entertainment  it  is  just  fair.  The  story, 
which  is  somewhat  farcical,  is  weak,  and  it  does  not 
hold  the  interest  of  the  intelligent  spectator  with 
any  kind  of  grip.  Moreover,  the  characters  do  not 


do  anything  that  would  arouse  one's  sympathetic  in- 
terest in  their  acts.  There  are  mild  laughs  all  the  way 
through,  but  for  the  most  part  the  comedy  is  dull.  In 
its  favor  are  a  few  attractive  production  numbers, 
which  have  been  staged  imaginatively,  and  the  always 
pleasant  singing  of  Miss  Foster: — 

Susanna,  who  worked  as  a  waitress  in  her  boy 
friend's  (David  Bruce)  diner,  dreams  of  becoming  a 
famous  singing  star.  She  learns  that  Franchot  Tone, 
a  theatrical  producer  was  in  need  of  a  singer  for  his 
new  show.  She  learns  also  that,  as  a  youth,  Tone  had 
been  married  to  Jacqueline  De  Witt,  a  fading  Holly- 
wood actress,  and  that  the  marriage  had  been  an- 
nulled. Accordingly,  she  visits  Tone  and  presents 
herself  as  his  daughter.  Tone,  attracted  to  her,  pre- 
tends to  believe  her  story,  but  he  soon  becomes  con- 
vinced when  his  friends,  playing  a  practical  joke, 
tell  him  of  her  resemblance  to  him.  Louise  Allbritton, 
Tone's  secretary,  doubts  Susanna's  story;  she  com- 
municates with  Jacqueline.  Arriving  from  Holly- 
wood, Jacqueline  amazes  Susanna  by  confirming  her 
claim,  but  she  soon  makes  it  clear  that  she  intended 
to  use  Susanna  as  a  means  to  get  the  lead  in  Tone's 
show  herself.  Tone,  convinced  of  his  parenthood,  de- 
cides to  remarry  Jacqueline,  but  it  soon  develops  that 
she  had  a  husband  in  Hollywood.  Jacqueline  decides 
to  return  home  to  her  husband,  and  she  informs  Tone 
that  Susanna  was  an  imposter.  Despite  this  turn  of 
events,  Tone  asks  Susanna  to  marry  him.  Susanna 
finds  herself  torn  between  her  love  for  Bruce  and  her 
desire  to  become  a  star.  Tone,  however,  settles  her 
problem  by  coming  to  the  realization  that  he  was 
really  in  love  with  his  secretary;  he  gives  Bruce  and 
Susanna  his  blessing,  and  makes  her  the  star  of  his 
new  show. 

Michael  Fessier  and  Ernest  Pagano  wrote  and  pro- 
duced the  screenplay.  William  A.  Seiter  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Buster  Keaton,  Howard  Freeman, 
Irene  Ryan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Behind  City  Lights"  with  Lynne  Roberts 
and  Peter  Cookson 

(Republic,  Sept.  10;  time,  68  min.) 

Fair.  It  is  just  another  program  picture  of  small- 
town and  neighborhood  calibre.  The  story  about  an 
unsophisticated,  small-town  girl  who  goes  to  the  big 
city  in  search  of  glamour  only  to  return  home  a  sadder 
but  wiser  girl  is  an  old  one,  and  it  is  told  here  in  a 
conventional  way.  It  has  some  human  interest,  and 
one's  attention  is  held  to  a  fair  degree,  but  there  is 
nothing  in  it  that  will  make  one  remember  it  after- 
wards. There  is  a  touch  of  comedy  here  and  there, 
but  not  much  of  it: — 

Lynne  Roberts'  marriage  to  William  Terry,  a 
young  farmer,  is  interrupted  suddenly  by  an  auto 
crash  outside  her  father's  farmhouse,  in  which  Peter 
Cookson  and  Jerome  Cowan,  New  Yorkers,  are  in- 
jured slightly.  The  wedding  is  postponed  while  the 
two  men  spend  a  few  days  on  the  farm  recuperating. 
Lynne  falls  in  love  with  Cookson  and  with  what  he 
represents — the  glamour  and  sophistication  of  New 
York.  After  the  two  men  leave,  Terry,  aware  that 
Lynne  had  fallen  in  love  with  Cookson,  sympatheti- 
cally releases  her  from  their  engagement  and  en- 
courages her  to  follow  him.  In  New  York,  Cookson, 
who  made  his  livelihood  with  Cowan  as  a  jewel  thief, 
is  disconcerted  but  pleased  by  Lynne's  arrival.  He  falls 
deeply  in  love  with  her  and  decides  to  lead  a  respect- 
able life.  They  set  a  date  for  their  wedding,  and  he 


September  22,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


151 


gives  her  an  uncut  diamond  to  be  set  into  an  engage' 
ment  ring.  Lynne  innocently  shows  the  gem  to  a 
salesman  in  a  jewelry  shop;  he  recognises  the  dia- 
mond as  one  that  was  stolen,  and  notifies  the  police. 
Cookson  is  apprehended  by  the  police,  and  is  fatally 
injured  in  an  attempted  getaway.  The  authorities, 
convinced  that  Lynne  was  not  associated  with  the 
theft,  release  her.  Brokenhearted  but  too  proud  to 
return  home,  Lynne  remains  in  New  York  and  leads 
an  unhappy  existence.  Terry,  sensing  that  she  was  in 
trouble,  comes  to  the  city  and  learns  about  her  pre- 
dicament through  the  police.  He  arranges  to  meet  her 
and  tactfully  asks  her  to  marry  him.  They  return  to 
the  farm  together. 

Richard  Weil  wrote  the  screen  play,  Joseph  Ber- 
chols  produced  it,  and  John  English  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Esther  Dale,  Victor  Kilian,  Moroni 
Olsen,  William  Forrest  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Pardon  My  Past"  with  Fred  MacMurray 
and  Marguerite  Chapman 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  88  min.) 

A  highly  entertaining  comedy-farce.  At  the  thea- 
tre, where  the  picture  was  previewed,  every  one  in 
the  audience  seemed  to  enjoy  it  immensely.  Based  on 
the  mistaken  identity  theme,  the  rather  involved 
story,  which  presents  Fred  MacMurray  in  a  dual 
role — that  of  twin  brothers,  has  been  handled  deftly, 
with  enough  new  twists  to  set  it  apart  from  most  pic- 
tures based  on  a  similar  theme.  Except  for  the  begin- 
ning, the  action  is  swift-moving,  and  there  is  never 
a  dull  moment;  one  no  sooner  finishes  one  laugh  than 
one  is  thrown  into  another.  The  characterisations 
are  clorful  and  interesting.  MacMurray  gives  a  very 
good  performance  as  the  newly-discovered  service- 
man who  finds  himself  mistaken  for  his  spineless 
brother,  a  rich  playboy,  whom  he  did  not  know  about, 
since  both  had  been  separated  at  birth.  Not  the  least 
of  the  films'1  entertainment  value  is  the  fine  comedy 
support  given  by  William  Demarest,  Akim  Tamiroff, 
and  Harry  Davenport: — 

Honorably  discharged  from  the  Army,  MacMurray 
and  Demarest,  his  buddy,  prepare  to  leave  New  York 
for  Wisconsin,  where  MacMurray  planned  to  invest 
his  $3000  savings  in  a  mink  farm.  Their  departure 
is  stopped  when  MacMurray,  mistaken  for  a  notori- 
ous playboy,  is  picked  up  by  Akim  Tamiroff,  a  cul- 
tured gangster,  who  takes  away  his  savings  as  part 
payment  of  a  gambling  debt.  Unable  to  convince 
Tamiroff  of  his  identity,  MacMurray  goes  to  the 
playboy's  estate  to  recover  his  money.  There,  the 
members  of  the  household,  too,  mistake  him  for  the 
playboy.  MacMurray  discovers  that  the  playboy,  who 
was  in  Mexico,  had  a  little  daughter  (Karolyn 
Grimes),  a  divorced  wife  (Rita  Johnson),  an  iras- 
cible grandfather  (Harry  Davenport) ,  a  domineering 
uncle  (Douglas  Dumbrille),  and  a  pretty  secretary 
(Marguerite  Chapman),  with  whom  he  falls  in  love. 
Determined  to  recover  his  money,  MacMurray  de- 
cides to  pose  as  the  playboy.  He  soon  learns  that  the 
man  he  wag  impersonating  was  despised  by  the 
household  as  a  spineless  fellow,  whose  domineering 
uncle  had  compelled  him  to  divorce  his  loving  wife. 
Since  circumstances  required  that  he  remain  in  the 
house,  MacMurray  sets  about  to  straighten  out  the 
playboy's  affairs.  In  between  Tamiroffs  efforts  to 
collect  the  balance  of  the  gambling  debt,  and  the 
unexpected  arrival  of  the  playboy,  MacMurray  gets 
himself  into  all  sorts  of  complications,  in  which  he 


and  the  others  learn  that  the  playboy  was  his  twin 
brother,  and  in  which  every  one  concludes  that  he 
was  attempting  to  steal  the  family  fortune.  Disturbed 
only  by  Marguerite's  mistaken  impression  of  his 
motives,  MacMurray,  after  many  more  complications, 
succeeds  in  exposing  the  uncle  as  a  crook,  in  recon- 
ciling the  playboy  and  his  wife,  in  recovering  his  sav- 
ings from  Tamiroff,  and  in  winning  Marguerite's 
heart. 

Earl  Felton  and  Karl  Kamb  wrote  the  screen  play, 
and  Leslie  Fenton  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Charles  Arnt  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Enchanted  Forest"  with 
Edmund  Lowe,  Harry  Davenport 
and  Brenda  Joyce 

(PRC,  Dec.  8;  time,  79  mm.) 

"The  Enchanted  Forest"  is  a  wholesome,  charm- 
ing fantasy,  photographed  in  Cinecolor,  the  sort  that 
may  be  classified  as  good  "kid"  entertainment.  Its 
appeal  for  adults  is  doubtful;  first,  because  of  the 
nature  of  the  story,  and,  secondly,  because  the  action 
is  slow-moving.  The  story,  which  revolves  around  a 
little  boy  who  gets  lost  in  a  deep  forest  and  is  be- 
friended by  a  kindly  old  hermit,  is  fanciful  and 
simple,  but  it  has  considerable  heart  interest.  Its 
charm  lies  in  the  good  acting  of  the  principal  players 
and  in  the  friendly  association  the  boy  and  the  hermit 
have  with  the  birds  and  little  animals  of  the  forest. 
Harry  Davenport,  as  the  hermit,  wins  one  sympathy, 
and  little  Billy  Severn,  as  the  lost  youngster,  is  ex- 
tremely appealing.  The  Cinecolor  photography  is 
exceptionally  good,  particularly  the  woodland  scenes. 
Although  the  picture  has  its  shortcomings,  PRC 
rates  an  "A"  for  effort: — 

Davenport,  who  found  peace  and  contentment  in 
the  deep  forests  back  of  Woods  River,  had  lived  there 
so  long  that  he  could  communicate  with  the  friendly 
animals  and  birds.  One  day,  after  a  severe  rain  storm, 
Davenport  finds  a  one-year-old  baby,  who  had  miracu- 
lously survived  the  storm,  floating  down  a  swollen 
stream  on  a  bough.  Unaware  that  the  child  was  the 
grandson  of  John  Litel,  a  wealthy  lumberman,  Daven- 
port takes  the  child  to  his  home  in  the  hollow  of  a 
huge  Redwood  tree.  There  he  rears  the  child  with  his 
animal  friends.  Some  years  later,  Brenda  Joyce,  the 
child's  mother,  still  brooding  over  the  tragedy,  visits 
the  forest  and  catches  a  fleeting  glimpse  of  the  boy 
(Billy  Severn),  who  had  been  taught  to  shun  the  out- 
side world.  When  she  informs  Edmund  Lowe,  her 
physician,  that  she  had  seen  Billy,  he  believes  that 
she  is  suffering  from  hallucinations.  Brenda,  however, 
catches  other  glimpses  of  Billy,  and  she  becomes  so 
insistent  that  she  had  not  seen  an  apparition  that  Litel, 
her  father,  institutes  a  search  of  the  forest,  offering  a 
reward  to  the  logger  who  locates  the  boy.  Davenport, 
who  hated  lumbermen  because  they  destroyed  trees, 
moves  deeper  into  the  forest  as  the  men  approach, 
taking  the  child  with  him.  He  becomes  involved  with 
an  unscrupulous  logger,  who  tries  to  kill  him  in  the 
belief  that  he  was  demented,  but  with  the  aid  of  his 
animal  friends,  and  with  the  guidance  of  mysterious 
voices  in  the  forest,  Davenport  outwits  his  enemy 
and  eventually  restores  Billy  to  the  arms  of  his  mother. 

Robert  Lee  Johnson,  John  Lebar,  and  Lou  Brook 
wrote  the  screen  play,  Jack  Schwarz  produced  it, 
and  Lew  Landers  directed  it.  Lou  Brock  was  associate 
producer. 


152 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  22,  1945 


JUST  TO  KEEP  THE  INGLORIOUS 
RECORD  STRAIGHT 

According  to  reports  in  the  trade  press,  Columbia 
has  finally  set  a  tentative  starting  date  late  this  month 
for  the  production  of  "The  Life  of  Al  Jolson,"  which, 
as  the  title  indicates,  is  biographical  of  that  entertain- 
ment figure. 

As  already  pointed  out  in  these  columns  "The  Life 
of  Al  Jolson"  was  originally  promised  to  Columbia's 
1943-44  contract  holders,  but,  in  keeping  with  the 
company's  long-established  policy,  it  was  not  de- 
livered. Instead,  and  again  in  keeping  with  its  long- 
established  policy,  Columbia  dangled  it  as  bait  for 
the  1944-45  contract-holders,  this  time  under  the 
thinly  disguised  title  of  "April  Showers."  And  fol- 
lowing true  to  form,  except  that  the  policy  is  now 
called  "elastic  thinking,"  Columbia  did  not  deliver. 

We  now  find  it  set  for  production  within  a  week 
or  two.  Surely,  it  should  be  finished  in  time  for  de- 
livery to  the  1945-46  contract-holders.  But  are  they 
entitled  to  it?  No  one  seems  to  know,  for  the  Colum- 
bia officials  are  guarding  the  identification  of  their 
1945-46  product  as  if  it  held  the  secret  to  the  atomic 
bomb. 

Let  us  assume,  however,  that  it  is  being  promised 
to  those  signing  for  the  1945-46  program.  Will  they 
get  it?  If  it  should  turn  out  to  be  a  good  picture,  will 
it  be  sold  separate  and  apart  from  any  program,  as 
was  the  case  with  "A  Song  to  Remember"  and  as  is 
the  case  with  "Kiss  and  Tell"?  Or  will  we  find  it  as 
part  of  the  offering  for  the  1946-47  program.  With 
Columbia,  only  time  can  tell. 


THE  ADMISSION  TAX 
REQUIRES  ACTION 

In  a  report  that  covered  a  study  of  sixteen  months, 
the  Committee  on  Post-War  Tax  Policy,  of  which 
Roswell  Magill,  former  Under-Secretary  of  the  Trea- 
sury, is  president,  recommended  this  week  to  the 
Treasury  Department  and  to  the  joint  Congressional 
Committee  on  Internal  Revenue  Taxation  a  flexible 
Federal  tax  program  designed  to  fit  the  requirements 
of  the  immediate  transition  period  and  of  the  first 
few  "normal"  post-war  years. 

Among  the  views  detailed  in  a  27 5 -page  report, 
titled  "Tax  Program  for  a  Solvent  America,"  the 
Committee  contended  that  there  was  a  "proper  place" 
for  excise  taxes,  and  added  that,  "while  most  of  the 
war-time  'nuisance'  excise  taxes  should  be  removed, 
a  reasonable  number  of  excise  taxes  should  be  re' 
tained  in  order  to  diversify  sources  of  tax  revenue 
and  stabilize  the  tax  yield  in  time  of  financial  strain." 

The  report  contended  also  that  the  extent  of  tax 
reduction  hinges  upon  how  much  Federal  spending 
is  reduced  and  how  soon. 

The  recommendations  made  by  this  Committee 
stand  out  as  a  warning  that  Congress,  in  its  search 
for  sufficient  revenue  to  take  care  of  the  nation's 
huge  financial  needs,  may  look  to  the  continuation 
of  the  present  20%  tax  on  admissions  as  a  depend- 
able, lucrative  source.  Lest  your  Congressmen  or 
Senators  entertain  such  a  thought,  you  should  get 
busy  now;  write  to  them  in  protest  against  even  the 
possibility  of  a  retention  of  the  20%  tax. 


The  leading  exhibitor  organizations  are  watching 
the  tax  moves  in  Washington  closely  and  will  do 
everything  in  their  power  to  stop  a  discriminatory  tax 
against  motion  picture  theatres,  but  their  work,  if  it 
is  to  succeed,  must  be  supplemented  by  the  personal 
effort  of  every  individual  engaged  in  the  industry. 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  ENDORSES 
THIS  FILM  ADVERTISING 

This  paper  has  often  condemned  both  sponsored 
and  concealed  advertising  in  films  that  are  exhibited 
in  motion  picture  theatres;  but  it  endorses  heartily 
the  following  suggestion  contained  in  a  recent  bulletin 
issued  by  Abram  F.  Myers,  General  Counsel  of  Allied 
States  Association : 

"Allied  (and  other  motion  picture  organizations) 
have  been  slow  in  waking  up  to  the  necessity  for 
making  better  known  the  Discharged  Service  Emblem 
of  the  Armed  Forces.  Some  business  firms  have  fea- 
tured the  emblem  in  their  advertising,  but  not  enough. 
Theatres  should  use  it  in  their  advertising  wherever 
possible. 

"There  is  one  way  in  which  the  exhibitors  can 
make  a  greater  contribution  to  this  cause  than  all  the 
other  industries  combined.  National  Screen  Service 
has  a  trailer  on  the  subject  which  deserves  to  be  run 
in  every  theatre  in  the  land.  It  is  listed  as  MS-577, 
$4.50. 

"Remember,  when  our  men  and  women  return, 
again  to  resume  civilian  life,  they  lay  away  their 
uniforms  and  decorations  and  have  only  the  dis- 
charge emblem  to  indicate  that  "They  Have  Served.' 
Help  your  patrons  to  know  this  emblem  by  running 
this  trailer  on  your  screen. 

"President  Smith  of  Allied  has  been  active  in  car- 
rying this  message  to  business  organizations  and  ad- 
vertisers all  over  the  country.  Let's  match  his  efforts 
and  do  a  bang-up  job  in  the  theatres!" 


WHY  "ZIEGFELD  FOLLIES"  HAS 
NOT  YET  BEEN  REVIEWED 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 
"Ziegfeld  Follies"  has  had  two  recent  roadshow  en- 
gagements (Boston  and  Pittsburgh),  a  number  of 
subscribers  have  written  in  asking  why  Harrison's 
Reports  has  not  yet  published  a  review  of  this  pic- 
ture. 

At  the  time  the  picture  opened  in  Boston  about 
five  weeks  ago,  this  paper  was  informed  by  the  MGM 
home  office  officials  that  both  the  Boston  and  Pitts- 
burgh showings  were  test  engagements,  and  that  in 
all  probability  the  general  release  prints  of  the  pic- 
ture would  differ  in  running  time  and  in  content 
from  the  picture  as  presented  then.  Consequently, 
this  paper  refrained,  for  the  time  being,  from  review- 
ing the  picture. 

We  have  since  learned  that,  as  a  result  of  the  two 
test  engagements,  MGM  has  decided  to  change  the 
continuity  of  the  different  sequences  in  the  picture, 
and  is  also  preparing  a  new  ending.  Only  when  the 
final  release  prints  are  ready  will  Harrison's 
Reports  review  the  picture,  so  that  it  can  give  its 
subscribers  an  accurate  report  of  the  picture's  worth. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States  $15.00  R___  1019  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  «.uwm  »o"  Publisher 

Canada   16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico  Cuba,  Spain          16.50  A  Motl(m  picture  Reviewing  Service   

ureat  Britain  ........ ....  io.io  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50  Ug  Editoria,  Policy.  No  problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  29,  1945  No.  39 


ERIC  A.  JOHNSTON  TAKES  THE  HELM 

As  most  of  you  already  know,  last  Wednesday  Mr. 
Will  H.  Hays  resigned  as  head  of  the  Motion  Picture 
Producers  and  Distributors  of  America,  a  post  he  had 
held  since  March,  1922,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Eric  A.  Johnston,  who,  currently  serving  his  fourth 
term  as  president  of  the  United  States  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  has  gained  world-wide  repute  as  a  spokes- 
man for  and  champion  of  American  business. 

In  assuming  leadership  of  the  producers'  associa- 
tion, Mr.  Johnston  outlined  his  aims  in  a  five-point 
program,  which  included  (1)  the  formation  of  a 
Motion  Picture  Institute,  through  which  all  branches 
of  the  industry  can  unify  their  efforts;  (2)  the  inaugu- 
ration of  an  expanded,  cooperative  research  program 
for  the  improvement  of  pictures,  theatres,  methods, 
and  techniques;  (3)  the  breaking  down  of  discrimina- 
tory foreign  barriers  against  American  motion  pic- 
tures; (4)  the  continuation  of  the  industry's  estab- 
lished policy  of  self -discipline  for  decent,  clean,  and 
truthful  entertainment;  (5)  the  development  of  the 
motion  picture  as  an  important  adjunct  to  the  nation's 
educational  system. 

Of  primary  interest  to  the  independent  exhibitors 
is  Mr.  Johnston's  proposal  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Motion  Picture  Institute,  a  sort  of  all-embracing  trade 
organisation,  through  which  all  branches  of  the  indus- 
try might  work  cooperatively  to  the  benefit  of  all.  This 
is  what  he  had  to  say  on  the  subject: 

"War  taught  the  industry  the  value  of  united,  co- 
operative effort.  All  elements  of  the  industry — pro- 
ducers, distributors,  exhibitors,  representatives  of  the 
actors,  directors  and  writers  guilds  and  the  craft 
unions — worked  together  in  the  manifold  war  ac- 
tivities. This  cooperative  effort  must  be  carried  over 
into  the  peace.  Our  purpose  is  to  work  with  all  these 
elements  to  form  a  Motion  Picture  Institute  so  that 
the  industry  can  assume  its  full  share  of  the  responsi- 
bility for  promoting  peace  and  better  living.  Nothing 
like  this  has  ever  been  attempted  in  any  American 
industry  in  peacetime.  It  is  the  natural  evolution  of 
political  into  industrial  democracy.  The  motion  pic- 
ture industry  can  set  the  example. 

"This  proposal  is  merely  another  way  of  saying 
that  we  Americans  must  learn  to  live  together,  to 
work  together,  and  above  all  to  talk  to  one  another  as 
though  we  were  residents  of  the  same  planet.  Unless 
we  do,  we  might  just  as  well  stop  prattling  about  pro- 
moting the  cause  of  international  peace.  An  America 
divided  will  never  lead  the  way  to  a  world  united.  We 
cannot  be  good  neighbors  until  we  learn  to  get  along 
with  ourselves." 

As  can  be  gathered  from  Mr.  Johnston's  foregoing 
remarks,  what  he  has  to  say  reveals  him  to  be  a  man 


of  lofty  ideals,  with  a  broad,  progressive  viewpoint, 
the  sort  that  every  thinking  industryite  will  welcome. 

The  time  is  ripe  for  a  settlement  of  the  industry's 
internal  disputes  so  that  production-distribution  and 
exhibition  may  march  together  in  harmony  towards 
greater  achievements.  Perhaps  the  Motion  Picture  In- 
stitute envisioned  by  Mr.  Johnston  will  be  the  means 
by  which  unity  may  be  accomplished.  This  paper  will 
await  with  interest  the  details  of  the  plan  Mr.  John- 
ston has  in  mind. 

In  setting  as  one  of  his  goals  harmonious  intra- 
industry  relations,  Mr.  Johnston  was,  this  paper  feels 
sure,  inspired  by  sincere  motives.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  producer-distributors  who  employ  him  will  not 
place  obstacles  in  his  path.  So  long  as  Mr.  Johnson 
will  act  constructively,  and  with  just  understanding 
of  exhibition's  problems,  and  so  long  as  he  will  be  able 
to  enforce  upon  the  members  of  his  association  his 
views  and  decisions,  the  well-thinking  element  among 
exhibition  will  give  him  full  support. 

But  if  Mr.  Johnston  is  to  get  the  full  cooperation 
of  the  independent  exhibitors,  he  should  know  some- 
thing about  their  background :  Years  of  mistreatment 
and  abuse  have  made  the  exhibitors  mistrustful  of  the 
producer-distributors  to  a  point  where  they  now  look 
with  suspicion  upon  any  plan  that  emanates  from  the 
producer-distributor  association.  When  Mr.  Hays  was 
brought  into  the  industry  as  head  of  the  association, 
he  told  the  independent  exhibitors  that  he  was  in- 
spired by  sincere  motives,  and  he  assured  them  that 
his  one  aim  was  to  create  a  better  feeling  between  the 
producer-distributors  and  the  exhibitors.  He  even  in- 
vited them  to  come  to  him  if  they  should  be  in  trouble 
with  the  producers.  But  what  did  he  actually  do?  He 
proceeded  to  try  to  gain  control  of  the  exhibitor  or- 
ganisations, both  national  and  regional,  his  chief  pur- 
pose being  to  prevent  the  independent  exhibitors  from 
organizing  too  strongly.  It  would  take  many  pages  to 
recount  the  abuses  suffered  by  the  independent  ex- 
hibitors during  the  Hays  regime;  suffice  it  to  say  that 
they  have  left  the  independent  exhibitors  with  the 
feeling  that  cooperation  with  or  confidence  in  the 
MPPDA  will  gain  them  nothing. 

It  is  this  lack  of  confidence,  built  up  steadily  over 
the  years,  that  Mr.  Johnston  will  have  to  overcome  if 
he  is  to  gain  the  independent  exhibitors'  cooperation. 

Harrison's  Reports  will  say  to  Mr.  Johnston 
substantially  what  it  said  to  Mr.  Hays  at  the  time  he 
took  office  in  1922:  For  years  the  independent  ex- 
hibitors have  suffered  from  inequitable  contracts  and 
from  crushing  film  rentals,  due  to  extravagance  in  the 
home  offices,  as  well  as  waste  in  the  studios,  and  to 
the  producer-distributors'  unquenchable  thirst  for 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


154 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  29,  1945 


"Man  Alive"  with  Pat  O'Brien, 
Adolph  Menjou  and  Ellen  Drew 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  75  min.) 
This  domestic  comedy  may  prove  to  be  fairly  amus- 
ing program  fare  to  those  who  are  easily  entertained 
or  who  can  put  themselves  in  the  mood  to  accept  a 
thin,  nonsensical  plot.  Many  picture-goers,  however, 
may  find  the  action,  much  of  which  is  broad  slapstick, 
too  silly.  A  few  spots  are  comical;  but  for  the  most 
part  the  comedy  situations  are  stretched  to  the  point 
of  ridiculousness  in  order  to  provoke  laughs.  It  is 
shameful  that  the  talents  of  Pat  O'Brien  should  have 
been  wasted  in  anything  so  nonsensical  as  this  pic- 
ture:— 

Fancying  that  Ellen  Drew,  his  wife,  was  in  love 
with  Rudy  Vallee,  their  old  college  chum,  who  had 
come  to  pay  them  a  visit,  Pat  O'Brien  quarrels  with 
Ellen  and  leaves  home  in  a  huff.  He  goes  to  a  local 
saloon,  where  he  becomes  thoroughly  drunk  and 
changes  clothes  with  a  tramp.  Both  men  go  for  a  drive 
in  O'Brien's  car,  which  skids  off  the  road,  killing  the 
tramp.  O'Brien,  hurled  into  a  river,  is  found  uncon- 
scious by  the  crew  of  a  showboat.  On  the  following 
day,  O'Brien  learns  from  the  newspapers  that  the 
tramp's  body  had  been  identified  as  his,  and  that  it 
had  been  buried  by  Ellen.  Aghast  at  the  news,  O'Brien 
confides  to  Adolph  Menjou,  the  showboat's  stoker, 
that  he  did  not  know  how  to  inform  Ellen  that  he  was 
still  alive.  Menjou  suggests  that  he  allow  Ellen  to 
believe  him  dead,  so  that  he  could  spy  on  what  goes 
on  between  her  and  Vallee.  Guided  by  Menjou, 
O'Brien  visits  his  home  secretly  and  discovers  that 
Ellen,  obeying  advice  contained  in  will,  had  decided 
to  marry  Vallee.  Still  guided  by  Menjou,  O'Brien 
resorts  to  "haunting"  his  wife  to  warn  her  against 
Vallee,  but  the  scheme  fails  when  the  family  doctor 
convinces  Ellen  that  his  "ghost"  was  a  figment  of  her 
imagination.  Lest  she  wed  Vallee,  O'Brien,  in  des- 
peration, disguises  himself  as  his  "Uncle  Barney" 
from  Ireland,  whom  Ellen  had  never  met,  and  tries 
to  talk  her  out  of  the  marriage.  Matters  become  com- 
plicated when  the  real  "Uncle  Barney"  turns  up  un- 
expectedly, and  when  Menjou,  taking  the  situation 
in  hand,  leads  O'Brien  from  one  jam  into  another. 
Eventually,  the  hoax  is  revealed,  and  the  finish  finds 
O'Brien  and  Ellen  reunited. 

Edwin  Harvey  Blum  wrote  the  screen  play,  Robert 
Fellows  produced  it,  and  Ray  Enright  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Fortunio  Bonanova,  Joseph  Crehan, 
Minna  Gombell,  Jack  Norton  and  others.  Unobjec- 
tionable morally. 

"Colonel  Effingham's  Raid"  with 
Charles  Coburn,  Joan  Bennett 
and  William  Eythe 

(20th  Century-Fox,  ?^{ov.;  time,  70  min.) 
A  fairly  good  comedy-drama;  it  rises  above  pro- 
gram level  because  of  the  box-office  draw  of  the  stars. 
Combining  comedy  with  some  romance,  the  story  re- 
volves around  a  retired  army  colonel  who  returns  to 
his  small  southern  home-town  only  to  find  it  domi- 
nated by  a  group  of  corrupt  politicians.  His  efforts  to 
awaken  the  townspeople  and  to  drive  the  politicians 
from  power  are  the  basis  for  the  comedy.  The  story 
is  lightweight;  but,  owing  to  the  good  direction,  there 
is  so  much  that  the  picture  has  to  offer  in  the  way  of 
acting  and  comedy  that  one  does  not  mind  the  lack 
of  a  substantial  plot.  Charles  Coburn  dominates  the 
proceedings;  he  makes  the  retired  colonel  character 
believeable  and  likeable : — 


After  a  long  and  varied  career  in  the  army,  Coburn 
returns  to  Fredericksville,  Georgia,  to  settle  down. 
With  the  start  of  hostilities  in  Europe,  however,  he 
decides  that  he  can  best  serve  by  writing  a  daily 
column  of  war  commentary.  He  offers  his  services 
gratis  to  Allyn  Joslyn,  editor  of  the  "Leader,"  for 
which  William  Eythe,  Coburn's  young  cousin, 
worked  as  a  reporter.  Joslyn  accepts  the  offer  and  gives 
Coburn  wide  publicity.  But  by  the  time  Coburn  pre- 
pares his  initial  column,  he  learns  that  the  town's 
crooked  politicians  planned  to  name  a  famous  town 
square  after  a  notorious  political  boss,  long  dead.  In- 
stead of  a  war  column,  Coburn  writes  a  scathing  de- 
nunciation of  the  politicians,  winning  the  admiration 
of  many  citizens.  Thus  encouraged,  he  embarks  on  a 
campaign  aimed  at  wiping  out  crooked  political  ma- 
chinations, concentrating  his  efforts  to  defeat  a  plan 
to  raze  the  town's  old  courthouse,  a  move  designed  to 
enrich  the  politicians.  The  townspeople  support  him, 
but  the  crafty  politicians  block  his  every  move.  As  a 
last  resort,  Coburn  seeks  the  aid  of  influential  busi- 
ness friends,  but  they,  motivated  by  selfish  interests, 
decline  to  help.  Coburn,  unable  to  bear  defeat,  be- 
comes ill.  Appreciating  his  sincere  efforts,  Eythe,  who 
had  joined  the  army,  decides  to  take  matters  in  hand. 
He  rounds  up  his  buddies  and,  at  a  public  meeting 
bidding  the  boys  farewell,  they  hoot  the  Mayor's  trite 
political  mouthings  and  compel  him  to  grudgingly 
agree  that  the  courthouse  would  not  be  touched  until 
the  town's  soldiers  return  from  overseas.  As  the  sol- 
diers march  out  of  town,  Coburn  proudly  accepts 
their  salute  like  a  general  reviewing  his  troops. 

Kathryn  Scola  wrote  the  screen  play,  Lamar  Trotti 
produced  it,  and  Irving  Pichel  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Frank  Craven,  Donald  Meek  and  others.  Un- 
objectionable morally. 

"Apology  for  Murder"  with  Ann  Savage 
and  Hugh  Beaumont 

(PRC,  Sept.  27;  time,  68  mm.) 

The  similarity  of  this  grim  melodrama  to  Para- 
mount's  "Double  Indemnity"  is  obvious;  neverthe- 
less, it  should  get  by  as  a  satisfactory  supporting  fea- 
ture, for  it  has  considerable  suspense  and  holds  the 
spectator's  attention  well.  The  story,  characteriza- 
tions, and  treatment,  follow  the  pattern  of  "Double 
Indemnity"  in  close  detail,  with  the  action  revolving 
around  an  avaricious  woman  who  enlists  the  aid  of 
her  lover  in  planning  and  committing  her  husband's 
murder,  making  it  look  like  an  accident,  in  order  to 
obtain  his  money.  The  main  characters  are,  of  course, 
ruthless  and  unsympathetic,  and  their  actions  are 
demoralizing.  It  is  strictly  adult  fare  by  virtue  of  the 
sordid  theme: — 

Unable  to  secure  a  divorce  from  Russell  Hicks,  an 
elderly  financier,  Ann  Savage  starts  a  flirtation  with 
Hugh  Beaumont,  a  young  reporter,  and  induces  him 
to  help  her  murder  Hicks,  making  it  appear  as  if  he 
had  been  in  a  fatal  automobile  accident.  The  police, 
upon  finding  the  body,  suspect  murder,  and  they 
uncover  circumstantial  evidence  that  leads  them  to 
believe  that  Pierre  Watkin,  Hicks'  business  associate, 
had  committed  the  crime.  Watkin  is  convicted  of  the 
murder  and  sentenced  to  die.  Charles  D.  Brown, 
Beaumont's  editor,  believing  Watkin  to  be  innocent, 
assigns  Bennett  to  investigate  the  case  and  offers  to 
work  with  him.  Meanwhile  Ann,  having  learned  that 
Hicks  had  left  the  bulk  of  his  estate  to  charity,  deter- 
mines to  attempt  to  break  the  will.  Beaumont  tries  to 
dissuade  her,  but  she  engages  Norman  Willis,  a  per- 
sonable attorney,  with  whom  she  immediately  begins 


September  29,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


155 


a  flirtation.  Tired  of  Beaumont,  Ann  begins  to  evade 
him.  Beaumont  soon  comes  to  the  realisation  that 
Brown,  bent  on  proving  Watkin's  innocence,  was 
closing  in  on  him,  and  that  Ann  was  having  an  affair 
with  Willis.  He  goes  to  her  apartment  and  confronts 
them  both.  Ann  shoots  him,  but  Beaumont,  although 
mortally  wounded,  recovers  the  gun  and  kills  both 
Ann  and  Willis.  He  lives  long  enough  to  reach  the 
newspaper  office,  where  he  types  out  a  confession  of 
the  murders,  clearing  Watkin. 

Fred  Myton  wrote  the  "original"  screen  play,  Sig- 
mund  Neufeld  produced  it,  and  Sam  Newfield  di- 
rected it. 


"Mildred  Pierce"  with  Joan  Crawford, 
Jack  Carson  and  Zachary  Scott 

(Warner  Bros.,  Oct.  20;  time,  111  min.) 
Good.  Combining  murder  mystery  and  drama,  this 
picture,  despite  its  short-comings,  as  well  as  its  un- 
pleasantness, will  probably  do  big  business,  for  it  has 
been  given  a  good  production  and  hold's  one's  interest 
throughout.  The  story,  which  revolves  around  a 
mother's  sacrifices  for  an  ungrateful,  wayward  daugh- 
ter, lacks  conviction,  and  the  main  characterisations, 
are  overdrawn.  For  example,  the  daughter's  hatred  for 
her  mother  has  no  logical  basis,  consequently,  it 
weakens  the  story.  Joan  Crawford,  as  the  sacrific- 
ing mother,  gives  a  good  performance;  thanks  to  her 
artistry,  one  can  at  times  forget  the  artificialities  of 
the  plot.  But  Ann  Blythe,  as  the  venomous  daughter, 
fails  to  give  credence  to  the  part;  she  overacts  through- 
out. Deft  handling  of  the  flashback  technique  gives  the 
story  considerable  suspense.  Because  of  some  sugges- 
tive situations,  and  of  the  story's  unpleasantness,  it  is 
not  a  picture  for  children,  and  hardly  suitable  for 
adolescents. 

The  story  begins  with  the  mysterious  murder  of 
Zachary  Scott,  Joan's  second  husband,  and  with  her 
obvious  attempt  to  make  it  appear  as  if  Jack  Carson, 
an  old  acquaintance,  who  had  long  desired  her,  had 
committed  the  crime.  Joan,  together  with  Bruce  Ben- 
nett, her  first  husband,  and  Carson,  are  taken  into 
custody  by  Inspector  Moroni  Olson,  who  shrewdly 
draws  from  Joan  the  events  leading  up  to  the  crime. 
Joan  reveals  that  she  and  Bennett  had  separated  be- 
cause of  his  attentions  to  another  woman.  Ambitious 
for  her  two  daughters,  she  had  worked  as  a  waitress 
and  had  baked  pies  on  the  side  to  earn  enough  money 
to  give  them  the  finer  things  in  life.  Eventually,  with 
the  aid  of  Carson,  her  husband's  former  partner,  she 
had  opened  her  own  restaurant  in  a  building  leased 
on  favorable  terms  from  Zachary  Scott,  decadent 
scion  of  a  once  wealthy  family,  with  whom  she  had 
become  infatuated.  Her  business  had  thrived,  and  she 
had  become  wealthy.  Her  younger  daughter  had  died, 
but  she  had  supported  her  sixteen-year-old  daughter 
(Ann  Blythe)  in  grand  style.  She  had  supported 
Scott,  too,  but  dropped  him  when  he  had  virtually  be- 
come a  "kept"  man.  She  and  Ann  had  become  estranged 
when  the  girl,  whose  wayward  tendencies  she  could 
not  control,  had  deliberately  blackmailed  a  wealthy 
young  man  into  marriage  to  gain  a  huge  settlement 
for  an  annulment.  But  she  could  not  stand  being 
separated  from  Ann,  and  to  provide  her  with  an  ex- 
pensive home  and  with  a  social  life  that  would  appeal 
to  her,  she  had  bribed  Scott  into  marrying  her  so  that 
Ann  would  come  to  live  with  them.  On  the  night  of  a 
party  in  Ann's  honor,  she  had  learned  that  Scott  and 
Carson  had  sold  their  interests  in  her  business,  ruining 
her  financially.  She  had  gone  home  to  remonstrate 
with  Scott  only  to  find  him  making  love  to  Ann. 


Caught,  Scott  had  disavowed  having  any  love  for 
Ann.  The  young  girl,  infuriated,  had  shot  him  dead. 
Joan  admits  that,  in  an  effort  to  save  Ann,  she  tricked 
Carson  into  going  to  the  house  so  that  he  would  be 
discovered  with  the  body.  The  police  apprehend  Ann 
and  jail  her. 

Ranald  MacDougall  and  Catherine  Turney  wrote 
the  screen  play  based  on  the  novel  by  James  M.  Cain. 
Jerry  Wald  produced  it,  and  Michael  Curtis  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Butterfly  McQueen,  Eve  Arden, 
Jo  Ann  Marlowe  and  others. 


"The  Dolly  Sisters"  with  Betty  Grable, 
June  Haver  and  John  Payne 

(20th  CenturyFox,  J^ov.;  time,  114  min.) 

Twentieth  Century-Fox  has  a  "winner"  in  this 
latest  of  its  Technicolor  musicals,  which  is  invested 
with  the  nostalgic  settings  and  music  of  days  gone 
by.  Although  one  may  question  the  accuracy  of  the 
story,  which  is  supposedly  biographical  of  the  famed 
Dolly  Sisters,  it  should  go  over  big  with  the  multi- 
tude, for  it  is  warm,  romantic,  comical,  peppy,  and 
tuneful.  The  production  values  are  up  to  the  cus- 
tomary lavish  standard  set  by  this  company  for  musi- 
cals of  this  type,  and  the  staging  of  the  different  musi- 
cal sequences,  particularly  the  "Darktown  Strutter's 
Ball'  number,  is  novel  and  ingenious.  Hetty  Grable 
and  June  Haver,  as  the  sisters,  do  gCK^BHpF  *n  a^ 
departments  —  singing,  dancing,  and  acting.  The 
others  in  the  cast  perform  acceptably,  with  S.  Z. 
Sakall,  as  the  sisters'  guardian  uncle,  provoking  many 
laughs  by  his  excitable  mannerisms. 

The  story  opens  in  1904  with  the  sisters'  arrival  in 
New  York  from  Hungary  as  children.  1912  finds 
Jenny  (Betty  Grable)  and  Rosie  (June  Haver) ,  both 
eighteen  years  old,  working  as  entertainers  in  a  small 
cafe.  They  succeed  in  obtaining  a  booking  on  a  vaude- 
ville bill  in  Elmira,  where  they  meet  Harry  Fox  (John 
Payne) ,  a  struggling  song-and-dance  man,  who  falls 
in  love  with  Jenny.  Recognising  the  girls'  exceptional 
talent,  Fox  takes  them  in  hand  and,  through  a  ruse, 
arranges  for  Oscar  Hammerstein  to  hear  them  sing. 
Hammerstein,  delighted  with  their  performance,  signs 
them  to  a  contract.  Both  soar  to  stardom.  Fox,  too, 
becomes  a  success  as  a  songwriter,  and  before  long  he 
and  Jenny  marry.  With  the  coming  of  the  war  in 
1917,  Fox  enlists.  Jenny,  alone,  is  persuaded  by  Rosie 
to  resume  their  dual  career.  The  sisters  go  to  Europe 
for  a  tour,  and  the  Armistice  finds  them  more  famous 
than  ever  because  of  their  outstanding  successes.  Fox, 
with  the  army  of  occupation,  is  finally  given  his  re- 
lease, and  on  his  way  home  stops  off  in  Paris  to  take 
Jenny  back  with  him.  Jenny,  having  signed  a  new 
contract  with  the  Folies  Bergere,  finds  herself  torn 
between  loyalty  to  Rosie  and  her  love  for  Fox.  She 
decides  to  remain  in  Paris  to  fulfill  the  contract,  but, 
despite  her  tearful  protestations  of  love,  Fox  tells  her 
to  get  a  divorce.  In  the  few  years  that  follow  the  sis- 
ters become  the  toast  of  the  Continent  until  Jenny  is 
injured  in  an  auto  crash.  At  her  insistence,  Rosie 
marries  Irving  Netcher  (Frank  Latimore) ,  a  wealthy 
young  American,  and  returns  to  the  United  States.  In 
1921,  Jenny,  recovered  from  her  injuries  but  in  finan- 
cial straits,  returns  to  New  York.  There,  on  an  all- 
star  benefit  show,  in  which  Fox,  too,  was  appearing, 
both  are  reunited. 

John  Larkin  and  Marian  Spitser  wrote  the  screen 
play,  George  Jessel  produced  it,  and  Irving  Cummings 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Reginald  Gardiner, 
Gene  Sheldon,  Sig  Ruman,  Trudy  Marshall  and 
others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


156 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  29,  1945 


excessive  profits.  Before  cooperation  can  be  extended, 
therefore,  Mr.  Johnston  must  endeavor  to  make  the 
members  of  his  organization  see  the  errors  of  their 
ways.  He  must  try  to  secure  for  the  exhibitors  con- 
tracts that  are  equitable,  and  a  reduction  in  film  ren- 
tals to  conform  with  current  economic  conditions. 
Upon  Mr.  Johnston's  determination  to  be  fair  and 
upon  his  ability  to  enforce  on  the  producer-distribu- 
tors his  views,  will  depend  the  extent  of  cooperation 
that  may  be  expected  from  independent  exhibition. 

Mr.  Johnston  comes  into  the  industry  unhampered 
by  past  affiliations.  He  has  a  chance  to  do  constructive 
work  and  to  bring  a  better  understanding  among  all 
elements  of  the  industry.  He  is  a  man  of  unusual  abil- 
ity, and  given  half  a  chance  he  may  be  able  to  bring 
order  out  of  chaos. 

Harrison's  Reports  extends  its  congratulations  to 
Mr.  Johnston  and  wishes  him  every  success. 


A  NEW  NAME  NEEDED 

Mr.  Johnston's  appointment  as  head  of  the 
MPPDA  brings  up  the  rather  important  question  of 
whether  or  not  that  association  will  still  be  referred  to 
as  "The  Hays  Office." 

The  MPPDA,  as  most  of  you  know,  stands  for 
Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of  Amer- 
ica, but,  because  it  is  a  long  title,  and  because  of  the 
difficulty  of  both  remembering  and  pronouncing  the 
initials,  the  organization  has  been  generally  referred 
to,  within  and  without  the  industry,  as  "The  Hays 
Office." 

Within  the  industry,  it  would  probably  make  little 
difference  if  it  were  still  called  the  "Hays  Office." 
But  it  does  make  a  difference  outside  the  industry,  for 
the  public's  conception  of  "The  Hays  Office,"  brought 
about  by  motion  picture  critics  who  have  often  dis- 
agreed with  the  industry's  Production  Code,  is  that 
of  a  narrow-minded,  prudish  censorship  body.  Ac- 
cordingly, it  would  be  unfair  to  Mr.  Johnston  to  refer 
to  him  as  the  new  head  of  "The  Hays  Office." 

The  situation  calls  for  an  outstanding  public  re- 
lations job  aimed  at  inducing  the  press  to  stop  refer- 
ring to  the  organization  as  the  "Hays  Office,"  which, 
to  quote  from  a  recent  editorial  in  one  of  the  trade 
papers,  carries  for  the  public  "the  mental  picture  of 
an  ogre  with  mastodonic  shears  and  minuscule  spec- 
tacles." 

Harrison's  Reports  does  not  wish  to  appear  pre- 
sumptuous by  suggesting  what  the  new  name  for 
MPPDA  should  be,  but  it  believes  that  a  suitable 
name  can  be  found  without  much  difficulty.  Here  is  a 
good  job  for  the  Public  Information  Committee  of 
the  MPPDA. 


AN  EIGHT  BILLION  DOLLAR  DROP 

Early  this  week,  the  Department  of  Commerce  an- 
nounced that,  as  a  result  of  the  nation's  shift  from  a 
war-time  to  a  peace-time  economy,  income  payments 
to  individuals  during  the  last  six  months  of  this  year 
will  be  eight  billion  dollars  less  than  in  the  first  six 
months. 

The  decline,  warned  the  Department,  is  bound  to 
have  an  effect  on  retail  trade  but  not  to  the  extent 
normally  expected,  since  consumers  have  plenty  of 
money  with  which  to  buy  the  many  commodities  that 
they  were  deprived  of  during  the  war. 

Eight  billion  dollars  less  income  to  individuals 


during  a  six-months  period  is  indeed  a  staggering  sum. 
And,  since  the  Department  states  that  the  decline 
will  show  up  chiefly  in  the  volume  of  wages  paid  in 
manufacturing  industries,  it  means  that  the  wage- 
earner  in  the  lower-income  brackets — the  main  source 
of  the  motion  picture  industry's  revenue — will  be 
affected  most. 

For  some  months  now,  even  before  the  end  of  the 
war,  Harrison's  Reports  has  cautioned  you  about 
the  necessity  of  exercising  extreme  care  as  to  the  prices 
you  should  pay  for  the  new  season's  product.  It  should 
not  be  necessary  for  this  paper  to  continue  cautioning 
you,  for  most  of  you  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
prevailing  business  conditions,  which  are  being  made 
worse  by  the  wave  of  strikes  that  is  engulfing  many 
sections  of  the  country. 

At  times,  however,  an  exhibitor  forgets  himself  and 
allows  a  glib  salesman  to  make  him  believe  that  his 
company's  pictures  are  so  good  that  even  depressed 
economic  conditions  will  not  affect  their  potential 
drawing  power  in  the  least.  It  is  such  an  exhibitor 
who  needs  continuous  cautioning  and  who  needs  to  be 
reminded  that  even  the  best  pictures  suffer  at  the  box- 
office  when  the  majority  of  picture-goers  undergo 
undue  economic  stress. 

It  is  not  a  case  of  business  being  poor;  the  problem 
facing  most  low-wage  earners  today  is  how  to  meet 
the  high  cost  of  living,  which  is  way  out  of  propor- 
tion with  their  decreased  incomes.  And,  when  a  bread- 
winner has  to  skimp  to  make  both  ends  meet,  you  may 
be  sure  that  neither  he  nor  the  members  of  his  family 
are  going  to  sacrifice  the  necessities  of  life  for  motion 
picture  entertainment,  desirable  though  it  may  be. 

Do  not  let  the  salesmen  make  you  believe  that  busi- 
ness will  resume  its  high  tempo  of  the  war  years  within 
the  next  few  months,  for,  due  to  the  strikes,  involving 
virtually  every  major  industry,  the  post-war  period 
of  prosperity,  which  many  people  have  been  waiting 
for,  may  be  long  delayed  in  its  arrival. 

Use  good  judgment  now  in  what  you  pay  for  pic- 
tures and  avoid  regrets  afterwards. 


SEEKING  EQUALITY 

Lashing  out  against  distributor  discrimination 
against  independent  exhibitors  in  permitting  affiliated 
theatres  and  large  independent  circuits  to  book  two 
top  features  on  a  double  bill,  the  Pacific  Coast  Con- 
ferences of  Independent  Theatre  Owners  adopted  the 
following  resolution  at  a  recent  meeting : 

"Whereas  it  is  becoming  increasingly  apparent  that 
a  discriminatory  sales  policy  exists  whereby  affiliated 
theatres  and  large  independent  circuits  are  able  to 
run  two  A  bracket  pictures  on  the  same  double  bill 
program;  whereas  terms  demanded  from  independent 
exhibitors  prohibit  them  from  showing  the  same  iden- 
tical two  feature  pictures  together  on  a  double  bill 
program,  and 

"Whereas  such  a  practice  is  injurious  and  discrimi- 
natory to  independent  theatres  because  the  terms  and 
allocations  demanded  of  them  do  not  allow  them  to 
participate  in  same  booking  and  playing  privilege. 

"Therefore,  be  it  resolved  that  PCCITO  demand 
that  all  distributors  modify  their  terms  and  allocations 
to  independent  exhibitors  on  all  such  feature  pictures 
booked  as  outlined  above  so  as  to  enable  them  to  be 
given  an  equal  opportunity  to  book  and  play  said  pic- 
tures on  the  same  basis." 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879, 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  Rortm  1  R1  9  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  ivuora  ioi<,  Publisher 

Canada                             16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

^7'^"'  Spain H  «  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Australia    New  '  Zealand '  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Jta  Editoria,  Poiicy.  No  problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

Sbc  a  L,opy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  6,  1945  No.  40 


THE  NEW  YORK  TRIAL 
ABOUT  TO  OPEN 

During  the  past  few  months,  there  have  been  con' 
stant  rumors  of  a  possible  settlement  between  the 
Government  and  the  consenting  distributors  in  con- 
nection with  the  New  York  anti-trust  suit.  Nothing, 
however,  has  come  of  these  rumors,  and,  at  this  writ- 
ing, it  seems  quite  definite  that  the  trial  will  get  under 
way  on  Monday,  October  8,  as  scheduled.  ■ 

Whatever  compromise  talk  remained  in  the  air  was 
dispelled  last  week  in  statements  made  by  representa- 
tives of  both  sides. 

For  the  Government,  Wendell  Berge,  head  of  the 
Department  of  Justice's  anti-trust  division,  is  reported 
to  have  indicated,  following  a  pre-trial  meeting  last 
Monday  with  the  distributors'  attorneys,  that  pro- 
posals for  a  compromise  or  for  a  new  consent  decree 
had  been  made  in  August  and  September,  but  that  no 
agreement  had  been  reached  and  that  nothing  had 
been  submitted  in  writing.  Berge  pointed  out  that  the 
Government  has  not  closed  the  door  to  a  satisfactory 
settlement  of  the  suit,  and  that  it  was  always  ready  to 
listen  to  new  proposals,  but  he  emphasized  the  fact 
that  any  new  proposals  must  embody  the  principles 
of  theatre  divorcement. 

For  the  distributors,  Austin  C.  Keough,  Para- 
mounts  general  counsel,  and  official  spokesman  for 
the  distributor-defendants  on  many  occasions,  stated 
this  week  in  an  interview  with  Motion  Picture  Daily 
that  the  possibility  of  a  compromise  settlement,  either 
before  the  trial  starts,  or  during  the  trial,  is  ruled  out 
so  long  as  the  Department  of  Justice  insists  that  thea- 
tre divorcement  is  the  minimum  that  it  will  accept. 

Accordingly,  so  long  as  an  impasse  exists  between 
both  sides  on  the  issue  of  theatre  divorcement,  one  can 
expect  that  the  case  will  be  fought  out  to  a  final  de- 
termination by  the  court. 

Just  how  long  the  trial  may  last  cannot  be  estimated. 
It  will,  undoubtedly,  require  many  months.  You  may 
be  sure,  however,  that  it  will  move  swiftly,  for,  since 
the  case  has  been  certified  by  the  Attorney  General  as 
being  of  general  public  importance,  the  three-judge 
statutory  court  appointed  to  hear  the  trial  will  not 
tolerate  the  legalistic  antics  by  which  the  case  has  been 
prolonged  since  it  was  first  filed  in  1938. 

There  are  some  exhibitors  who  feel  that  settlement 
of  the  case  through  a  new  consent  decree  would  be 
desirable,  but  in  the  opinion  of  prominent  exhibitor 
leaders,  the  vast  majority  of  independent  exhibitors 
feel  that  the  only  way  to  restore  free  enterprise  and 
open  competition  among  all  branches  of  the  industry 
is  for  the  Government  to  prosecute  the  suit  to  a  fin- 
ish. A  new  consent  decree  would,  after  all,  be  just  a 


compromise,  and  in  all  probability  it  would  fall  far 
short  of  eliminating  the  unfair  practices  against  which 
the  suit  is  aimed.  And  so  long  as  those  practices  re- 
main, the  motion  picture  industry  will  continue  to 
be  in  a  turmoil.  If  we  are  to  have  peace  and  unity, 
the  issues  between  exhibition  on  the  one  hand,  and 
production-distribution  on  the  other  hand,  must  be 
defined  clearly,  and  decided  beyond  any  furthef 
doubt. 


UNHEALTHY  CONFUSION 

According  to  a  report  in  weekly  Variety,  many  in- 
dustryites  are  willing  to  concede  that  the  current,  ex- 
cessive practice  of  reissuing  pictures,  featuring  stars 
who  are  present-day  attractions,  may  result  in  good 
grosses  on  the  basis  of  current  box-office  returns,  but 
they  believe  that,  in  the  long  run,  the  practice  will 
hurt  the  potential  grosses  of  some  new  product. 

One  of  several  examples,  reports  Variety,  is  a  situ- 
ation in  Boston,  where  first-run  houses,  playing  re- 
issues on  double-bills,  have  done  outstanding  business. 
Last  week,  when  Twentieth  Century  Fox's  Techni- 
color musical,  "State  Fair,"  opened  in  one  of  the  im- 
portant theatres  in  Boston  many  people  telephoned 
to  ask  if  Will  Rogers  was  starred  in  the  picture.  The 
Boston  picture- goers  had  become  so  accustomed  to 
seeing  reissues  booked  in  their  favorite  theatres  that 
they  took  it  for  granted  that  the  new  version  of  "State 
Fair"  was  a  reissue  of  the  original,  which,  as  most  of 
you  remember,  starred  the  late  Will  Rogers. 

Variety  reports  also  that  producers  are  viewing  the 
situation  with  alarm,  thus  indicating  that  some  of 
them,  planning  to  remake  box-office  pictures  of  past 
years,  have  begun  to  fear  the  possibility  of  their  new 
productions  being  mistaken  for  reissues.  And  if  the 
remakes  should  be  produced  under  the  original  titles, 
their  fears  are  well  founded. 

It  would  indeed  be  ironical  if  the  producers,  after 
having  turned  the  reissue  market  into  one  of  their 
most  profitable  sidelines  by  virtue  of  the  artificial 
product  shortage  they  control,  should  find  that  they 
had  created  a  condition  that  may  have  a  decided  effect 
on  the  potential  grosses  of  remakes,  particularly  where 
the  box-office  attraction  should  depend  to  a  large 
extent  on  the  drawing  power  of  well  known  titles. 

Before  booking  remakes,  the  exhibitor  should  give 
this  condition  careful  thought.  If  reissues  have  been 
running  rampant  in  your  territory,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary for  you  to  take  pains  to  inform  your  customers 
that  a  particular  remake  playing  in  your  theatre  is 
not  a  reissue.  You  cannot  afford  to  lose  business  merely 
because  your  patrons  have  no  way  to  distinguish  new 
pictures  from  old  ones. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


158 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  6,  1945 


"The  Spanish  Main"  with  Maureen  O'Hara 
and  Paul  Henreid 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  101  min.) 

A  very  good  pirate  adventure  melodrama;  it  has 
all  the  ingredients  one  expects  to  find  and  enjoy  in 
a  costume  picture  of  this  type — swashbuckling,  cut- 
throat buccaneers,  exciting  sea  battles,  daring  sword 
duels,  a  tyrannical  Spanish  governor,  a  fearless  hero, 
and  the  inevitable  fair  damsel  in  distress.  And  all 
this  in  attractive  Technicolor  photography,  which 
adds  much  to  the  costuming  and  to  the  elaborate  back- 
grounds. The  story  is  fanciful  but  interesting,  has 
good  comedy  relief,  and  many  thrilling  situations 
throughout.  It  should  appeal  to  men  and  women 
alike,  for  it  is  a  deft  blend  of  action  and  romance. 
Paul  Henreid  is  quite  dashing  as  the  pirate  chief,  and 
Maureen  O'Hara  makes  a  beautiful  heroine.  Walter 
Slezak  is  properly  villainous  as  the  cruel,  treacherous 
governor.  Binnie  Barnes,  as  a  female  pirate,  is  out- 
standing. One  situation,  a  wedding  night  sequence, 
is  rather  suggestive: — 

On  his  way  to  America  to  start  a  new  colony,  Paul 
Henreid,  a  Dutch  merchantman,  is  captured  by  the 
Spaniards  and  imprisoned  by  Walter  Slczak,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  New  Granada.  Henreid  manages  to  escape. 
He  turns  to  piracy  in  a  determination  to  one  day  take 
his  revenge  on  Slczak.  The  opportunity  presents  it- 
self when  he  captures  a  Spanish  galleon  bearing 
Maureen  O'Hara,  a  noblewoman,  who  was  on  her 
way  to  marry  Slezak.  Henreid  compels  Maureen  to 
become  his  bride,  but  docs  not  consummate  the  mar- 
riage because  of  her  contemptuous  attitude  towards 
him.  Aware  the  Slczak  would  pay  one  well  to  arrange 
Maureen's  escape,  John  Emory,  Henreid's  treacher- 
ous lieutenant,  enlists  the  aid  of  Binnie  Barnes,  a 
woman  pirate,  who  loved  Henricd,  and  together  they 
successfully  shanghai  the  pirate  leader,  seize  his  ves- 
sel, and  sail  it  to  Slezak's  island.  Maureen,  who  by 
this  time  had  fallen  in  love  with  Henreid,  meets  Slezak 
for  the  first  time  and  finds  him  revolting.  Meanwhile 
Henreid  obtains  another  ship  and  determines  to  re- 
trieve his  wife.  Slezak  unable  to  wed  Maureen  until 
Henreid  was  disposed  of,  resorts  to  trickery  to  lure 
him  to  his  palace.  Henreid,  aware  of  the  danger, 
accepts  the  challangc.  He  falls  into  a  trap,  however, 
and  is  thrown  into  jail  together  with  the  pirates  who 
had  betrayed  him  only  to  find  that  they,  too,  were  to 
be  burned  at  the  stake.  Overwhelmed  by  her  fear  for 
Henreid's  safety,  Maureen  flirts  with  the  jail  keeper 
and  succeeds  in  releasing  Henreid  and  the  others  from 
their  cells.  In  the  melee  that  follows,  the  pirates,  led 
by  Henreid,  overpower  the  palace  guards  and  make 
their  way  to  Henreid's  ship,  which  Slezak  had  out- 
fitted as  a  honeymoon  yacht  and  on  which  he  awaited 
Maureen.  The  pirates  subdue  the  crewmen,  and 
Slezak  himself  dies  from  a  wound  inflicted  by  Mau- 
reen. Henreid  sets  sail  for  the  New  World,  where  he 
and  Maureen  planned  a  new  life  together. 

George  Worthing  Yates  and  Herman  J.  Man- 
kiewicz  wrote  the  screen  play,  Robert  Fellows  and 
Stephen  Ames  produced  it,  and  Frank  Borzage  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Barton  MacLane,  J.  M. 
Kerrigan,  Fritz  Leiber  and  others. 

"Hold  That  Blonde"  with  Eddie  Bracken 
and  Veronica  Lake 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  77  min.) 
A  slapstick  entertainment  that  does  not  rise  above 
the  level  of  program  fare.  It  belongs  in  the  class  of 
nonsensical  comedies  that  amuse  some  patrons  but 
bore  others.  The  action  revolves  around  a  wealthy 


kleptomaniac  who  gets  himself  into  all  sorts  of  com- 
plications when  he  becomes  innocently  involved  with 
a  gang  of  jewel  thieves.  The  story  is  a  hodge-podge  of 
nonsense,  and  it  depends  for  it  laughs  mostly  on  broad 
slapstick  situations,  some  of  which  are  amusing,  but 
most  of  which  arc  ineffective  because  they  are  too 
long  drawn  out.  Because  of  the  silliness  of  the  story, 
there  is  little  human  interest.  One  feels  no  sympathy 
for  Eddie  Bracken,  as  the  kleptomaniac,  for,  although 
he  means  no  harm,  he  is  presented  as  a  "sap."  One 
"cliff-hanging"  sequence,  where  Bracken  tangles  with 
a  drunkard  on  the  ledge  of  a  high  building,  is  highly 
comical  even  though  it  has  been  done  many  times: — 

Disturbed  by  his  uncontrollable  desire  to  steal, 
Eddie  Bracken,  a  wealthy  young  man,  visits  a  psychia- 
trist. He  is  told  that  his  kleptomania  resulted  from  a 
broken  love  affair,  and  is  advised  that  his  best  chance 
for  a  cure  was  to  find  a  new  romance.  On  his  way 
home,  Bracken  bumps  into  Veronica  Lake  and  steals 
her  compact,  which  contained  the  combination  to  a 
safe  in  which  a  valuable  diamond  necklace  was  con- 
cealed. Through  a  series  of  circumstances,  Veronica, 
against  her  will,  had  become  associated  with  a  gang 
of  jewel  thieves,  who  planned  to  steal  the  necklace. 
She  traces  Bracken  to  his  home  and,  believing  that 
he,  too,  was  a  crook,  demands  that  he  return  her 
compact.  Just  then,  Inspector  Albert  Dekker,  who 
had  been  following  Veronica,  enters  the  apartment. 
Compelled  to  explain  her  presence  in  town,  Veronica 
throws  her  arms  around  Bracken  and  informs  Dekker 
that  she  had  returned  to  marry  him.  Dekker,  satisfied 
leaves.  Bracken,  confused  but  pleased  at  this  turn  of 
events,  sees  in  Veronica  a  chance  for  the  romance 
that  would  cure  him  of  kleptomania.  He  pursues  her 
and,  despite  her  pleas  that  he  stay  away  from  her, 
determines  to  prevent  her  from  stealing  the  necklace 
lest  she  be  caught  by  the  police.  As  a  result,  he  be- 
comes involved  in  numerous  chases  with  the  jewel 
thieves  and  with  insurance  detectives  guarding  the 
necklace,  finally  finding  it  necessary  to  steal  the  neck- 
lace himself  to  keep  Veronica  out  of  trouble.  After 
many  more  mix-ups,  he  returns  the  necklace  to  its 
owner  and  inadvertently  aids  the  police  in  trapping 
the  thieves.  Veronica,  convinced  that  Bracken  was  a 
kleptomaniac  and  not  a  crook,  agrees  to  marry  him. 

Walter  DeLeon,  Earl  Baldwin,  and  E.  Edwin 
Moran  wrote  the  screen  play,  George  Marshall  pro- 
duced it,  and  Paul  Jones  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Frank  Fenton,  George  Zucco,  Donald  MacBride, 
Willie  Best  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Shadow  of  Terror"  with  Richard  Fraser 
and  Grace  Gillern 

(PRC,  Nov.  5;  time,  63  min.) 

The  value  of  this  picture  lies  in  the  exploitation 
possibilities  it  offers  on  account  of  the  fact  that  the 
story  is  tied  in  with  the  atomic  bomb.  Otherwise,  it 
is  just  a  fair  program  melodrama,  with  enough  action  * 
and  suspense  to  satisfy  undiscriminating  audiences. 
The  story  is  the  old  one  about  foreign  agents  seeking 
to  steal  a  valuable  secret  formula,  and  its  treatment  is 
quite  ordinary,  but  its  connection  with  the  atomic 
bomb  has  been  worked  into  the  plot  cleverly,  making 
the  picture  both  timely  and  exploitable.  At  the  finish, 
newsreel  clips  of  the  actual  atomic. bomb  test  have 
been  used  to  good  advantage: — 

En  route  to  Washington  with  a  secret  formula  deal' 
ing  with  the  atomic  bomb,  Richard  Fraser,  a  chemist, 
is  attacked  by  Kenneth  MacDonald  and  Eddie  Acuff, 
henchmen  of  Cy  Kendall,  an  unscrupulous  inventor, 


October  6,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


159 


who  sought  the  formula  for  a  foreign  power.  They 
steal  Fraser 's  briefcase  and  throw  his  unconscious 
form  from  the  moving  train.  Fraser  is  found  by  Grace 
Gillhern,  a  pretty  ranch  owner,  and  by  Emmett  Lynn, 
her  foreman,  who  take  him  to  the  ranch  and  nurse 
him  back  to  health.  Although  his  wounds  heal,  Fraser 
suffers  from  amnesia.  Meanwhile  Kendall  had  dis- 
covered  that  the  formula  he  had  stolen  was  worthless, 
because  of  a  missing  ingredient  known  only  to  Fraser. 
He  institutes  a  search  for  Fraser  and  learns  that  he 
was  living  on  Grace's  ranch.  His  henchmen,  posing 
as  FBI  agents,  go  to  the  ranch  and  ask  Fraser  to  ac- 
company them  to  Washington,  but  during  the  con- 
versation  they  give  themselves  away  as  imposters. 
Suspicious  of  their  motives,  but  unaware  of  their 
reason  for  wanting  him,  Fraser,  accompanied  by 
Grace,  flees  into  the  hills  while  the  ranch  foreman 
hurries  to  the  sheriff  for  help.  Both  are  captured  be- 
fore help  arrives,  and  are  taken  to  Kendall's  secret 
home  in  the  desert.  Refusing  to  believe  that  Fraser  had 
lost  his  memory,  Kendall  beats  him  brutally  in  an 
effort  to  make  him  reveal  the  secret.  As  a  result  of 
the  blows  on  his  head,  Fraser  regains  his  memory, 
but  he  determines  not  to  divulge  the  formula.  Kendall, 
exasperated,  forces  the  couple  out  into  the  hot  desert 
and,  after  both  are  weak  from  fatigue  and  thirst, 
tempts  them  with  food  and  drink  in  an  effort  to  make 
Fraser  talk.  Meanwhile  the  ranch  foreman  and  the 
sheriff  had  commandeered  a  plane  to  search  the  desert 
for  the  missing  couple.  Fraser,  sighting  the  plane, 
cleverly  manages  to  imprint  an  SOS  sign  on  the  sand. 
Recognizing  the  signal,  the  sheriff  lands  the  plane, 
rescues  the  couple,  and  captures  the  gang. 

Arthur  St.  Claire  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jack  Grant 
produced  it,  and  Lew  Landers  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Stork  Club"  with  Betty  Hutton 
and  Barry  Fitzgerald 

(Paramount,  Dec.  28;  time,  98  min.) 
A  good  light  entertainment,  with  music.  The  com- 
bination of  Betty  Hutton  and  Barry  Fitzgerald  is  al- 
most enough  to  assure  one  of  entertainment,  even  with 
a  mediocre  story.  This  story,  however,  although  im- 
plausible, is  pleasingly  agreeable,  and  both  players  are 
excellent;  they  provide  the  audience  with  many  laughs 
because  of  the  comic  involvements  of  the  plot,  and 
with  some  appealing  moments  because  of  their  kindly 
feelings  towards  each  other.  As  a  hat-check  girl  who 
suddenly  finds  that  an  unknown  benefactor  had 
opened  charge  accounts  for  her  in  the  city's  swankiest 
shops,  Betty  Hutton  gives  an  ingratiating  perform- 
ance; she  gives  life  and  feeling  to  the  role.  She  also 
puts  over  a  few  songs  with  effectiveness.  Fitzgerald, 
as  her  unknown  benefactor,  a  millionaire  who  poses 
as  a  vagrant  and  allows  Betty  to  befriend  him,  is  ex- 
ceptionally amusing.  Most  of  the  comedy  is  caused  by 
Betty's  inability  to  explain  the  source  of  her  sudden 
wealth  to  her  boy  friend.  A  considerable  part  of  the 
action  takes  place  in  New  York's  famed  Stork  Club, 
which  has  been  reproduced  in  exact  detail.  Through- 
out the  story  there  are  subtle  advertising  plugs  both 
for  the  Stork  Club  and  Sherman  Billingsley,  its 
owner: — 

Fitzgerald,  a  crochety  millionaire,  falls  into  the 
ocean  from  a  pier  and  is  rescued  by  Betty.  Assum- 
ing that  he  was  a  vagrant,  and  that  he  had  tried  to 
commit  suicide,  Betty  consoles  him  by  promising  to 
obtain  a  job  for  him  at  the  Stork  Club,  where  she 
worked  as  a  hat-check  girl.  Fitzgerald,  impressed  by 


Betty's  kindness,  instructs  his  lawyer  (Robert  Bench- 
ley)  to  install  her  in  a  swanky  apartment  and  to  pro- 
vide her  with  unlimited  charge  accounts,  but  warns 
him  not  to  reveal  the  identity  of  her  benefactor.  On 
the  following  day,  Fitzgerald,  dressed  in  shabby 
clothes,  arrives  at  the  club  just  as  Betty  receives  word 
from  Benchley  of  her  good  fortune.  Betty,  incredu- 
lous, goes  out  on  a  buying  spree  and  insists  that  Fitz- 
gerald make  his  home  with  her  in  the  new  apartment. 
Happy  but  disturbed  over  the  mysterious  identity  of 
her  benefactor,  Betty  comes  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  was  the  owner  of  the  club  in  the  mistaken  belief 
that  he  had  designs  on  her.  Matters  becomes  compli- 
cated when  Don  Defore,  her  boy-friend,  a  band- 
leader, returns  from  overseas;  unable  to  give  him  a 
plausible  explanation  of  her  new-found  wealth,  Betty 
lies  to  him.  Defore  refuses  to  believe  her,  and  other 
incidents  lead  him  to  suspect  that  Fitzgerald  was  her 
"sugar  daddy."  Although  they  become  estranged, 
Betty  uses  her  influence  to  obtain  an  engagement  at 
the  Stork  Club  for  Defore  and  his  band.  Matters  be- 
come even  more  confusing  for  Betty  when  Mary 
Young,  Fitzgerald's  wife,  from  whom  he  had  sepa- 
rated, barges  into  the  apartment  and  accuses  her  of 
stealing  her  husband.  Betty  explains  the  situation, 
and,  upon  learning  that  Fitzgerald  was  her  bene- 
factor, she  schemes  with  Miss  Young  to  effect  a  recon- 
ciliation with  both  their  men.  They  enlist  the  aid 
of  Benchley,  and  their  plan  works  to  perfection.  The 
closing  scenes  find  both  couples  embracing. 

Buddy  G.  DeSylva  and  John  McGowan  wrote  the 
screen  play,  and  Mr.  DeSylva  produced  it.  Hal 
Walker  directed  it.  Harold  Wilson  was  associate 
producer.  The  cast  includes  Andy  Russell,  Bill  Good- 
win and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


STATEMENT  OF  THE  OWNERSHIP,  MANAGEMENT,  CIR- 
CULATION, ETC.,  REQUIRED  BY  THE  ACT  OF  CON- 
GRESS OF  AUGUST  24,  1912,  AND  MARCH  3,  1933,  OF 
HARRISON'S  REPORTS,  published  Weekly  at  New  York, 
N.  Y.,  for  Oct.  1,  1945. 

State  of  New  York. 

County  of  New  York. 

Before  me,  a  Notary  Public,  in  and  for  the  State  and  County 
aforesaid,  personally  appeared  Al  Picoult,  who,  having  been  duly 
sworn  according  to  law,  deposes  and  says  that  he  is  the  Managing 
Editor  of  the  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  and  that  the  following  is, 
to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief,  a  true  statement  of  the 
ownership,  management,  etc.,  of  the  aforesaid  publication  for  the 
date  shown  in  the  above  caption,  required  by  the  Act  of  August  24, 
1912,  as  amended  by  the  Act  of  March  3,  1933,  embodied  in  section 
537,  Postal  Laws  and  Regulations,  printed  on  the  reverse  of  this 
form,  to  wit: 

1.  That  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  publisher,  editor,  managing 
editor,  and  business  manager,  are: 

Publisher,  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc.,  1270  6th  Ave.,  New  York  20, 
N.  Y. 

Editor,  P.  S.  Harrison,  1270  6th  Ave.,  New  York  20,  N.  Y. 
Managing  Editor,  Al  Picoult,  1270  6r/i  Ave.,  New  York  20,  N.  Y. 
Business  Manager,  None. 

2.  That  the  owner  is:  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc.,  1270  6th  Ave., 
New  York  20,  N.  Y. 

P.  S.  Harrison,  1270  6th  Ave.,  New  York  20,  N.  Y. 

3.  That  the  known  bondholders,  mortgagees  and  other  security 
holders  owning  or  holding  1  per  cent,  or  more  of  total  amount  of 
bonds,  mortgages,  or  other  securities  are:  None. 

4.  That  the  two  paragraphs  next  above,  giving  the  names  of  the 
owners,  stockholders,  and  security  holders,  if  any,  contain  not  only 
the  list  of  stockholders  and  security  holders  as  they  appear  upon  the 
books  of  the  company  but  also,  in  cases  where  the  stockholder  or 
security  holder  appears  upon  the  books  of  the  company  as  trustee  or 
in  any  other  fiduciary  relation,  the  name  of  the  person  or  corporation 
for  whom  such  trustee  is  acting,  is  given;  also  that  the  said  two 
paragraphs  contain  statements  embracing  affiant's  full  knowledge 
and  belief  as  to  the  circumstances  and  conditions  under  which  stock- 
holders and  security  holders  who  do  not  appear  upon  the  books  of  the 
company  as  trustees,  hold  stock  and  securities  in  a  capacity  other 
than  that  of  a  bona  fide  owner;  and  this  affiant  has  no  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  any  other  person,  association,  or  corporation,  has  any  inter- 
est direct  or  indirect  in  the  said  stock,  bonds,  or  other  securities  than 
as  so  stated  by  him. 

(Signed)  AL  PICOULT, 
(Managing  Editor). 
Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  28th  day  of  September, 
1945. 

MODESTO  F.  HELMSTEADT, 
(My  commission  expires  March  30,  1946.) 


160 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  6,  1945 


Here  is  a  problem  that  should  be  met,  not  only  by 
the  exhibitor,  but  also  by  the  distributor.  Advertising 
expense  that  may  be  required  to  inform  the  public 
that  a  remake  is  not  a  reissue  should  not  be  borne  by 
the  exhibitor  alone;  it  should  either  be  shared  by  the 
distributor,  or  an  allowance  made  in  the  film  rental. 


DON'T  OPERATE  YOUR  THEATRE 
FOR  POPCORN  PROFITS 

In  a  recent  bulletin  sent  to  his  exhibitor  members, 
Leo  F.  Wolcott,  president  of  the  Allied  Independent 
Theatre  Owners  of  Iowa-Nebraska,  gives  them  the 
following  sage  advice: 

"As  our  box-office  receipts  drop  with  the  return 
to  normal  times,  unemployment  (and  the  strikes 
which  now  face  us),  drop  in  farm  prices,  etc.  (eggs 
are  already  half  what  they  were  2  months  ago),  lower 
film  prices  and  terms  are  a  MUST!  And  the  exhibitor 
who  has  let  his  film  prices  run  away  from  him  during 
the  war  years  has  a  mighty  big  job  facing  him!  I  well 
remember  traveling  through  the  Middle  West  follow- 
ing my  resignation  from  the  Navy  in  1921,  and  the 
terrible  conditions  in  theatre  business  then,  the  mere 
handfuls  of  people  that  attended  the  theatres,  even  at 
a  dime  admission.  DONT  let  it  catch  YOU  this  time; 
it'll  break  you  like  it  did  most  independent  exhibitors 
then.  Watch  your  receipts  with  an  eagle  eye;  KNOW 
YOUR  OVERHEAD  ...  and  buy  your  films  so  you, 
too,  can  retain  a  profit!  Remember,  this  is  probably 
the  only  business  in  the  world  where  the  GOOD 
CUSTOMER  gets  the  axe!  All  other  lines  give  spe- 
cial discounts  to  their  best  customers;  we  get  only  the 
demand  for  ever  HIGHER  terms!  If  they  don't  sell 
you  so  you  can  make  a  profit  too,  maybe  you're  too 
good  a  customer,  maybe  you  should  try  some  other 
company  awhile!  Don't  be  silly  enough  to  operate 
your  theatre  for  the  popcorn  profits  only.  Some  ex- 
hibitors are  doing  that,  no  kidding!" 

"Wanderer  of  the  Wasteland"  with 
James  Warren  and  Audrey  Lonb 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  67  min.) 

A  routine  program  western  melodrama;  it  lacks  the 
speed  and  pep  that  characterizes  most  pictures  of  this 
type.  There  is  nothing  original  about  either  the  plot 
or  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  developed,  nor 
does  the  action  cause  much  excitement,  yet  it  should 
manage  to  hold  the  attention  of  the  non-discriminat- 
ing fans  fairly  well,  for  it  has  some  suspense  and  hu- 
man interest.  James  Warren,  in  the  title  role,  is  un- 
distinguished but  likeable.  It  has  some  comedy  and  a 
fairly  pleasant  romance: — 

As  a  lad  of  twelve,  James  Warren  is  orphaned 
when  his  father  is  slain  on  the  Mojave  Desert  mys- 
teriously. He  is  rescued  by  a  kindly  middle-aged 
couple,  who  adopt  him  as  a  companion  to  their  young 
son  (Richard  Martin) .  Grown  to  manhood,  Warren 
devotes  his  time  searching  for  the  man  who  murdered 
his  father,  his  only  clue  being  a  brand  that  was  on  the 
the  killer's  horse.  One  day,  while  stopping  at  a  small 
Arizona  town,  Warren  encounters  Audrey  Long, 
whose  luggage  bore  the  tell-tale  brand.  Accompanied 
by  Martin,  he  follows  Audrey  to  her  uncle's  ranch, 
where  he  gets  into  an  argument  with  Robert  Clarke, 
her  disreputable  brother.  Robert  Barrat,  the  uncle,  ad- 
mires Warren  and  offers  him  the  job  of  keeping 
Clarke  away  from  the  gambling  tables  in  a  local 
saloon.  Warren  falls  in  love  with  Audrey,  but  he 
avoids  her  because  of  the  grimness  of  his  mission. 


Meanwhile,  he  incurs  the  enmity  of  Harry  Woods, 
the  ranch  foreman,  who  hoped  to  make  Audrey  his 
wife.  Warren  eventually  becomes  convinced  that 
Audrey's  uncle  was  the  man  who  murdered  his  father. 
Barrat,  compelled  to  confess,  admits  the  killing  and 
explains  that  Warren's  father  had  stolen  his  girl 
(Warren's  mother).  Warren,  influenced  by  his  love 
for  Audrey,  is  unable  to  bring  himself  to  take  revenge 
on  Barrat.  He  leaves  the  ranch  hurriedly.  Seeing  an 
opportunity  to  get  rid  of  his  rival  for  good,  Woods 
kills  the  uncle  and  makes  it  appear  as  if  Warren  had 
committed  the  crime.  Warren,  arrested,  is  freed  from 
jail  by  Martin.  He  kidnaps  Woods  and  takes  him  to 
the  desert,  where  he  forces  a  confession  from  him.  His 
name  cleared,  Warren  reunites  with  Audrey,  and 
both  determine  to  forget  the  past. 

Norman  Houston  wrote  the  screen  play  based  on 
the  novel  by  Zane  Grey.  Herman  Schlom  produced  it, 
and  Edward  Kelly  and  Wallace  Grissell  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Sunbonnet  Sue"  with  Gale  Storm 
and  Phil  Regan 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  90  min.) 
Good.  There  is  nothing  exciting,  novel,  or  suspen- 
sive about  the  story,  which  has  as  its  setting  New 
York's  Bowery  during  the  "gay  nineties,"  but  it 
blends  comedy,  romance,  human  interest,  and  nos- 
talgic, sentimental  songs  in  so  pleasing  a  fashion  that 
most  spectators  will  find  it  a  very  satisfactory  enter- 
tainment. Moreover,  the  production  values  are  good, 
the  backgrounds  colorful,  and  the  acting  commend- 
able. Gale  Storm  is  as  charming  as  ever,  and  her  sing- 
ing of  a  few  numbers  give  the  picture  some  of  its 
most  pleasant  moments.  Phil  Regan,  too,  pleases  one 
with  his  singing.  As  Gale's  stubborn  Irish  father,  a 
saloon  keeper,  George  Cleveland  gives  a  rich  charac- 
terization, provoking  many  hearty  laughs.  Others 
contributing  amusing  characterizations  include  Alan 
Mowbray,  Raymond  Hatton,  and  Charles  D. 
Brown : — 

Gale,  who  worked  as  a  singer  in  her  father's  saloon, 
is  in  love  with  Regan,  a  young  attorney,  who,  backed 
by  Cleveland,  was  running  for  Alderman  of  the  dis- 
trict. Edna  Holland,  Gale's  social-climbing  aunt,  dis- 
approved of  Gale's  working  in  a  saloon  lest  it  be 
found  out  and  ruin  her  own  social  career.  To  get  Gale 
away  from  the  saloon,  the  aunt  contributes  enough 
money  to  secure  the  election  of  Regan's  opponent, 
who  returns  the  favor  by  closing  up  Cleveland's  place. 
Gale  and  her  father  are  soon  reduced  to  poverty.  To 
restore  her  father's  license,  Gale  agrees  to  give  up  her 
singing  career  and  to  move  into  her  aunt's  exclusive 
Murray  Hill  home.  She  leaves  Regan  and  Cleveland 
without  telling  them  of  her  whereabouts.  On  the  night 
the  aunt  gives  a  coming  out  party  for  Gale,  Cleveland 
learns  of  it.  He  crashes  into  the  aunt's  mansion  deter- 
mined to  take  Gale  back  to  the  Bowery.  During  the 
brawl  that  ensues,  the  Governor  and  his  wife  (Minna 
Gombell)  arrive.  The  aunt,  mortified,  has  visions  of 
her  social  standing  crashing.  But  it  turns  out  that  the 
Governor's  wife  and  Cleveland  had  grown  up  to- 
gether on  the  Bowery.  Their  close  friendship  not  only 
helps  Cleveland  to  regain  his  license,  but  also  helps 
the  social  standing  of  the  aunt,  who  sees  the  value  of 
changing  her  ways. 

Ralph  Murphy  and  Richard  A.  Carroll  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Scott  R.  Dunlap  produced  it,  and  Mr. 
Murphy  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVII  NEW  YORK,  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  6,  1945  No.  40 

(Partial  Index  No.  5— Pages  130  to  156  Incl.) 


Tides  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Abbott  and  Costello  in  Hollywood — MGM  (84  min.)  135 

Apology  for  Murder— PRC  (68  min.)   154 

Bandits  of  the  Badlands — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Behind  City  Lights — Republic  (68  min.)   150 

Blazing  the  Western  Trail — Columbia 

(55  m.)   not  reviewed 

Blithe  Spirit — United  Artists  (94  min.)   150 

Border  Badman — PRC  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Colonel  Effingham's  Raid— 20th  Century-Fox  (70  m.)154 

Come  Out  Fighting — Monogram  (62  min.)  142 

Doctor's  Courage,  The — Columbia  (see  "Crime 

Doctor's  Courage")   36 

Dolly  Sisters,  The — 20th  Century-Fox  (114  min.)  ..155 

Duffy's  Tavern — Paramount  (97  min.)   131 

Enchanted  Forest,  The— MGM  (79  min.)   151 

Fatal  Witness,  The — Republic  (59  min.)   134 

Fighting  Bill  Carson — PRC  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

First  Yank  Into  Tokyo— RKO  (82  min.)   143 

Flaming  Bullets — PRC  (61  min.)   not  reviewed 

Follow  That  Woman — Paramount  (70  min.)   130 

Gay  Senorita,  The — Columbia  (70  min.)   138 

Girl  of  the  Limberlost — Columbia  (60  min.)  142 

House  on  92nd  Street — 20th  Century-Fox  (91  min.)  . .  147 

I  Love  a  Bandleader — Columbia  (71  min.)   130 

Indiscretion — Warner  Bros,  (see  "Christmas  in 

Connecticut")   115 

Isle  of  the  Dead— RKO  (71  min.)   138 

Love,  Honor  and  Goodbye — Republic  (88  min.)  146 

Love  Letters — Paramount  (99  min.)   135 

Lost  Trail,  The — Monogram  (53  min.)   not  reviewed 

Lost  Weekend,  The — Paramount  (99  min.)   131 

Man  Alive— RKO  (75  min.)   154 

Marshal  of  Laredo — Republic  (56  min.)  . . .  .not  reviewed 

Men  in  Her  Diary — Universal  (73  min.)  146 

Men  of  the  Deep — Columbia  (see  "Rough,  Tough 

and  Ready")  38 

Mildred  Pierce — Warner  Bros.  (Ill  min.)   155 

Outlaws  of  the  Rockies — Columbia  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Pardon  My  Past — Columbia  (88  min.)   151 

Paris  Underground — United  Artists  (97  min.)   134 

Phantom  of  the  Plains — Republic  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

River  Gang — Universal  (63  min.)   146 

Saddle  Serenade — Monogram  (56  min.)  ...  .not  reviewed 

Shady  Lady — Universal  (93  min.)   143 

Shanghai  Cobra,  The — Monogram  (63  min.)  126 

Sporting  Chance,  A — Republic  (56  min.)  142 

State  Fair — 20th  Century-Fox  (100  min.)   134 

Strange  Affair  of  Uncle  Harry,  The — Universal  (80m.)  127 
Sunset  in  Eldorado — Republic  (65  min.)  . . .  .not  reviewed 

Swingin'  On  a  Rainbow — Republic  (72  min.)  138 

Tell  It  to  a  Star— Republic  (67  min.)  130 

Ten  Little  Niggers — 20th  Century-Fox  (see  "And 

Then  There  Were  None")   110 

That  Night  With  You— Universal  (84  min.)  150 

Three's  A  Crowd— Republic  (58  min.)   147 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 

Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

6029  Ten  Cents  a  Dance — Frazee-Lloyd  June  7 

6223  Rhythm  Round-Up — West,  musical  (66m.). June  7 
6036  Blonde  from  Brooklyn — Stanton-Merrick  —  June  21 

6030  Boston  Blackie's  Rendezvous — Morris  July  5 


6004 

6042 

6020 
6208 
6001 
6027 
6015 
6209 


7201 


A  Thousand  and  One  Nights — 

Wilde-Keyes   July  26 

You  Can't  Do  Without  Love — 

Lynn-Stewart  July  26 

The  Gay  Senorita — Falkenburg-Bannon  . .  .  .Aug.  9 
Rustlers  of  the  Badlands — Starrett  (58m.).. Aug.  16 

Over  21 — Dunne-Knox  Aug.  23 

Adventures  of  Rusty — Donaldson-Nagel  ...Sept.  6 
I  Love  a  Bandleader — Harris-"Rochester"  .  .Sept.  13 
Outlaws  of  the  Rockies — Starrett  (55  min.) Sept.  19 

Song  of  the  Prairie — Western  musical  Sept.  27 

She  Wouldn't  Say  Yes — Russell-Bowman  Nov. 

Specials 

A  Song  to  Remember — Muni-Oberon  Mar.  1 

Kiss  and  Tell— Temple-Abel  Oct.  18 

_  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Crime  Doctor's  Warning — Warner  Baxter  .  .Oct.  11 
Girl  of  the  Limberlost — Nelson-Clifton  .  .  .  .Oct.  18 
Blazing  the  Western  Trail — Starrett  (55  m.)  Oct.  18 

Voice  of  the  Whistler — Dix-Merrick  Oct.  30 

Prison  Ship — Lowery-Foch  Nov.  15 

Lawless  Empire — Charles  Starrett   Nov.  15 

Snafu — Parks-Lloyd  Nov.  22 

My  Name  is  Julia  Ross — Foch-Macready  .  .  .Nov.  27 
Hit  the  Hay — Canova-Hunter  Nov.  29 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Jor\  19,  H-  T.) 
Block  12 

528  Thrill  of  a  Romance — Johnson-Williams  July 

529  Twice  Blessed — Lee  and  Lynn  Wilde  July 

530  Bewitched — Thaxter-Gwenn   July 

Specials 

500  Dragon  Seed — Hepburn-Huston  Aug. '44 

511  Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo — Tracy -Johnson . .  January 

512  Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis — Garland-O'Brien  January 

521  National  Velvet — Rooney-Taylor  April 

527  Valley  of  Decision — Garson-Peck  June 

531  Anchors  Aweigh — Kelly-Sinatra-Grayson  ...Aug. '45 

^  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
Block  13 

600  Our  Vines  Have  Tender  Grapes — 

Robinson-O'Brien  Sept. 

601  The  Hidden  Eye— Edward  Arnold  Sept. 

602  Abbott  &  Costello  in  Hollywood  Oct. 

603  Her  Highness  &  the  Bellboy — Lamar-Walker  .  . .  .Oct. 

604  Dangerous  Partners — -Craig-Hasso  Oct. 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 


Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 

462  Springtime  in  Texas — Wakely  (57  min.) ...  .June  2 

424  Trouble  Chasers — Howard-Gilbert  June  2 

451  Flame  of  the  West — Brown-Woodbury  (70m.)  June  9 

411  Muggs  Rides  Again — East  Side  Kids  June  16 

405  China's  Little  Devils — Carey-Kelly  July  14 

456  Stranger  from  Santa  Fe — J.  M.  Brown 

(53  min.)   Aug.  4 

463  Saddle  Serenade — Wakely  (56  min.)   Aug.  11 

404  Divorce — Francis-Cabot   Aug.  18 

415  The  Shanghai  Cobra — Toler  Sept.  1 

431  South  of  the  Rio  Grande — Renaldo  Sept.  8 

457  The  Lost  Trail— J.  M.  Brown  (53  min.)  Sept.  15 

464  Riders  of  the  Dawn — Wakely  Sept.  22 

412  Come  Out  Fighting— East  Side  Kids  Sept.  29 


October  6,  1945  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway.  Hew  Yorl{  18,  \.  T.) 
Block  6 

4426  Out  of  this  World — Bracken-Lynn  July  13 

4427  Midnight  Manhunt — Gargan-Savage 

(formerly  "One  Exciting  Night")  July  27 

4428  You  Came  Along — Scott-Cummings  Sept.  14 

Special 

4431  Incendiary  Blonde — Hutton-De  Cordova.  .  .Aug.  31 

Reissues 

4432  Sign  of  the  Cross — Colbert-March.  .No  nat'l  rel.  date 

4433  Northwest  Mounted  Police — Cooper-Carroll.  Aug.  26 

4434  This  Gun  for  Hire — Ladd-Lake  Aug.  26 

^  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Block  1 

4501  Duffy's  Tavern— Ed  Gardner  Sept.  28 

4504  Love  Letters — Jones-Cotton   Oct.  26 

4503  The  Lost  Weekend — Milland-Wyman  ....Nov.  16 

4502  Follow  That  Woman— Gargan-Kclly  Dec.  14 

Block  2 

4506  Hold  That  Blonde— Bracken-Lake  Nov.  23 

4507  Stork  Club— Hutton-Fitzgerald   Dec.  28 

4508  People  arc  Funny — Haley-Langford  Jan.  11 

4509  Kitty— Milland-Goddard  Jan.  25 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave..  Hew  Tor^  22,  H-  T.) 
530  The  Silver  Fleet- — English  cast  (reset)   July  1 

562  Three  in  the  Saddle — Texas  Rangers 

(60  min.)   July  26 

566  Stagecoach  Outlaws — Buster  Crabbc  (58m.)  .  .Aug.  17 

519  Dangerous  Intruder — Arnt-Borg  (re.)  Aug.  21 

526  Apology  for  Murder — Savage-Beaumont  (re.)Aug.  27 

563  Frontier  Fugitives — Texas  Rangers  (55m.) ...  Sept.  1 
528  Arson  Squad — Albcrtson-Armstrong  Sept.  11 

567  Border  Badman — Buster  Crabbe  Oct.  10 

564  Flaming  Bullets — Texas  Rangers  (61  min.)  .  .Oct.  15 

568  Fighting  Bill  Carson — Buster  Crabbe  (55m.).  .Oct.  31 
Shadow  of  Terror — Fraser-Gillhorn  (re.)  ....Nov.  5 

111  White  Pongo — Fraser-Wrixon  Not  set 

222  Why  Girls  Leave  Home — Blake-Leonard  ....Not  set 
(More  to  come) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Prairie  Rustlers — Buster  Crabbe  Nov.  7 

Song  of  Old  Wyoming — Dean-Holt  Nov.  12 

The  Navajo  Kid— Bob  Steele  Nov.  21 

Enchanted  Forest — Lowe-Joyce  Dec.  8 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway.  Hew  Tor^  vt,  H-  T.) 

420  A  Sporting  Chance — Randolph-O'Malley . .  .  .  June  4 

442  Bells  of  Rosarita — Roy  Rogers  (68  m.)  June  19 

417  The  Chicago  Kid — Barry-Roberts  June  29 

422  Gangs  of  the  Waterfront — Armstrong- 

Bachelor   July  3 

423  Road  to  Alcatraz — Lowery-Storey  July  10 

466  Trail  of  Kit  Carson — Lane-London  (56  min.). July  11 
456  Oregon  Trail — Carson-Stewart  (56  min.)  July  14 

421  The  Cheaters — Shildkraut-Pallette  July  15 

419  Hitchhike  to  Happiness — Pearce-Evans  July  16 

424  Jealousy — Loder-Randolph  July  23 

418  Steppin'  in  Society — Horton-George  July  29 

443  Man  from  Oklahoma — Roy  Rogers  (68  min.)  .Aug.  1 

425  Tell  It  to  a  Star — Livingston-Terry  Aug.  16 

426  Swingin'  on  a  Rainbow — Frazee-Taylor  Sept.  1 

429  Behind  City  Lights — Roberts-Cookson   Sept.  10 

427  The  Fatal  Witness — Ankers-Fraser  Sept.  15 

428  Love,  Honor  and  Goodbye — Bruce-McLaglen  Sept.  15 

444  Sunset  in  Eldorado — Roy  Rogers  (65  min.)  .  .Sept.  29 

445  Don't  Fence  Me  In — Roy  Rogers  Oct.  15 

430  The  Tiger  Woman — Richmond-Grey  Nov.  16 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

561  Phantom  of  the  Plains — Bill  Elliott  (55m.)  .  .Sept.  7 


551  Bandits  of  the  Badlands — 

Sunset  Carson  (56  min.)  Sept.  14 

501  Scotland  Yard  Investigator — Smith- 

Von  Stroheim   Sept.  30 

562  Marshal  of  Laredo— Bill  Elliott  (56  min.)  ...Oct.  7 


RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  Yor\  20,  H-  Y.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  5 

521  Two  O'Clock  Courage — Conway-Rutherford 

522  The  Brighton  Strangler — Loder-Duprez  


523  Back  to  Bataan — Wayne-Quinn   

524  West  of  the  Pecos — Mitchum-Hale  

Specials 

551  The  Princess  and  the  Pirate — Bob  Hope  

581  Casanova  Brown — Cooper- Wright   

582  Woman  in  the  Window — Bennett-Robinson .  . 

583  Belle  of  the  Yukon— Scott-Lee  , 

584  It's  a  Pleasure — Henie-O'Shea  

591  The  Three  Caballeros — Disney  

552  Wonder  Man — Kaye-Mayo  

t  (End  oj  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
Block  1 

601  Mama  Loves  Papa — Leon  Errol  

602  George  White's  Scandals — Haley-Davis  

603  The  Falcon  in  San  Francisco — Tom  Conway  .  . 

604  Johnny  Angel — Raft-Trevor-Hasso  

605  Radio  Stars  on  Parade — Carney-Brown  

Block  2 

606  Man  Alive — O'Bnen-Drew-Mcnjou   

607  First  Yank  Into  Tokyo— Neal-Hale   

608  Isle  of  the  Dead— Karloff-Drew  

609  Wanderer  of  the  Wasteland — Warren-Long  .  , 

610  The  Spanish  Main — Henrcid-O'Hara   

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper- Young  , 

651  Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  

691  Wonderful  Adventures  of  Pinocchio — (reissue) 


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 


(444  W.  56th  St.,  Hew  Tor^  19,  H-  T.) 

526  Where  Do  We  Go  from  Here — 

MacMurray-Leslie   June 

527  Don  Juan  Quilligan — Bendix-Blondell  June 

523  Call  of  theWild — Gable-Young  (reissue)  June 

528  Within  these  Walls — Mitchell-Anderson  July 

529  Nob  Hill— Raft-Blaine  July 

_  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

601  A  Bell  for  Adano — Hodiak-Tierney  Aug. 

603  Junior  Miss — Garner-Joslyn  Aug. 

606  The  Way  Ahead — David  Niven  Aug. 

604  Captain  Eddie —  MacMurray-Bari  Sept. 

605  Carribean  Mystery — Dunn-Ryan  Sept. 

607  State  Fair — Haymes-Crain   Oct. 

608  The  House  on  92nd  St.— Eythe-Hasso  Oct. 

609  The  Dolly  Sisters — Grable-Haver  Nov. 

610  Col.  Effingham's  Raid — Coburn-Bennett  ....Not  set 

611  And  Then  There  Were  None — 
Fitzgerald-Huston   Not-set 

613  The  Spider — Conte-Marlowe  Not  set 

Special 

602  Wilson — Knox-Fitzgerald  Aug. 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Hew  Jor\  19,  H-  T.) 

Blood  on  the  Sun — Cagney-Sidney  June  15 

Bedside  Manner — Hussey-Carroll  June  22 

The  Great  John  L. — Mc.Lure-Darnell  June  29 

Story  of  G.I.  Joe — Meredith-Mitchum  July  13 

Guest  Wife — Colbert-Ameche  July  27 

The  Southerner — Scott-Field  (formerly  "Hold 

Autumn  in  Your  Hand")  Aug.  10 

Captain  Kidd — Laughton-Scott  Not  Set 

The  Outlaw — Russell-Huston  Not  set 

Paris-Underground — Bennett-Fields   Not-set 

Spellbound — Bergman-Peck   Not  set 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  T.) 


9014  That's  the  Spirit — Oakie-Ryan  (re.)  June  1 

9084  Renegades  of  the  Rio  Grande — Rod  Cameron 

(57  min.)   June  1 

9041  I'll  Tell  the  World— Tracy-Preisser  June  8 

9042  Blonde  Ransom — Grey-Cook  (re.)  June  15 

9043  Penthouse  Rhythm — Collier-Grant  June  22 

9032  The  Frozen  Ghost — Chaney- Ankers  June  29 

9038  Jungle  Captive — Kruger-Ward  June  29 

9003  The  Naughty  Nineties — Abbott  6?  Costello.  .July  6 

9015  On  Stage  Everybody — Oakie-Ryan  July  13 

9044  The  Beautiful  Cheat — Granville-Beery,  Jr  July  20 

9025A  The  Woman  in  Green — Rathbone-Bruce  ..July  27 

9045  Easy  to  Look  At — Jean-Grant  Aug.  10 

9075  Strange  Affair  of  Uncle  Harry — 

Sanders-Raines-Fitzgerald  (reset)   Aug.  17 

9001  Lady  on  a  Train — Deanna  Durbin  (reset)  .  .Aug.  24 


Page  C 


October  6,  1945 


Reissues 

9096  Imitation  of  Life — Claudette  Colbert  June  15 

9097  East  Side  of  Heaven — Bing  Crosby  June  15 

m  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

501  Shady  Lady — Paige-Simms  Sept.  7 

502  Men  in  Her  Diary — Hall-Allbritton  Sept.  14 

503  River  Gang — Jean-Qualen  Sept.  21 

1101  Bad  Men  of  the  Border— Grant-Knight  Sept.  28 

504  That  Night  With  You— Tone-Foster  Sept.  28 

505  Strange  Confession — Chaney-Joyce  Oct.  5 

506  Senorita  from  the  West — Jones-Granville.  . .  .Oct.  12 

1102  Code  of  the  Lawless — Grant-Knight  Oct.  19 

507  Pursuit  to  Algiers — Rathbone-Bruce  Oct.  26 

508  That  Night  in  Paradise — Oberon-Bey  Nov.  2 

509  Crimson  Canary — Beery,  Jr. -Collier   Nov.  9 

510  This  Love  of  Ours — Oberon-Rains  Nov.  23 

1103  Trail  to  Vengeance- — Grant-Knight  Nov.  30 

511  House  of  Dracula — Chaney-Atwill  Dec.  7 

512  Pillow  of  Death — Chaney-Joyce  Dec.  14 

513  The  Daltons  Ride  Again — Curtis-Taylor  .  .  .  .Dec.  21 

514  Scarlet  Street — Robinson-Bennett  Dec.  28 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Jiew  Yor\  18,  N..  T.) 

416  Escape  in  the  Desert — Dorn-Dantine  May  19 

417  Pillow  to  Post — Lupino-Prince  June  9 

418  Conflict — Bogart-Smith   June  30 

419  The  Corn  is  Green— Davis-Dall  July  21 

420  Christmas  in  Connecticut — Stanwyck-Morgan.  Aug.  11 

.  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

501  Pride  of  the  Marines — Garfield-Parker  ......  Sept.  1 

502  Rhapsody  in  Blue — Alda-Leslie  Sept.  22 

Three  Strangers — Fitzgerald-Greenstreet   .  .  .  .Not  set 

505  Mildred  Pierce — Crawford-Carson-Scott  Oct.  20 

San  Antonio — Flynn-Smith  Oct.  27 

Devotion — Lupino-de  Havilland-Henreid  . . .  .Nov.  24 

503  It  All  Came  True — Bogart-Sheridan  (reissue) 

(97  min.)   Oct.  6 

504  Born  for  Trouble — Johnson-Emerson  (reissue) 

(57  min.)  (formerly  titled  "Murder  in  the 

Big  House)   Oct.  6 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 
Columbia — One  Reel 

6503  Fiesta  Time— Col.  Rhapsody  (7/2  m.)  July  12 

6808  Hi  Ho  Rodeo— Sports  (9m.)  July  22 

6753  Kukunuts— Fox  fc?  Crow  (&/z  m.)...  July  26 

6661  CommunitySingsNo.il  (10  m.).....  July  26 

6860  Screen  Snapshots  No.  10  (10  m.)  July  27 

6504  Hot  Foot  Light — Color  Rhap.  (7m.)  Aug.  2 

6809  Chips  and  Putts — Sports  (9m.)  Aug.  10 

6662  Community  Sings  No.  12  (10m.)  Aug.  23 

6754  Treasure  Jest — Fox  &?  Crow  (6'/2m.)  Aug.  30 

6810  Salmon  Fishing — Sports  (9m.)  Sept.  2 

6505  Carnival  Courage — Col.  Rhap.  (7m.)  Sept.  6 

1  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

7951  Milt  Bntton  &  Band — Film  Vodvil  (11  m.)  Aug.  30 
7851  Screen  Snapshots  No.  1  (9  m.)  Sept.  7 

7651  Community  Sings  No.  1  (9/2  m.)  Sept.  20 

7801  Champion  of  the  Cue — Sports  (7/2  m.)  . .  .Sept.  27 

7751  Phoney  Baloney — Fox  &  Crow  (reset)  Oct.  4 

7701  Simple  Siren — Phantasy  (reset)   Oct.  5 

7601  Catnipped — Flippy  (reset)  Oct.  11 

7501  River  Ribber— Color  Rhap.  (reset)   Oct.  18 

7652  Community  Sings  No.  2  (10  m.)  Oct.  18 

7802  Puck  Chasers — Sports   Oct.  25 

7952  Randy  Brooks  Orchestra — Film  Vodvil  Oct.  30 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

6411  Wife  Decoy— Hugh  Herbert  (17  m.)  June  1 

6423  The  Jury  Goes  Round  'N  Round — Vera  Vague 

(18  m.)  June  15 

6405  Idiots  Deluxe— Stooges  ( 17l/2  m.)  July  20 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 


Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

7401  If  a  Body  Meets  a  Body — Stooges  (18  m.)  .Aug.  30 
7409  Vine,  Women  &  Song — Musical  Gaiety 


(221/2  m.)  (re.)  Sept.  6 

7120  Jungle  Raiders— Serial  (15  ep.)  (reset)  ..Sept.  14 

7421  The  Mayor's  Husband — Hugh  Herbert 

(16  m.)   Sept.  20 

7431  .Where  the  Fest  Begins — S.  Howard  (17  m.)  Oct.  4 

7422  Dance,  Dunce,  Dance — Eddie  Foy,  Jr. 

(I8/2  m.)  Oct.  18 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

W-632  Mouse  in  Manhattan — Cartoon  (8  m.)  .  .  .  .July  7 

W-633  Tee  for  Two— Cartoon  (7m.)  July  21 

W-634  Swing  Shift  Cinderella — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Aug.  25 
T-613  Modern  Guatemala  City— Traveltalk  (9m.)Aug.  25 
(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

S-751  Football  Thrills  of  1944— Pete  Smith  (8m.)  Sept.  8 
T-711  Where  Time  Stands  Still— Traveltalk  (9m.)  Sept.  22 

W-731  Flirty  Birdy— Cartoon  (7  m.)  Sept.  22 

M-781  Strange  Destiny — Miniature  (10  m.)  .  .  .  Sept.  29 
K-771  The  Great  American  Mug— Pass.  Par. (10m.) Oct.  6 

S-752  Guest  Pests— Pete  Smith  (9  m.)   Oct.  20 

M-782  Spreadin  the  Jam — Miniature  (10  m.)  ..Oct.  27 
K-772  Stairway  to  Light — Passing  Parade  (10  m.)  Nov.  10 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

A-504  Phantoms,  Inc. — Special  (17  m.)  June  9 

>  (End  of  1943-44  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

A-701  A  Gun  in  His  Hand— Special  (19  m.)  .  .  .Sept.  15 
A-702  Purity  Squad— Special  (20  m.)   Nov.  3 


Paramount — One  Reel 

J4-5  Popular  Science  No.  5  (10  m.)  June  1 

E4-5  For  Better  or  Nurse — Popeye  (6  m.)  June  8 

R4-8  Fan  Fare — Sportlight  (9  m.)  June.S 

D4-6  Snap  Happy — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)   June  22 

P4-6  A  Self  Made  Mongrel — Noveltoon  (7m.)  . .  .June  29 

U4-6  Hatful  of  Dreams — Puppetoon  (9  m.)  July  6 

L4-5  Unusual  Occupations  No.  5  (10  m.)  July  13 

Y4-5  A  Musical  Way — Speaking  of  Animals  (8m.)  July  20 

R4-9  Canine-Feline  Capers — Sportlight  (9  m.)  July  27 

U4-7  Jasper's  Booby  Traps — Puppetoon  (8  m.)..Aug.  3 

J4-6  Popular  Science  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  10 

E4-6  Mess  Production — Popeye  (6  m.)   Aug.  24 

R4-10  Campus  Mermaids — Sportlight  (8m.)  ....Sept.  7 

L4-6  Unusual  Occupations  No.  6  (10m.)  Sept.  14 

Y4-6  From  A  to  Zoo — Speak,  of  Animals  (9m.)  .Sept.  21 
U4-8  Jasper's  Close  Shave — Puppetoon  (8m.) . .  .  .Sept.  28 
(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF4-5  Boogie  Woogie — Musical  Parade  (17  m.)..June  15 
FF4-6  You  Hit  the  Spot — Musical  Parade  ( 17  m.)  .  Aug.  17 
(End  of  1944-45  Season) 


Republic — Two  Reels 

483  Federal  Operator  99  (12  episodes)  Lamont- 

Talbot   July  7 

484  Purple  Monster  Strikes — Morgan-Stirling 

(15  episodes)  Sept.  29 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 


RKO — One  Reel 

54311  Tee  Tricks — Sportscope  (8m.)   June  15 

54312  Mexican  Playland — Sportscope  (9m.)  July  13 

54112  Cahforny  'Er  Bust— Disney  (7m.)  July  13 

54113  Canine  Casanova — Disney  (7m.)  July  27 

533  13  Colorado  Rainbows — Sportscope  (8m.)  ..Aug.  10 

54114  Duck  Pimples — Disney  (7/2  m.)  Aug.  10 

54115  The  Legend  of  Coyote  Rock — Disney  (7m.)  Aug.  24 

54116  No  Sail— Disney  (7  m.)  Sept.  7 

54117  Hockey  Homicide — Disney  (8m.)  Sept.  21 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

64301  Athletic  Items — Sportscope  (8m.)   Sept.  7 

RKO — Two  Reels 

53108  Battle  of  Supply — This  is  America  (18  m.)  .June  1 
53705  It  Shouldn't  Happen  to  a  Dog — 

Errol  (18  min.)  June  15 

53109  China  Lifeline — This  is  America  ( 16m.)  ..  .June  29 


53404  What,  No  Cigarettes?— E.  Kennedy  (18m.). July  13 
53110  Policing  Germany — This  is  America  (18m.)July27 
53706  Double  Honeymoon — Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  Aug.  3 

53405  It's  Your  Move — Edgard  Kennedy  (17  m.)  Aug.  10 


53111  Annapolis — This  is  America  (16  m.)  ....Aug.  24 
53406  You  Drive  Me  Crazy — Edgard  Kennedy 

(17  m.)   Sept.  7 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
63501  A  Western  Welcome — Western  Musical 

(18  m.)   Sept.  7 


63701  Beware  of  Redheads — Leon  Errol  (17  m.)  Sept.  14 


October  6,  1945  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

5354  Down  the  Fairway — Sports  (8  m.)  June  1 

5518  The  Silver  Streak — Terrytoon  (7  min.) .  .  .  .  June  8 
5902  Do  You  Remember? — Lew  Lahr  (8  m.) 

(formerly  "Good  Old  Days".)  June  22 

5519  Aesops  Fable — The  Mosquito — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   June  29 

5201  What  it  Takes  to  Make  a  Star — Adventure 

(lormerly  "Modeling  for  Money")  (8  m.).July  6 

5520  Mighty  Mouse  &  the  Wolf— Terry.  (7  m.) .  .  .July  20 
5261  The  Empire  State — Adventure  (8  m.)  July  27 

<  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

6501  Mighty  Mouse  in  Gypsy  Life — Terry.  (6m.) .  Aug.  3 

6251  Memories  of  Columbus — Adventure  Aug.  17 

6502  Ac6op's  Fable — The  Fox     the  Duck — Terry 

(7  m.)   Aug.  24 

6252  Magic  of  Youth — Adventure  (7  m.)  Sept.  14 

6503  Swooning  the  Swooners — Terrytoon(7m.) .  Sept.  14 

6351  Ski  Aces— Sports  (7  m.)   Sept.  21 

6504  Aesop's  Fable— The  Watch  Dog— Terry 

(7  m.)   Sept.  28 

6253  China  Carries  On — Adventure  (8m.)   Oct.  12 

6505  Who's  Who  in  the  Jungle-Gandy  Goose — 

Terrytoon   Oct.  19 

6254  Bountiful  Alaska — Adventure  (8  m.)   Oct.  26 

6506  Mighty  Mouse  Meets  Bad  Bill  Bunion — 

Terrytoon  Nov.  9 

6352  Time  Out  for  Play— Sports  Nov.  16 

6255  Song  of  Sunshine — Adventure  Dec.  7 

6256  Louisiana  Springtime — Adventure  (8  m.)  ..Dec.  21 
Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  11  No.  11— Teen  Age  Girls- 
March  of  Time  (17  m.)  June  15 

Vol.  11  No.  12— Where's  the  Meat?— 

March  of  Time  ( 17  min.)  July  13 

Vol.  11  No.  13— The  New  U.  S.  Frontier- 
March  of  Time  ( 17  min.)   Aug.  10 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Vol.  12  No.  1— Palestine  Problem- 
March  of  Time  Sept.  7 

Universal — One  Reel 

9356  Wingmen  of  Tomorrow — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  .June  4 
9238  Crow  Crazy — Cartune  (7m.)   July  9 

9357  Victory  Bound — Var.  Views  (9m.)  Aug.  6 

9317  School  for  Mermaids— Per.  Odd.  (9m.)  Aug.  13 

9358  Village  of  the  Past— Var.  Views  (9m.)  Aug.  20 

9378  Kanine  Aristocrats — Per.  Odd.  (9m.)  Aug.  27 

9240  Dippy  Diplomats — Cartune  (7m.)  Aug.  27 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

1361  Gabriel  Heatter  Reporting— Per.  Odd.  (9m.) Sept.  10 

1341  Queer  Birds — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Sept.  17 

1362  Hillbilly  Artist— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Sept.  24 

1342  Go  North— Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Oct.  1 

1363  Paper  Magic— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Oct.  15 

1343  Grave  Laughter— Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Oct.  22 

1364  Pottery  Poet— Per.  Od.  (9  m.)   Oct.  29 

1344  Doctor  of  Paintings — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  .  .  .Nov.  5 

1365  Front  Line  Artist — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Nov.  12 

Universal — Two  Reels 

9881  The  Master  Key— Stone  Wiley  (13 

episodes)  Apr.  24 

9127  Rockabye  Rhythm — Musical  (15  m.)  June  20 

9128  Artistry  in  Rhythm — Musical  (15  m.)  July  18 

9129  Waikiki  Melody— Musical  (15  m.)   Aug.  29 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

1581-1593  Secret  Agent  X-9— Serial  (13  ep.)  ..  .July  24 
1681-1693  The  Royal  Mounted  Rides  Again — Serial 

(13  episodes)  Oct.  23 

1301  Solid  Senders — Jan  Garber — Musical  (15m.)Nov.  21 

1302  Hot  6s*  Hectic — Tommy  Tucker — 

Musical  (15  m.)  Nov.  28 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

1706  Gruesome  Twosome — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  (re.)  June  9 

1508  Mexican  Sea  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  (re.).  .June  9 
1609  Bands  Across  the  Sea — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.) .  .June  22 

1509  Bahama  Sea  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  (re. )»  .June  23 

1510  Flivver  Flying— Sports  (10  m.)  June  30 

1707  Tale  of  Two  Mice — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  June  30 


1406 
1610 

1311 

1708 
1310 
1724 
1709 
1312 
1710 
1711 
1311 


2402 
2401 
2602 

2601 
2603 
2403 


1104 
1112 
1005 
1006 


2101 
2102 


Overseas  Roundup  No.  3 — Varieties  (10  m.). July  14 
Yankee  Doodle  Daughters — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  m.)   July  21 

Speakin'  of  the  Weather — Hit.  Par.  (7  m.) . .  .July  21 

Wagon  Wheels — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.)  July  28 

I'm  a  Little  Big  Shot  Now — Hit.  Par.  (7  m.)  .Aug.  4 
Hare  Conditioned — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  .  .  .  .Aug.  11 

Fresh  Airedale — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)   Aug.  25 

Old  Glory— Hit.  Par.  (7  m.)   Aug.  25 

Bashful  Buzzard — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  .  .  .  .Sept.  15 
Peck  Up  Your  Troubles— L.  Tune(7rn.)  (re.)Oct.  20 

Busy  Bakers— Hit.  Par.  (7  m.)  (re.)   Oct.  20 

_  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Miracle  Makers — Varieties  (10  m.)   Sept.  1 

Alice  in  Jungleland — Var.  (10  m.)   Sept.  22 

Here  Comes  the  Navy  Bands — 

Melody  Masters  ( 10  min.)  Sept.  29 

Spade  Cooley — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  (re.)  ..Sept.  1 
Musical  Novelties — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  ....Oct.  6 
Story  of  a  Dog — Varieties  (10  m.)   Oct.  27 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

Coney  Island  Honeymoon — Special  (20  m.).June  16 

Learn  and  Live — Featurette  (20  m.)   July  7 

America  the  Beautiful — Special  (20  m.)  . .  .  .Aug.  4 

Orders  from  Tokyo — Special  (20  m.)   Aug.  18 

_  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
Barber  Shop  Ballads — Featurette  (20  m.)  ..Sept.  8 
Star  in  the  Night — Featurette  (20  m.)  Oct.  13 


Pathe  News 

65212  Wed.  (E)  .Oct. 
65113  Sat.  (O) 
65214  Wed.  (E) 
65115  Sat.  (O) 
65216  Wed.  (E) 
65117  Sat.  (O) 
65218  Wed.  (E) 
65119  Sat.  (O) 
65220  Wed.  (E) 
65121  Sat.  (O)  . 
65222  Wed.  (E)  .Nov.  7 
65123  Sat.  (O)  .  .Nov.  10 
65224  Wed.  (E) 
65125  Sat.  (O) 


NEWSWEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 

Metrotone  News 


3 

.Oct.  6 
.Oct.  10 
.Oct.  13 
.Oct.  17 
.Oct.  20 
.Oct.  24 
.Oct.  27 
.Oct.  31 
.Nov.  3 


.Nov.  14 
.Nov.  17 


Universal 

438 

Thurs.  (E) 

.  .Oct. 

4 

439 

Tues.  (O)  . 

.  .Oct. 

9 

440 

Thurs.  (E) 

..Oct. 

11 

441 

Tues.  (O)  . 

.  .  Oct. 

16 

442 

Thurs.  (E) 

.  .  Oct. 

IS 

443 

Tues.  (O)  . 

.  .Oct. 

23 

444 

Thurs.  (E) 

. .  Oct. 

25 

445 

Tues.  (O)  . 

.  .Oct. 

30 

446 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  Nov. 

1 

447 

Tues.  (O)  .  . 

.  Nov. 

6 

448 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  Nov. 

8 

449 

Tues.  (O)  .  . 

.  Nov. 

13 

450 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  Nov. 

15 

451 

Tues.  (O)  .  . 

.  Nov. 

20 

208  Thurs.  (E)  . 

209  Tues.  (O)  . 

210  Thurs.  (E)  . 

211  Tues.  (O)  . 

212  Thurs.  (E)  . 

213  Tues.  (O)  . 

214  Thurs.  (E)  . 

215  Tues.  (O)  . 

216  Thurs.  (E)  . 

217  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

218  Thurs.  (E)  . 

219  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

220  Thurs.  (E)  . 

221  Tues.  (O)  . . 


..Oct.  4 
..Oct.  9 
. .  Oct.  1 1 
.  .Oct.  16 
.  .Oct.  18 
.  .Oct.  23 
.  .Oct.  25 
.  .Oct.  30 
.Nov.  1 
.Nov.  6 
.Nov.  8 
.Nov.  13 
.Nov.  15 
.  Nov.  20 


Fox  Movietone 


Paramount 

News 

10 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .Oct. 

4 

11 

Sunday  (0) 

. .  Oct. 

7 

12 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Oct. 

11 

13 

Sunday  (0) 

. .  Oct. 

14 

14 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Oct. 

18 

15 

Sunday  (0) 

.  .Oct. 

21 

16 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .Oct. 

25 

17 

Sunday  (0) 

. .  Oct. 

28 

13 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Nov. 

I 

19 

Sunday  (O) 

.  .Nov. 

4 

20 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Nov. 

8 

21 

Sunday  (O) 

. .  Nov. 

11 

72 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Nov. 

15 

23 

Sunday  (0) 

.  .Nov. 

18 

10 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .  Oct. 

4 

11 

Tues.   (O)  . 

. .  Oct. 

9 

12 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Oct.  1 1 

13 

Tues.   (O)  . 

.  .Oct. 

16 

14 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Oct. 

18 

15 

Tues.  (O)  .  . 

.  .Oct. 

23 

16 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

..Oct. 

25 

17 

Tues.  (O)  .  . 

,  .  .Oct.  30 

18 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Nov. 

1 

19 

Tues.  (O)  .  . 

. .  Nov. 

6 

20 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Nov. 

8 

21  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

.  .  Nov. 

13 

22 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

. .  Nov. 

L5 

23 

Tues.  (O)  .  . 

. .  Nov. 

20 

All  American  News 

154  Friday   Oct.  5 

155  Friday   Oct.  12 

156  Friday   Oct.  19 

157  Friday   Oct.  26 

158  Friday   Nov.  2 

159  Friday   Nov.  9 

160  Friday   >Jov.  16 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  13,  1945  No.  41 


A  TIMELY  VICTORY 


The  long  awaited  decision  of  District  Judge  John 
C.  Knight,  who  heard  the  Government's  anti-trust 
action  against  the  Schine  Circuit,  was  handed  down 
last  Monday,  coincident  with  the  start  of  the  New 
York  antitrust  trial. 

The  forty-five  page  opinion  is  a  sweeping  victory 
for  the  Government.  Judge  Knight  upheld  in  their 
entirety  the  Government's  contentions  that  the  Schine 
Circuit  and  its  affiliates  constituted  an  unlawful 
combination,  and  that  they  monopolized  theatre  op- 
erations in  their  respective  territories  in  violation  of 
the  anti-trust  laws. 

The  suit,  as  most  of  you  may  remember,  was  be- 
gun by  the  Government  in  1939. 

Under  the  terms  of  the  court  's  ruling,  the  Schine 
Corporation  and  its  affiliated  companies  are  enjoined 
from  monopolizing  the  supply  of  major  first-run  pic- 
tures in  situations  where  a  competitor  has  suitable 
facilities  for  the  exhibition  of  such  pictures,  and  from 
monopolizing  second-run  pictures  where  similar  con- 
ditions exist.  The  circuit  is  prohibited  also  from  en- 
forcing "any  existing  agreements  not  to  compete  or 
to  restrict  the  use  of  any  real  estate  to  non-theatrical 
purposes." 

Judge  Knight  directed  that  a  decree  be  issued  re' 
quiring  that  Schine  and  its  affiliated  corporations  "be 
dissolved,  realigned,  or  reorganized  in  their  owner- 
ship and  control,  so  that  fair  competition  between 
them  and  other  theatres  be  restored  and  hereafter 
maintained."  The  method  of  dissolution,  realignment, 
or  reorganization  was  left  for  the  court  to  decide  after 
consultation  with  representatives  of  both  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  Schine  Circuit. 

In  reviewing  the  growth  of  the  Schine  interests, 
Judge  Knight  pointed  out  that,  at  the  time  the  suit 
was  filed  in  1939,  the  circuit  had  an  interest  in  175 
theatres,  and  that,  in  1941,  there  were  only  three 
towns  in  which  Schine's  competitors  were  exhibiting 
major  film  products.  He  added  that,  "in  a  single  sea- 
son, 1939-1940,  Schine  paid  $1,647,000  to  six  film 
companies." 

A  copy  of  Judge  Knight's  opinion  is  not  available 
as  this  paper  goes  to  press,  but  here  are  some  excerpts 
of  it,  as  reported  by  Motion  Picture  Daily: 

"It  is  the  opinion  of  this  court  that  the  defendants 
have  violated  Section  1  and  Section  2  of  the  Sherman 
Act  in  that  they  have  maintained  an  unlawful  com- 
bination among  themselves  by  means  of  which  they 
have  unreasonably  restrained  trade  or  commerce 
among  the  several  states  and  have  monopolized  the 


business  of  operating  theatres  and  the  supplying  of 
major  films  in  various  towns  and  cities,  and  that  each 
of  the  major  distributors  herein  before  named,  by  the 
methods  which  it  has  employed  in  its  dealings  with 
Schine  and  the  independents,  has  aided  and  abetted 
these  defendants  in  unreasonably  restraining  trade 
or  commerce  between  the  states  and  the  monopoli- 
zation of  theatre  operations. 

"The  great  film  buying  power  of  the  defendant 
corporations  gave  opportunity  to  exert  pressure  on 
the  distributors  to  obtain  preferences.  The  extent  of 
this  film  buying  is  demonstrated  by  the  exceedingly 
large  number  of  theatres  controlled  by  Schine  and 
the  large  amount  of  money  which  must  have  been 
paid  for  film  rentals. .  . . 

"This  buying  power  included  both  closed  and  open 
towns.  By  combining  the  open  and  closed  towns  in 
Schine 's  deals  with  the  distributors,  Schine  was  en- 
abled to  dictate  terms  to  the  distributors.  This  ability 
to  dictate  terms  was  further  increased  by  the  authority 
of  Schine  to  buy  product  for  theatres  not  owned  or 
operated  by  it.  Schine  acquired  by  purchase  or  lease 
55  theatres  from  1922  to  1931  and  80  from  1936  to 
1941,  inclusive,  15  in  1938  and  15  in  1939. 

"The  means  and  methods  employed  by  the  differ- 
ent defendant  corporations  through  their  officers  and 
authorized  representatives  to  obtain  a  monopolist 
control  were  numerous.  Principally  among  these 
were  arbitrarily  depriving  independents  of  first  and 
second  run  pictures,  securing  unreasonable  clearance, 
making  threats  to  build  or  open  closed  theatres  to 
prevent  construction  or  operation  by  independents, 
lowering  admission  prices,  obtaining  rental  conces- 
sions, restricting  independents  who  sold  to  Schine  as 
to  periods  and  places  of  operation,  making  long-time 
franchise  agreements  covering  the  'circuit.' .  .  . 

"The  Schine  circuit  buying  power  beyond  pre- 
adventure  was  extremely  large  and  its  opportunities 
to  utilize  this  power  in  the  purchase  of  films  to  the 
detriment  of  its  competitors  is  apparent.  These  de- 
fendants together  control  the  largest  independent 
theatre  circuit  in  the  country.  For  theatre  acquisition 
and  capital  improvement  there  has  been  expended 
admittedly  upwards  of  $10,948,100,  not  including 
dividend  payments  on  operation  expenses  and  cash 
on  hand." 

As  already  said,  the  Schine  decision  is  a  sweeping 
victory  for  the  Government,  and  it  is  another  big  step 
forward  in  the  independent  exhibitors'  long-standing 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


162 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  13,  1945 


"The  Spider"  with  Richard  Conte 
and  Faye  Marlowe 

(20th  Century-Fox,  no  release  date  set;  time,  61  min.) 

This  murder  mystery  melodrama  is  only  mild  pro- 
gram fare,  for  the  plot  is  ordinary,  lacks  suspense,  and 
the  action  drags.  Even  though  the  murderer's  identity 
is  not  divulged  until  the  end,  it  fails  to  hold  the  spec- 
tator's  attention,  for  the  events  leading  up  to  his  un- 
veiling do  not  intrigue  one.  Moreover,  the  motive  for 
the  crimes  are  not  clear  to  the  spectator,  for  it  is  com- 
municated to  him  through  excessive,  uninteresting 
dialogue.  Stock  tricks  have  been  used  to  create  a  mys- 
terious atmosphere,  and  to  throw  suspicion  on  the  dif- 
ferent characters,  but  they  are  not  very  effective. 
The  comedy,  little  as  there  is  of  it,  is  hardly  worth 
mentioning : — 

Seeking  to  unravel  the  mysterious  disappearance 
of  her  sister,  Faye  Marlowe  retains  Richard  Conte, 
a  private  detective,  and  asks  him  to  pick  up  an  enve- 
lope from  Ann  Savage,  his  assistant.  Conte,  mystified, 
arranges  for  Ann  to  meet  him  at  his  apartment. 
There,  before  he  can  obtain  the  envelope,  she  is  mur- 
dered by  a  mysterious  intruder.  Lest  the  police  suspect 
him  of  the  crime,  Conte  removes  Ann's  body  and 
takes  it  to  her  apartment.  The  police  find  it  under 
circumstances  that  lead  them  to  suspect  Conte,  but 
they  are  unable  to  hold  him  because  of  lack  of  evi- 
dence. Conte,  determined  to  solve  Ann's  murder, 
starts  an  investigation  of  his  own.  He  trails  Faye  to  a 
local  theatre  where  he  finds  her  working  in  a  mind- 
reading  act  with  Kurt  Krcuger.  Faye  explains  that 
Ann  had  communicated  with  her  and  had  offered  to 
give  her  proof  of  her  sister's  murderer  in  exchange 
for  a  diamond  brooch.  She  explains  also  that  Kreuger 
had  been  married  to  her  sister  but  that  they  had  been 
divorced  several  years  previously.  Convinced  that 
Faye  had  nothing  to  do  with  Ann's  murder,  Conte 
visits  Ann's  apartment  and,  slipping  by  a  police 
guard,  finds  the  envelope,  which  contained  newspaper 
clippings  about  an  unsolved  murder  that  had  taken 
place  in  a  small  New  Orleans  hotel.  Following  up 
these  clues,  Conte  discovers  evidence  leading  him  to 
believe  that  Kreuger  was  guilty  of  the  crime.  He 
enlists  Faye's  aid  and,  together,  they  succeed  in  gain- 
ing conclusive  proof  of  Kreuger 's  guilt.  Trapped, 
Kreuger  attempts  to  kill  them,  but  both  are  saved  by 
the  timely  arrival  of  the  police. 

Jo  Eisinger  and  W.  Scott  Darling  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Ben  Silvey  produced  it,  and  Robert  Webb  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Manton  Moreland, 
Walter  Sande,  Martin  Kosleck  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Sensation  Hunters"  with  Doris  Merrick 
and  Robert  Lowery 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  63  min.) 
An  unpleasant,  mediocre  program  melodrama, 
handicapped  by  .an  incoherent  story.  It  is  a  lurid  tale, 
set  in  sordid  surroundings,  revolving  around  a  young 
girl,  who,  dissatisfied  with  her  home  life,  falls  in  love 
with  a  disreputable  gambler,  and  is  drawn  into  a 
shady  existence  working  in  a  low-class  cabaret.  Most 
of  the  characters  are  unsympathetic  and  weak.  It 
seems  as  if  the  producer,  in  order  to  keep  within  the 
bounds  of  decency  and  morality,  deleted  considerable 
footage.  The  editing,  however,  is  so  poor  that  through- 
out the  proceedings  one  has  to  guess  at  what  the  story 
is  all  about.  Even  the  ending  is  bad;  it  leaves  the  spec- 
tator completely  bewildered.  Because  of  the  sordid 
theme,  and  of  what  the  story  implies,  it  is  definitely 


not  a  picture  for  either  children  or  adolescents: — 

Oppressed  by  the  constant  bickering  of  her  family, 
Doris  Merrick,  a  young  factory  worker,  goes  to  a 
cabaret  with  Eddie  Quillan,  her  sweetheart,  and 
Wanda  McKay,  her  girl-friend.  There,  Doris  strikes 
up  an  acquaintance  with  Robert  Lowery,  a  perfect 
stranger,  whose  charm  fascinates  her,  A  few  nights 
later,  Doris  and  Quillan,  out  for  an  evening  of  fun, 
are  arrested  in  a  gambling  raid  and  jailed.  Doris' 
father  pays  her  fine  and  puts  her  out  of  his  home. 
Disgraced  and  without  funds,  Doris  seeks  Lowery 's 
assistance.  He  helps  her  to  get  employment  as  a  host- 
ess in  an  ill-famed  night-club,  which  was  operated  by 
Constance  Worth,  his  former  sweetheart.  Isabel 
Jewell,  one  of  the  hardened  hostesses  working  in  the 
club,  warns  Doris  against  Lowery,  informing  her 
that  he  was  a  gambler  and  blackmailer.  Doris,  how- 
ever, despite  Isabel's  warning,  cannot  restrain  her 
love  for  him.  When  Lowery  gets  himself  into  financial 
difficulties  with  Nestor  Paiva,  a  racketeer,  he  shame- 
lessly induces  Doris  to  give  herself  to  Paiva  to  square 
the  debt  and  to  save  himself  from  a  beating.  Although 
dragged  down  to  Lowery 's  shady  way  of  life,  Doris 
continues  to  tolerate  him  because  of  her  uncontrol- 
lable love.  Matters  reach  a  climax,  however,  when 
Lowery,  having  started  a  new  love  affair  with  Wanda, 
Doris'  close  friend,  with  whom  he  intended  to  leave 
town,  asks  Doris  for  money  to  finance  the  trip.  En- 
raged, Doris  kills  him. 

Dennis  Cooper  wrote  the  screen  play,  Joseph  Kauf- 
man produced  it,  and  Christy  Cabanne  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Byron  Foulgcr,  Vince  Barnett  and 
others. 


"The  Crime  Doctor's  Warning" 
with  Warner  Baxter 

(Columbia,  October  11;  time,  70  min.) 

Continuing  the  adventures  of  Warner  Baxter,  as 
"Dr.  Ordway,"  a  psychiatrist-detective,  this  program 
murder-mystery  melodrama  is  below  par  for  the 
series,  but  it  should  give  satisfaction  to  those  who  en- 
joy pictures  of  this  type  without  being  too  concerned 
about  story  details.  This  time  the  action  revolves 
around  Baxter's  efforts  to  aid  a  young  artist,  who, 
suffering  from  spells  of  amnesia,  feared  that  he  may 
have  committed  crimes  during  his  lapses  of  memory. 
It  is  a  far-fetched  plot,  and  its  development  defies 
plausibility;  nevertheless,  it  manages  to  sustain  a  fair 
degree  of  suspense  since  the  finger  of  suspicion  is 
pointed  at  the  young  man  until  the  finish,  where  Bex- 
ter  proves  his  innocence: — 

While  investigating  the  mysterious  slaying  of  an 
artists'  model,  Baxter  is  visited  by  Coulter  Irwin,  a 
young  artist,  who  relates  that  he  had  frequent  lapses 
of  memory,  and  that  he  was  afraid  of  unwittingly 
harming  others  during  those  spells.  Later,  Dusty  An- 
derson, Irwin's  model,  is  found  murdered  in  his 
studio.  Suspicion  immediately  falls  on  Irwin  because 
of  his  inability  to  explain  his  movements  on  the  day 
of  the  crime.  Baxter,  however,  believes  the  young  man 
innocent  and  starts  an  investigation  of  his  own.  He 
learns  that  both  murdered  models  had  been  close 
friends,  and  that  they,  together  with  a  third  model, 
had  posed  recently  for  a  painting.  Baxter  institutes  a 
search  for  the  third  model  to  learn  if  she  could  throw 
light  on  the  killings.  His  search  leads  him  to  the  studio 
of  Miles  Mander,  an  art  dealer,  who  denies  knowl- 
edge of  either  the  models  or  the  painting.  Mean- 
while Franco  Corsaro,  an  eccentric  artist,  who  was 
acquainted  with  Irwin,  is  shot  to  death  by  an  un- 


October  13,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


163 


identified  man  as  he  attempts  to  blackmail  Irwin's 
mother;  he  had  informed  her  that  he  could  prove  her 
son's  innocence  by  revealing  the  murderer's  name. 
Tracing  Corsaro's  activities,  Baxter  learns  that  he 
had  camouflaged  the  missing  painting  with  water 
colors.  His  investigation  leads  him  back  to  Mander's 
studio,  where  he  breaks  in  and  finds,  not  only  the 
camouflaged  painting,  but  also  a  realistic  statue  of 
the  missing  model.  He  soon  finds  himself  confronted 
by  Mander,  gun  in  hand,  who  explains  that  he  had 
been  married  to  the  missing  model,  but  that  he  had 
killed  her  accidentally.  He  reveals  that  he  had  mur- 
dered her  girl  friends  and  Corsaro  lest  they  learn  of 
his  secret  and  expose  him  to  the  police.  Mander  pre- 
pares  to  make  Baxter  his  next  victim,  but  the  psychia- 
trist  is  saved  by  the  timely  arrival  of  the  police. 

Eric  Taylor  wrote  the  screen  play,  Rudolph  C. 
Flothow  produced  it,  and  William  Castle  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  John  Abbott,  Edward  Ciannelli  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Kitty"  with  Paulette  Goddard 
and  Ray  Milland 

(Paramount,  January  25;  time,  103  min.) 

A  fascinating  period  drama,  one  that  will  probably 
do  big  business,  particularly  in  metropolitan  centers, 
but  it  is  certainly  not  entertainment  for  the  family 
trade;  for  its  story  about  a  guttersnipe's  rise  from  the 
London  slums  to  a  high  position  in  court  society, 
aided  by  the  machinations  of  a  disreputable  young 
nobleman,  is  one  of  the  most  sordid  ever  presented  on 
the  screen.  It  is  a  curious  mixture  of  trickery,  thievery, 
murder,  self-sacrifice,  romance,  and  sex,  in  which 
none  of  the  characters  do  anything  commendable,  yet 
it  holds  one's  attention  well,  for  it  has  been  presented 
in  a  skillful  manner  and  is  aided  considerably  by 
good  performances.  It  will  probably  appeal  chiefly  to 
sophisticated  audiences.  The  period  depicted  is  Lon' 
don  in  1870,  and  the  sets  are  extremely  lavish: — 

Kitty  (Paulette  Goddard) ,  an  unkempt  street  waif, 
is  employed  by  Sir  Thomas  Gainsborough  (Cecil 
Kellaway)  to  pose  for  a  painting.  Her  portrait,  titled 
"An  Anonymous  Lady,"  is  purchased  by  the  elderly 
Duke  of  Malmunster,  who  expresses  a  desire  to  meet 
its  subject.  His  remark  is  overheard  by  Sir  Hugh 
Marcy  (Ray  Milland),  an  impoverished,  unscrupu' 
lous  nobleman,  who  had  met  Kitty  in  Gainsborough's 
studio.  He  promises  the  Duke  that  he  will  arrange  a 
meeting,  but  conceals  the  fact  that  Kitty  was  a  gutter- 
snipe. Marcy  takes  Kitty  into  his  home  and,  together 
with  his  gin-loving  aunt  (Constance  Collier) ,  teaches 
her  how  to  act  like  a  "lady"  in  a  scheme  to  marry  her 
off  to  the  Duke,  and  thus  recoup  his  fortune.  In  the 
course  of  her  tutelage,  Kitty  falls  in  love  with  Marcy 
despite  his  shabby  treatment.  When  Marcy  is  sud- 
denly thrown  into  debtors  prison,  Kitty  inveigles  a 
wealthy  ironmonger  into  marrying  her,  and  she  steals 
his  money  to  pay  for  Marcy 's  release.  The  ironmonger 
attempts  to  beat  Kitty  for  stealing,  but  a  housemaid 
she  had  befriended  kills  him  and  then  commits  sui' 
cide  herself.  Shortly  after  the  funeral,  Marcy  maneu- 
vers the  now  wealthy  Kitty  into  a  marriage  with  the 
elderly  Duke.  She  bears  a  child  that  had  been  fathered 
by  the  ironmonger,  but  allows  the  Duke  to  believe 
that  the  child  was  his  own.  The  excitement  of  the 
birth  causes  the  Duke  to  die  from  a  heart  attack,  mak- 
ing Kitty  one  of  England's  richest  noblewomen.  Hav- 
ing been  deeply  in  love  with  Marcy  all  along,  Kitty 
finally  becomes  angered  at  his  indifference  to  her  and, 


to  spite  him,  she  becomes  engaged  to  Brett  Harwood 
(Patric  Knowles)  his  best  friend.  Marcy,  his  love  for 
her  awakened,  tries  to  break  up  the  engagement  by 
revealing  Kitty's  past,  but  Harwood  is  unimpressed. 
Kitty,  however,  assured  that  Marcy 's  love  for  her  was 
genuine,  jilts  Harwood  and  proclaims  her  love  for 
Marcy. 

Darrel  Ware  and  Karl  Tunberg  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  a  novel  by  Rosamond  Marshall.  Mr.  Tun- 
berg produced  it,  and  Mitchell  Leisen  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Eric  Blore  and  others. 

Strictly  adult  fare. 

"People  are  Funny"  with  Jack  Haley 
and  Helen  Walker 

(Paramount,  January  11;  time,  92  min.) 

Based  on  the  radio  show  of  the  same  title,  this 
comedy  with  music  shapes  up  as  a  passable  but  over- 
long  program  entertainment.  The  fact  that  the  title 
is  familiar  to  millions  of  radio  listeners,  who  may  be 
curious  to  see  how  the  show's  broadcasts  are  con- 
ducted, should  be  of  help  at  the  box-office.  The  story 
material,  however,  is  pretty  weak,  the  action  is  slow 
in  spots,  and  the  comedy  is  not  of  the  uproarious  type. 
Moreover,  the  actions  of  the  main  characters,  with  the 
exception  of  Jack  Haley,  are  not  edifying.  The  most 
entertaining  moments  in  the  picture  are  provided  by 
the  Vagabonds,  a  comedy  musical  quartette.  Frances 
Langford  appears  briefly,  singing  one  song: — 

Philip  Reed,  a  radio  executive,  finds  himself  in  a 
predicament  when  Rudy  Valle,  sponsor  of  his  new 
radio  show,  orders  him  to  take  it  off  the  air  and  to 
substitute  a  new  show  within  a  week.  Reed  telephones 
Helen  Walker,  his  fiancee  and  ace  writer,  who  was 
vacationing  at  a  dude  ranch,  and  asks  her  to  return 
to  Hollywood  to  write  a  new  show.  Meanwhile  Ozzie 
Nelson,  Reed's  rival  for  Helen's  hand,  and  a  radio 
show  producer  himself,  learns  of  Vallee's  dissatis- 
faction with  Reed's  program ;  he  urges  Helen  to  write 
a  new  show  for  him  so  that  they  could  sell  it  to  Vallee 
themselves.  Helen,  peeved  at  Reed's  inattentiveness 
to  her,  fondles  the  idea  and  agrees  to  ride  back  to  Holly- 
wood with  Nelson.  En  route,  their  car  becomes  stalled 
in  a  small  Nevada  town,  where  they  attend  a  local 
radio  show  produced  and  conducted  by  Jack  Haley, 
a  naive,  good-hearted  fellow.  Titled  "People  Are 
Funny,"  it  was  an  audience-participation  stunt  show. 
Both  Helen  and  Nelson  realize  that  the  show  would 
be  a  hit  on  a  national  broadcast,  and  they  agree  to 
join  forces  to  buy  the  show  from  Haley.  Helen,  how- 
ever, planned  to  double-cross  Nelson  and  to  give  the 
show  to  Reed.  Haley,  believing  that  the  show  belonged 
to  the  townspeople,  refuses  to  sell,  but  Helen  soon  in- 
fluences  him  with  her  charm  and  induces  him  to  come 
to  Hollywood.  Haley  is  given  a  big  send-off  by  the 
townspeople.  When  he  arrives  in  Hollywood,  he  soon 
finds  himself  the  pawn  in  a  series  of  wild  mix-ups,  in 
which  Helen,  Reed,  and  Nelson  continually  double- 
cross  each  other  in  an  effort  to  sell  the  show  to  Vallee. 
He  heads  for  home  disillusioned,  and,  upon  his  arrival, 
is  bewildered  when  his  neighbors  acclaim  him  as  a 
success.  They  explain  that,  while  he  was  traveling, 
Helen,  Reed,  Nelson,  and  Vallee  had  agreed  on  a 
deal,  and  that  they  had  broadcast  his  show  over  a 
national  hook-up. 

Maxwell  Shane  and  David  Land  wrote  the  screen 
play,  and  Sam  White  produced  and  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Art  Linkletter  and  others.  It  is  a  Pine- 
Thomas  production. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


164 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  13,  1945 


fight  for  free  and  open  competition.  As  was  true  in 
the  Crescent  decision,  which  was  affirmed  by  the  U.  S. 
Supreme  Court,  the  Schinc  decision,  in  the  opinion 
of  this  paper,  makes  it  a  dangerous  practice  for  either 
an  affiliated  circuit  or  a  powerful  independent  cir' 
cuit  to  use  its  buying  power  to  deprive  independents 
of  choice  product,  or  to  use  its  influence  to  prevent 
an  exhibitor  who  owns  a  single  theatre  from  compet- 
ing with  it  for  film  on  an  equal  basis. 

This  latest  Government  victory  is  hailed  by  some 
exhibitor  leaders  as  being  even  more  sweeping  than 
the  victory  won  in  the  Crescent  case.  They  believe 
that  it  will  have  a  most  important  bearing  on  the 
pending  anti-trust  suit  in  New  York,  as  well  as  on 
the  ultimate  decision  in  the  suit  against  the  Griffith 
Circuit,  the  trial  of  which  was  concluded  last  week. 

This  paper  will  endeavor  to  obtain  a  copy  of  Judge 
Knight's  opinions  for  the  purpose  of  discussing,  in 
subsequent  issues,  such  portions  of  it  as  may  prove  to 
be  of  interest  to  its  subscribers. 


AN  IMPORTANT  TRIAL 
GETS  UNDER  WAY 

The  New  York  anti-trust  trial  started  as  scheduled 
last  Monday,  October  9. 

The  first  two  days  were  taken  up  with  the  opening 
statements  by  both  sides  and,  as  expected,  Robert  L. 
Wright,  special  assistant  to  the  Attorney-General, 
stated  that  the  Government  would  rest  its  case  on  docu- 
mentary evidence,  which  will  show  that  the  inter-rela- 
tion of  the  distributor-defendants,  in  the  conduct  of 
their  activities  in  the  distribution  and  exhibition  of 
films,  has  resulted  in  a  concerted  monopolization  of 
the  domestic  motion  picture  industry.  Wright  stated 
that  the  Government  would  call  no  witnesses,  except 
where  needed  for  rebuttal  of  either  testimony  or  evi- 
dence that  might  be  offered  by  the  defendants. 

As  was  expected  also,  the  imposing  battery  of  de- 
fense attorneys,  in  their  opening  statements,  argued 
vigorously  against  the  Government's  allegations  of 
monopoly  and  often  belittled  them.  One  of  the  at' 
torneys,  Joseph  M.  Proskauer,  of  Warner  Brothers, 
asserted  several  times  that  charts  introduced  by  the 
Government,  purporting  to  show  that  the  defendants 
control  first-run  theatres  and  admission  prices  in  a 
majority  of  seventy-three  cities  with  a  population  of 
more  than  100,000,  were  "scrap  paper." 

Edward  C.  Rafferty,  representing  Universal  and 
United  Artists,  argued  eloquently  that  he  could  see 
no  reason  why  his  clients,  as  well  as  Columbia,  none 
of  which  owns  theatres,  were  included  in  the  suit. 
Wright,  upon  being  asked  by  the  Court  for  his  opin- 
ion on  whether  or  not  the  "Little  Three"  should  re' 
main  in  the  case,  replied  that  they  were  not  as  "lily 
white"  as  Mr.  Rafferty  had  painted  them,  and  that, 
judged  by  their  agreements  with  affiliated  circuits, 
they  were  "not  entitled  to  a  clean  bill  of  health." 
Wright,  referring  to  the  Goldman  case  in  Philadel- 
phia,  stated  that  the  "Little  Three"  had  withheld 
first-run  product  from  Goldman,  under  an  agreement 
to  sell  first-run  in  Philadelphia  to  the  Warner 
Theatres  only.  Upon  hearing  from  Wright,  the 
Court  took  no  action  on  Rafferty 's  move  for  dismissal. 


Significant  of  the  Court's  intention  to  speed  up  the 
case  and  to  brook  no  legalistic  delays,  was  its  attitude 
towards  the  defendants'  request  that  they  be  granted 
a  recess  of  three  weeks  following  the  Government's 
presentation  of  its  case.  The  defense  attorneys  argued 
that  it  was  not  until  they  had  received  the  Govern- 
ment's trial  brief  on  September  20  that  they  under- 
stood fully  the  nature  of  the  allegations,  and  that  they 
would,  therefore,  need  the  recess  period  to  prepare 
their  defense  properly.  Judge  Augustus  N.  Hand, 
who  is  presiding  over  the  three-judge  statutory  court, 
looked  upon  the  request  with  disfavor,  pointing  out 
that  the  defendants  knew  pretty  well  in  advance  of 
just  what  the  Government's  case  would  be  like,  and 
that  they  had  years,  as  well  as  all  summer,  to  prepare 
their  defense.  He  added  that  neither  he  nor  his  col- 
leagues cared  to  "spend  the  rest  of  their  lives"  hear- 
ing the  case.  The  motion  was  finally  taken  under  ad- 
visement. 

Some  observers  at  the  trial  commented  upon  the 
fact  that  Wright,  the  Government's  chief  trial  coun- 
sel,  was  not  much  of  an  orator.  That  may  be  true,  but 
it  should  be  remembered  that  facts  and  not  oratory 
will  determine  the  issues  at  stake.  And  if  one  is  to 
judge  by  Wright's  record  thus  far  in  his  handling  of 
the  Crescent  and  Schine  anti-trust  suits,  as  well  as 
the  Government's  intervention  in  the  Goldman  case, 
one  need  not  be  concerned  about  his  lack  of  oratory. 

A  WARNING  TO  BE  HEEDED 

A  warning  that  16  mm.  competition  is  beginning  to 
reach  serious  proportions  is  to  be  gleaned  from  two 
independent  exhibitor  association  bulletins  that  have 
reached  this  office  in  recent  days. 

Pete  Wood,  secretary  of  the  Independent  Theatre 
Owners  of  Ohio,  informs  his  members  that  he  has  it 
"on  very  good  authority  that  a  responsible  group  of 
outsiders  is  contemplating  a  state-wide  venture  into 
the  16  mm.  field.  The  project  involves  the  construction 
and  operation  of  auditoriums  seating  not  more  than 
five  hundred  people  in  towns  of  less  than  seven  thou- 
sand." 

Sidney  E.  Samuelson,  general  manager  of  the 
Allied  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern 
Pennsylvania,  cautions  his  members  that  the  16  mm. 
situation  is  becoming  very  serious  and  gives  them  the 
following  advice : 

"Exhibitors  in  small  towns  and  in  the  thinly  popu' 
lated  city  neighborhoods  should  survey  their  situa- 
tions immediately  with  a  view  to  buying  16  mm.  port- 
able equipment  and  running  shows  themselves  in 
places  located  near  their  own  theatres  that  do  not  have 
established  theatres.  This  is  the  best  method  to  pro- 
tect your  business  from  jack-rabbit  competition." 

Both  Wood  and  Samuelson  are  old  hands  in  this 
business  and  they  are  not  given  to  idle  warnings.  Do 
something  about  the  16  mm.  condition  now.  Don't 
lock  the  barn  door  after  the  horse  escapes. 

IS  YOUR  "REPORTS"  FILE  SHORT? 

Look  over  your  file  of  Harrison's  Reports  and 
if  you  find  any  missing  let  me  know  so  that  I  may 
duplicate  them. 

No  charge  is  made  for  supplying  missing  copies. 


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Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  20,  1945  No.  42 


THE  GOVERNMENT  RESTS  ITS  CASE 

Moving  along  at  an  unusually  fast  pace,  the  New  York 
anti-trust  trial,  after  four  days  of  hearings,  was  recessed  on 
Thursday,  October  11,  until  Monday,  October  22,  to  allow 
the  distributor-defendants  time  to  prepare  and  present  their 
case.  Originally,  the  defendants  had  requested  a  three-week 
delay,  but  the  Court,  which  had  made  it  clear  earlier  that 
it  desired  to  expedite  the  proceedings,  granted  them  ten 
days  only. 

By  the  end  of  the  fourth  day  of  the  trial,  the  Department 
of  Justice  rested  the  Government's  case,  after  completing 
submission  of  its  documentary  evidence  purporting  to  show 
that  the  defendants  monopolize  exhibition  and  distribution 
in  the  domestic  market.  The  submission  of  this  evidence  was 
marked  by  sharp  verbal  objections  on  the  part  of  the  de- 
fendants' attorneys. 

When  the  Government  offered  in  evidence  the  Arbitra- 
tion Board  cases  and  the  Appeal  Board  decisions  under  the 
arbitration  system  that  had  been  set  up  under  the  Consent 
Decree,  the  objections  on  the  part  of  the  defendants  reached 
their  greatest  heights.  And  for  a  good  reason.  The  Govern- 
ment was  offering  these  cases  and  decisions  as  evidence  of 
anti-trust  violations.  The  defendants  claimed  that  the  arbi- 
tration proceedings  had  no  rightful  place  in  the  present  trial. 

Here  was  indeed  a  vital  question,  one  that  required  careful 
consideration.  The  Court,  after  hearing  the  arguments  pre- 
sented by  both  sides,  took  the  question  under  advisement 
until  the  following  day,  when  it  rendered  its  decision,  over- 
ruling the  objections  of  the  defendants,  and  ruling  that  the 
arbitration  proceedings  were  admissable  as  evidence.  The 
Court  made  it  plain,  however,  that  the  arbitration  proceed- 
ings might  be  received  in  evidence  only  insofar  as  they  af- 
fected the  "Big  Five."  The  "Little  Three,"  Columbia,  Uni- 
versal, and  United  Artists,  were  excluded  from  the  issue 
because,  not  having  been  parties  to  the  Consent  Decree,  they 
had  not  been  subject  to  arbitration  proceedings. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  numerous  observers  at  the  trial  that 
Robert  L.  Wright,  the  Government's  trial  attorney,  in  con- 
vincing the  Court  that  the  arbitration  proceedings  should 
be  admitted  into  the  record,  had  won  a  most  important  point 
for  the  Government.  To  the  defendants,  the  admission  of 
this  evidence  is  regarded  as  a  serious  blow. 

When  the  trial  resumes  on  Monday,  October  22,  it  is 
expected  as  a  matter  of  course  that  the  defendants  will  move 
for  a  dismissal  of  the  case.  It  is  unlikely,  however,  that  such 
a  motion  will  be  granted. 


A  NEW  FORM  OF  ADVERTISING 

Wee^lv  Variety  reports  in  its  October  17  issue  that  an 
organization  calling  itself  Telecast,  Inc.,  is  now  carrying  on 
experiments  in  a  number  of  New  York  City  theatres  to 
determine  the  feasibility  of  broadcasting  to  theatre  audiences, 


for  a  three-minute  period,  the  latest  news  items,  with  two 
15-second  commercials  of  some  nationally  advertised  product 
thrown  in  for  good  measure. 

According  to  the  report,  audiences  look  at  a  blank  screen 
before  and  after  the  main  feature  while  an  announcer  broad- 
casts the  news,  starting  and  ending  each  broadcast  with  the 
15-second  commercial,  in  much  the  same  manner  as  a  spon- 
sored radio  news  program.  The  report  states  also  that  audi- 
ence reaction  during  the  experiments  has  been  passive. 

Harrison's  Reports  is  in  no  position  to  say  whether  or 
not  this  new  idea  will  prove  worthwhile  to  its  originators, 
but  it  does  feel  that  any  exhibitor  who  would  permit  such 
a  service  to  operate  in  his  theatre  may  do  himself  incalculable 
harm.  Theatre  patrons  resent  advertising  that  is  thrust  upon 
them,  even  though  they  may  not  say  anything  in  protest. 
They  pay  an  admission  for  the  privilege  of  seeing  and  hear- 
ing entertainment.  And  advertising  is  not  entertainment. 

Whatever  revenue  a  theatre  may  receive  for  permitting 
commercial  broadcasting  to  its  audiences  may  be  more  than 
offset  by  the  loss  of  patronage. 

The  exhibitor's  business  is  to  provide  entertainment.  Let 
us  leave  advertising  to  the  newspapers  and  radio. 


SAMUEL  GOLDWYN  SETS  A  NEW 
PATTERN 

In  a  complete  reorganization  of  his  company's  business 
interests,  Samuel  Goldwyn  announced  this  week  that  he  had 
formed  a  new  corporation,  Samuel  Goldwyn  Productions, 
Inc.,  and  that  fifty  per  cent  of  its  stock  would  be  made  avail- 
able to  those  employees  who  will  be  concerned  most  vitally 
in  the  making  and  distribution  of  the  company's  pictures. 
For  the  present,  there  will  be  excluded  from  the  right  to 
acquire  the  company's  stock  actors  and  actresses,  who, 
according  to  Goldwyn,  earn  enough. 

Under  the  new  set-up,  Goldwyn  becomes  chairman  of  the 
board  of  directors,  and  James  Mulvey,  who  has  been  head 
of  Goldwyn's  distribution  for  many  years,  becomes  president. 

It  is  a  sort  of  management-employee  participation  plan, 
in  which  Goldwyn  himself,  as  a  reward  to  faithful  employees 
for  their  loyalty  to  him  throughout  the  years,  will  determine 
which  of  them  may  acquire  stock  and  the  number  of  shares 
each  may  have,  based  on  years  of  service  and  on  value  to  the 
organization. 

In  allowing  his  employees  to  participate  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  company  and  to  share  in  the  profits,  Goldwyn 
is  to  be  congratulated  for  a  liberal  move.  Harrison's  Re- 
ports wishes  Goldwyn  and  his  employee-associates  the 
greatest  success,  and  it  hopes  that  the  feeling  of  liberality 
that  motivated  the  reorganization  of  the  Goldwyn  company 
will  be  reflected  in  its  dealings  with  exhibitors,  which  can 
best  be  evidenced  by  a  change  from  notoriously  high  film 
rentals  to  reasonable  live-and-let-live  rentals. 


166 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  20,  1945 


"She  Went  to  the  Races"  with 
Frances  Gifford  and  James  Craig 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  86  min.) 

A  pleasantly  amusing  racetrack  comedy,  of  pro- 
gram grade;  it  should  give  good  satisfaction  to  the 
majority  of  picture-goers.  The  story,  which  centers 
around  the  adventures  of  a  pretty  feminine  scientist 
and  her  four  elderly  associates  who,  to  raise  funds 
for  an  experimental  laboratory,  devise  a  scientific 
system  with  which  to  beat  the  horse  races,  is  filled  with 
so  many  mirth-provoking  situations  that  one  is  kept 
laughing  all  the  way  through.  The  romantic  involve- 
ments, too,  are  humorous,  Every  one  in  the  cast  per- 
forms well.  The  manner  in  which  the  elderly  scientists 
apply  their  scientific  knowledge  to  "dope"  out  the 
races  is  highly  amusing: — 

To  raise  $20,000  for  an  experimental  laboratory 
in  the  Brockhurst  Research  Institute,  and  to  assure 
the  continued  services  of  their  colleague,  Dr.  Edmund 
Gwenn,  who  faced  dismissal,  Dr.  Frances  Gifford,  to- 
gether with  her  elderly  associate  professors  (Sig 
Ruman,  Charles  Halton,  and  Reginald  Owen),  figure 
out  a  scientific  way  to  beat  the  horse  races.  Unable  to 
obtain  accommodations  at  a  hotel  near  the  track, 
Frances  induces  James  Craig,  a  horse  owner,  to  share 
his  hotel  suite  with  her  and  her  colleagues.  A  ro- 
mance springs  up  between  Frances  and  Craig,  and  her 
colleagues,  after  making  their  deductions,  advise  her 
to  bet  on  his  horse.  Craig  advises  her  that  his  horse 
could  not  win,  and  induces  her  to  change  her  bet.  His 
horse  does  win,  however,  and  Frances,  believing  that 
he  had  tricked  her,  refuses  to  see  him.  Later,  when 
she  learns  that  he  had  been  sincere,  she  goes  to  him 
only  to  find  that  Ava  Gardner,  a  wealthy  horse  owner, 
had  become  her  rival  for  his  affections.  On  the  day  of 
the  big  race,  Frances,  hoping  to  recoup  her  colleague's 
losses,  borrows  $2,000  from  Craig  and  asks  him  to 
place  it  on  his  horse.  Craig,  believing  that  Ava's  horse 
would  win  the  race,  bets  the  money  accordingly  but 
does  not  inform  Frances.  Meanwhile  Frances  and 
Ava,  without  Craig's  knowledge,  make  a  side  wager 
in  which  each  agrees  to  relinquish  her  right  to  Craig 
if  the  other's  horse  wins.  Craig's  horse  wins  again,  re- 
sulting in  Frances'  winning  Craig  for  herself  but  los- 
ing her  chance  to  recoup  the  professors'  losses.  It  all 
turns  out  for  the  best,  however,  when  word  comes  that 
the  Institute's  board  of  trustees  had  provided  funds 
for  the  laboratory. 

Lawrence  Hazard  wrote  the  screen  play,  Frederick 
Stephani  produced  it,  and  Willis  Goldbeck  directed 
it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Senorita  from  the  West"  with  Allan  Jones 
and  Bonita  Granville 

(Universal,  October  12;  time,  63  min.) 

Poor  program  fare;  it  drags  from  beginning  to  end. 
The  story  is  so  trite  and  its  treatment  so  makeshift 
that  it  is  doubtful  if  the  average  picture-goer  will  have 
the  patience  to  sit  throughout  the  entire  picture.  In 
spite  of  the  fact  that  it  mixes  comedy,  romance,  and  a 
few  songs,  it  fails  to  impress  on  any  one  count.  The  dia- 
logue in  particular  is  wearisome.  The  players  try  hard, 
but  there  is  nothing  that  they  can  do  with  the  poor 
material.  Not  much  can  be  said  for  the  direction : — 

Bonita  Granville,  an  eighteen-year-old  orphan, 
who  aspired  to  a  singing  career,  keeps  house  for  her 


three  guardians  (George  Cleveland,  Fuzzy  Knight, 
and  Oscar  O'Shea),  operators  of  a  desert  gold  mine. 
Unknown  to  Bonita,  her  guardians  had  struck  it  rich, 
but  they  keep  the  good  news  from  her  lest  she  be 
hounded  by  fortune-hunters.  Bonita,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  help  them,  runs  away  to  New  York  to  seek 
a  theatrical  career.  She  obtains  employment  as  an 
elevator  operator  in  Radio  City,  where  she  meets  and 
falls  in  love  with  Allan  Jones,  who  represents  him- 
self as  secretary  to  Jess  Barker,  a  popular  radio 
crooner.  Actually,  Jones  did  the  singing  for  Barker 
through  a  hidden  microphone,  because  he  was  too 
bashful  to  face  squealing  "bobby-sox"  admirers. 
Meanwhile  Bonita's  guardians  follow  her  to  New 
York  and,  still  keeping  their  wealth  a  secret,  arrange 
with  Barker  to  sponsor  her.  Barker,  aware  that  Bonita 
was  an  heiress,  convinces  her  guardians  that  Jones 
was  a  fortune-hunter.  He  then  conspires  with  them 
to  discredit  Jones,  and  starts  a  campaign  of  his  own 
to  win  Bonita's  love.  Bonita,  dazzled  by  Barker's  im- 
portance, accepts  his  attentions  and  runs  off  with  him 
to  Connecticut  to  get  married.  Jones,  to  save  her,  re- 
veals that  Barker  was  an  impostcr,  and  sings  over  the 
air  himself  to  prove  his  statement.  Aided  by  her  three 
guardians,  Jones  follows  Bonita  to  Connecticut,  arriv- 
ing in  time  to  halt  the  elopement  and  to  win  Bonita 
for  himself. 

Howard  Dimsdale  wrote  the  screenplay,  Philip 
Cahn  produced  it,  and  Frank  Strayer  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Renny  McEvoy,  Emmett  Vogan  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Scotland  Yard  Investigator"  with 
Eric  Von  Stroheim  and  Sir  Aubrey  Smith 

(Republic,  September  30;  time,  68  mm.) 
Fair  program  entertainment.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  story,  which  revolves  around  the  theft  of 
Leonardo  Da  Vinci's  "Mona  Lisa,"  is  far-fetched  and 
is  lacking  in  freshness,  it  should  get  by  as  a  support- 
ing feature  with  those  who  enjoy  crook  melodramas 
with  touches  of  murder  and  mystery.  The  action, 
however,  is  slow-moving,  and  it  is  lacking  in  suspense. 
In  its  favor  are  competent  performances,  good  direc- 
tion, and  better  than  average  production  values.  The 
romantic  interest  is  pleasant,  but  it  is  of  no  impor- 
tance : — 

Eric  Von  Stroheim,  a  fanatical  art  collector,  whose 
hobby  it  was  to  collect  stolen  original  paintings,  plots 
to  steal  the  "Mona  Lisa"  from  Sir  Aubrey  Smith, 
director  of  the  National  Art  Gallery  in  London,  with 
whom  the  French  Government  had  stored  the  paint- 
ing until  after  the  war.  Two  of  Von  Stroheim's  hench- 
men, posing  as  French  representatives,  visit  Smith 
and  succeed  in  obtaining  the  painting,  but  when  they 
deliver  it  to  Von  Stroheim  he  discovers  it  to  be  a  clever 
copy  of  the  original.  He  boldly  returns  the  copy  to 
Smith  and  informs  him  that  it  was  a  fake.  Smith,  to 
avoid  an  international  scandal,  does  not  notify  the 
police;  he  determines  to  recover  the  original  at  any 
price.  Von  Stroheim  succeeds  in  tracing  the  painting 
to  Forrester  Harvey,  an  unscrupulous  antique  dealer, 
who  demands  100,000  pounds  for  the  masterpiece. 
Refusing  to  pay  such  a  fantastic  sum,  Von  Stroheim 
subsequently  murders  Harvey  and  steal  the  painting 
for  himself.  Meanwhile  Stephanie  Bachelor,  Smith's 
granddaughter,  enlists  the  aid  of  Inspector  Richard 


October  20,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


167 


Fraser  of  Scotland  Yard  to  protect  Smith  from  harm 
during  his  search.  Smith  eventually  becomes  con- 
vinced that  Von  Stroheim  had  the  painting  in  his 
possession,  and  he  determines  to  steal  it  back.  He  is 
caught  by  Von  Stroheim  who  prepares  to  kill  him 
only  to  be  shot  dead  himself  by  Doris  Lloyd,  widow  of 
the  murdered  antique  dealer,  who  sought  to  avenge 
her  husband's  death.  With  Fraser's  aid,  Smith  recovers 
the  original  painting  and  returns  it  to  the  French 
authorities. 

Randall  Faye  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  George 
Blair  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Victor  Varconi,  Frederic  Worlock  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Club  Havana"  with  Tom  Neal 
and  Margaret  Lindsay 

(PRC,  November  23;  time,  62  min.) 
Fair  program  entertainment.  Done  in  the  "Grand 
Hotel1''  manner,  with  all  the  action  taking  place  at  a 
fashionable  Miami  night-club,  the  story  concerns 
itself  with  a  number  of  thinly  interwoven  incidents 
that  happen  during  the  course  of  one  evening,  affect- 
ing the  lives  of  about  six  couples,  guests  at  the  club. 
It  is  a  combination  of  music,  comedy,  murder,  and 
tragedy,  in  which  the  paths  of  some  of  the  guests  cross 
each  other,  bringing  happiness  to  some  of  them  and 
heartaches  to  others.  While  the  different  happenings 
succeed  in  holding  one's  attention  fairly  well,  it  is  the 
musical  end  of  the  picture  that  is  most  entertaining. 
This  consists  chiefly  of  pleasant  Latin- American 
music,  played  by  Carlos  Molina's  orchestra  and  sung 
by  Isabelita.  Although  the  action  is  slow-moving,  it 
is  at  times  tense. 

-  The  story,  which  shifts  from  one  couple  to  another 
and  back  again,  revolves  around  Tom  Neal,  a  young 
interne,  and  Dorothy  Morris,  a  nervous  young  miss, 
both  on  their  first  date;  Don  Douglas,  a  socialite,  and 
Margaret  Lindsay,  an  attractive  divorcee,  who  had 
just  returned  from  Reno  to  marry  him  only  to  learn 
that  his  love  had  cooled;  Paul  Cavanagh,  a  dapper 
promoter,  who  tries  to  sell  a  get-rich-quick  scheme  to 
a  wealthy  dowager  only  to  be  inveigled  by  her  into 
marriage;  and  Eric  Sinclair,  a  piano  player,  who 
nervously  confides  to  Isabelita,  his  sweetheart,  that  he 
was  an  unseen  witness  at  a  murder  committed  by  Marc 
Lawrence,  a  notorious  gangster  present  in  the  club, 
whom  the  police  suspected  of  the  crime.  In  the  course 
of  events,  Isabelita  induces  Sinclair  to  telephone  the 
police  and  inform  them  of  his  knowledge  without  re- 
vealing his  identity.  The  conversation  is  overheard 
by  Sonia  Sorel,  the  club's  switchboard  operator,  who 
,  informs  Lawrence.  The  gangster  in  turn  arranges 
with  a  henchman  to  murder  Sinclair  lest  the  police 
learn  his  identity  as  a  witness.  Meanwhile  Margaret, 
despondent  over  Douglas'  attitude,  swallows  an  over- 
dose of  sleeping  pills  and  becomes  deathly  ill.  Neal, 
called  upon  to  treat  her,  saves  her  life.  The  incident 
awakens  Douglas'  love  for  Margaret,  and  he  promises 
to  marry  her.  All  leave  as  the  club  closes  down  for 
the  night.  Sonia,  getting  into  her  car,  sees  Lawrence's 
gunman  lurking  in  the  shadows  waiting  to  murder 
Sinclair.  Realizing  that  Sinclair's  murder  would  be 
on  her  conscience,  Sonia  starts  her  car  and  speeds  it 
directly  towards  the  gunman,  but  he  manages  to  shoot 
her  dead  before  the  car  snuffs  out  his  life.  The  police 
arrive  and  take  Sinclair  into  protective  custody  so 


that  he  could  testify  against  Lawrence,  who  had  been 
apprehended. 

Raymond  L.  Schrock  wrote  the  screen  play,  Leon 
Fromkess  produced  it,  and  Edgar  G.  Ulmer  directed 
it.  Martin  Mooney  was  associate  producer.  The  cast 
includes  Ernest  Truex,  Gertrude  Michael  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Yolanda  and  the  Thief"  with  Fred  Astaire, 
Lucille  Bremer  and  Frank  Morgan 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  108  min.) 

This  musical  has  been  given  an  extremely  lavish 
production,  photographed  in  Technicolor,  but  it  is 
only  mildly  entertaining.  Much  of  it,  in  fact,  bores 
one.  As  far  as  the  music  and  dancing  are  concerned, 
most  of  it  is  good,  but  the  story,  which  revolves  around 
a  personable  confidence  man,  who,  to  mulct  a  naive, 
convent-reared  heiress  out  of  her  fortune,  convinces 
her  that  he  is  her  "guardian  angel,"  fails  to  hold  one's 
interest.  The  basic  story  idea  is  not  bad,  but  it  has  not 
been  presented  skilfully.  The  chief  fault  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  heroine's  naivete  is  totally  unbelievable. 
Even  the  comedy,  at  best,  is  only  moderately  amusing. 
One  particular  dance  sequence,  a  sort  of  symbolic 
one,  in  which  Fred  Astaire  is  supposed  to  be  having 
a  nightmare,  is  tiresome,  not  only  because  it  is  over- 
long,  but  also  because  the  bulk  of  picture-goers  will 
probably  fail  to  understand  it.  The  background  is  that 
of  a  mythical  Latin-American  country : — 

Absconding  to  South  America  to  escape  charges  in 
the  United  States,  Fred  Astaire,  a  debonair  crook, 
and  Frank  Morgan,  his  companion,  learn  that  Lucille 
Bremer,  a  passenger  on  their  train,  who  had  spent  her 
life  in  a  convent,  was  the  wealthiest  person  in  the  land 
of  "Patria,"  and  that  she  was  on  her  way  home  to 
assume  management  of  her  vast  fortune.  Astaire  im- 
mediately starts  thinking  of  a  scheme  to  relieve  her 
of  her  wealth.  Arriving  home,  Lucille,  confused  by 
the  prospect  of  managing  her  business  affairs,  goes 
into  the  garden  and  prays  aloud  to  her  guardian  angel 
for  help,  unaware  that  Astaire  was  sitting  on  the 
garden  wall  listening.  Later,  he  telephones  her  and, 
posing  as  her  "guardian  angel,"  tells  her  that  he  had 
heard  her  plea  and  that  he  was  coming  to  earth  in 
human  form  to  help  her,  but  he  warns  her  to  keep 
his  "angelic"  identity  secret.  Meeting  Lucille  at  her 
mansion,  Astaire  has  little  difficulty  in  getting  her  to 
turn  over  to  him  a  fortune  in  bonds.  He  begins  to 
feel  some  remorse  for  his  actions,  however,  when  he 
finds  himself  falling  in  love  with  her.  Meanwhile 
Astaire  was  bothered  by  the  unexpected  appearances 
of  Leon  Ames,  a  total  stranger,  whom  he  suspected 
of  being  a  rival  contender  for  Lucille's  fortune,  be- 
cause he  managed  continually  to  interfere  with  his 
plans.  Lucille  eventually  falls  in  love  with  Astaire, 
causing  him  to  feel  miserably  repentant;  he  returns 
her  bonds  with  a  letter  of  confession,  and  leaves  town. 
Once  again,  however,  he  finds  himself  confronted  by 
Ames,  who  this  time  reveals  himself  to  be  Lucille's 
"real"  guardian  angel  in  human  form.  He  arranges 
for  Astaire  to  return  to  her  and,  after  their  marriage, 
disappears. 

Irving  Brecher  wrote  the  screen  play,  Arthur  Freed 
produced  it,  and  Vincent  Minnelli  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Mildred  Natwick,  Mary  Nash  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


FINISH  THE  JOB  *  VICTORY  LOAN    *   OCTOBER  29  -  DECEMBER  8 

168  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  October  20,  1945 


BOX-OFFICE  PERFORMANCES 

(The  previous  box-office  performances  were  printed  in 
the  May  12,  1945  issue.) 

Columbia 

"Escape  in  the  Fog":  Poor 
"Eve  Knew  Her  Apples":  Fair 
"Power  of  the  Whistler":  Fair 
"Counter- Attack":  Fair 

"Boston  Blackic  Booked  on  Suspicion":  Fair-Poor 

"The  Fighting  Guardsman":  Fair-Poor 

"Ten  Cents  a  Dance":  Fair 

"Blonde  from  Brooklyn":  Fair-Poor 

"Boston  Blackie's  Rendezvous":  Fair-Poor 

"A  Thousand  and  One  Nights":  Very  Good-Good 

"You  Can't  Do  Without  Love":  Poor 

"The  Gay  Senorita":  Fair 

"Over  21":  Good 

"Adventures  of  Rusty":  Poor 

"I  Love  a  Bandleader":  Fair 

Fifteen  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results:  Very  Good-Good,  1;  Good,  1;  Fair,  6;  Fair-Poor,  4; 
Poor,  3. 

Metro-Gold  wyn-Mayer 

"Valley  of  Decision":  Very  Good 

"Without  Love":  Good 

"Gentle  Annie":  Fair 

"The  Clock":  Good 

"Picture  of  Dorian  Gray":  Good-Fair 

"Son  of  Lassie":  Good 

"Thrill  of  a  Romance":  Very  Good 

"Twice  Blessed":  Good-Fair 

"Bewitched":  Fair-Poor 

"Anchors  Awcigh":  Excellent-Very  Good 

"Our  Vines  Have  Tender  Grapes":  Good 

"The  Hidden  Eye":  Fair 

Twelve  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results:  Excellent-Very  Good,  1;  Very  Good,  2;  Good,  4; 
Good-Fair,  2;  Fair,  2;  Fair-Poor,  1. 

Paramount 

"The  Affairs  of  Susan":  Good 

"Murder,  He  Says":  Fair 

"Scared  Stiff":  Fair-Poor 

"A  Medal  for  Benny":  Fair 

"Out  of  this  World"  :  Good-Fair 

"Midnight  Manhunt":  Fair-Poor 

"You  Came  Along"  :  Good-Fair 

"Incendiary  Blonde":  Very  Good-Good 

"Northwest  Mounted  Police"  (reissue)  :  Good 

"This  Gun  for  Hire"  (reissue)  :  Good 

Ten  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following  re- 
sults: Very  Good-Good,  1;  Good,  3;  Good-Fair,  2;  Fair,  2; 
Fair-Poor,  2. 

RKO 

"Wonder  Man":  Very  Good 

"Zombies  on  Broadway":  Fair 

"The  Body  Snatcher":  Fair 

"Tarzan  and  the  Amazons":  Good-Fair 

"China  Sky":  Good-Fair 

"Those  Endearing  Young  Charms" :  Good 

"Two  O'Clock  Courage":  Fair 

"The  Brighton  Strangler" :  Fair 

"Back  to  Bataan":  Good-Fair 

"West  of  the  Pecos":  Fair 

"Mama  Loves  Papa" :  Fair 

"George  White's  Scandale":  Good-Fair 

"The  Falcon  in  San  Francisco":  Fair 

"Johnny  Angel":  Good-Fair 

"Along  Came  Jones":  Good 


"Pinnochio"  (reissue):  Good 
"Radio  Stars  on  Parade":  Fair 

Seventeen  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results:  Very  Good,  1;  Good,  3;  Good-Fair,  5;  Fair,  8. 

20th  Century-Fox 

"Diamond  Horseshoe":  Very  Good-Good 

"The  Bull  Fighters ":  Fair-Poor 

"Where  Do  We  Go  from  Here?":  Good-Fair 

"Don  Juan  Quilligan":  Fair-Poor 

"Call  of  the  Wild"  (reissue)  :  Fair 

"Within  These  Walls":  Fair 

"Nob  Hill":  Good 

"A  Bell  for  Adano":  Good 

"Junior  Miss":  Good 

"The  Way  Ahead" :  Poor 

"Captain  Eddie":  Good-Fair 

"Carribean  Mystery":  Fair-Poor 

Twelve  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results:  Very  Good-Good,  1;  Good,  3;  Good-Fair,  2;  Fair, 
2;  Fair-Poor,  3;  Poor,  1. 

United  Artists 

"It's  in  the  Bag" :  Fair 
"Colonel  Blimp":  Fair 
"The  Great  John  L.":  Good-Fair 
"Story  of  G.I.  Joe":  Good 
"Guest  Wife":  Good-Fair 
"The  Southerner":  Good-Fair 

Six  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following  results: 
Good,  1;  Good-Fair,  3;  Fair-Poor,  2. 

Universal 

"The  House  of  Fear" :  Fair 

"I'll  Remember  April":  Fair 

"Song  of  the  Sarong":  Fair 

"Salome — Where  She  Danced":  Good-Fair 

"Patrick  the  Great":  Good-Fair 

"Honeymoon  Ahead":  Fair-Poor 

"Swing  Out  Sister":  Fair-Poor 

"See  My  Lawyer" :  Fair 

"That's  the  Spirit":  Fair 

"I'll  Tell  the  World":  Fair 

"Blonde  Ransom":  Fair-Poor 

"Penthouse  Rhythm":  Fair-Poor 

"The  Frozen  Ghost":  Fair-Poor 

"Jungle  Captive":  Fair-Poor 

"The  Naughty  Nineties":  Good-Fair 

"On  Stage  Everybody":  Fair 

"The  Beautiful  Cheat"  :  Fair-Poor 

"The  Woman  in  Green":  Fair 

"Easy  to  Look  At" :  Fair- Poor 

"Strange  Affair  of  Uncle  Harry":  Good-Fair 

"Lady  on  a  Train":  Good-Fair 

"Imitation  of  Life"  (reissue)  :  Good-Fair 

"East  Side  of  Heaven"  (reissue) :  Good-Fair 

"Shady  Lady":  Good-Fair 

"Men  in  Her  Diary" :  Fair 

"River  Gang" :  Fair 

Twenty-six  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  follow- 
ing results:  Good-Fair,  8;  Fair,  10;  Fair-Poor,  8. 

Warner  Bros. 

"The  Horn  Blows  at  Midnight" :  Fair 
"Escape  in  the  Desert" :  Fair 
"Pillow  to  Post" :  Fair 
"Conflict":  Good-Fair 
"The  Corn  is  Green":  Good-Fair 
"Christmas  in  Connecticut":  Very  Good-Good 
"Pride  of  the  Marines":  Very  Good-Good 
"Rhapsody  in  Blue":  Very  Good-Good 
Eight  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following  re- 
sults: Very  Good-Good,  3;  Good-Fair,  2;  Fair,  3. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  27,  1945  No.  43 


What's  to  Become  of 

In  last  week's  issue,  this  paper  congratulated  Samuel 
Goldwyn  for  his  liberality  in  reorganizing  his  picture  busi' 
ness  interests  in  a  manner  that  would  permit  his  employees 
to  participate  in  the  management  and  to  share  in  the  profits 
of  his  newly-formed  corporation,  Samuel  Goldwyn  Produc- 
tions, Inc. 

It  seems,  however,  that  Goldwyn,  while  setting  a  liberal 
policy  of  management-employee  relationship  in  the  produc- 
tion phase  of  the  industry,  has  retained  his  scornful  attitude 
toward  the  little  fellow  in  the  exhibition  phase — the  subse- 
quent-run exhibitor. 

Under  the  heading  "Goldwyn  Snubs  Subsequents,"1  Show- 
men's Trade  Review,  in  its  October  20  issue,  reported  the 
following: 

"Subsequent-run  bookings  mean  nothing  to  Samuel  Gold- 
wyn, according  to  a  statement  by  the  producer  in  New  York 
this  week  to  trade  press  representatives.  Goldwyn  said  that 
if  he  can  get  bookings  on  his  pictures  in  50  top  first-run 
theatres  with  seating  capacities  of  from  1200  to  1400,  he 
would  be  willing  to  forego  all  subsequent  run  bookings. 
Goldwyn  conceded  that  subsequent  runs  are  necessary  so 
as  many  people  as  possible  can  see  the  pictures,  but  so  far 
as  domestic  gross  on  his  pictures  is  concerned  he  considers 
the  follow-up  bookings  economically  unattractive  because, 
he  said,  the  cost  of  selling  and  servicing  them  makes  them 
unprofitable  for  the  producer.  *  *  *  Seventy  per  cent  of  the 
total  domestic  revenue  on  his  pictures  comes  from  first 
runs,  Goldwyn  said." 

In  the  same  issue,  Showmen's  Trade  Review,  reports  the 
reaction  of  a  number  of  film  executives  who  were  queried  on 
the  subject  raised  by  Goldwyn.  One  unnamed  distribution 
executive  is  reported  to  have  said  that  "Sam  doesn't  know 
what  he  is  talking  about."  Referring  to  the  New  York 
showing  of  Goldwyn's  "Wonder  Man,"  which  is  currently 
in  its  twenty-first  and  final  week  at  the  Astor  Theatre,  oper- 
ated jointly  by  Goldwyn  and  David  O.  Selznick,  this  execu- 
tive pointed  out  that,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  showing,  the 
picture  "will  have  run  up  a  total  attendance  of  say  900,000 
to  930,000.  *  *  *  According  to  Goldwyn,  he  should  then 
have  about  70  per  cent  of  his  total  revenue  on  'Wonder 
Man'  for  the  area.  However,  let  us  take  a  picture  that  plays 
10  weeks  at  Radio  City  Music  Hall,  a  much  larger  theatre 
than  the  Astor,  and  in  which  pictures  (one,  at  least)  have 
played  to  over  1,450,000  admissions.  In  attendance,  fhat 
represents  about  one-third  of  the  final  total  for  the  picture 
in  the  area,  while  in  dollar  terms  it  represents  about  50  per 
cent  of  the  final  gross.  Goldwyn  says  that,  given  fifty  top 
houses  throughout  the  nation  with  seating  capacities  of  1200 
to  1400,  he  would  willingly  abandon  subsequent  bookings. 
If  he  means  50  Radio  City  Music  Halls,  he  might  be  correct, 
but  even  then  his  product  would  have  to  hold  up  to  10  and 
20  week  runs  in  all  of  them.  (Incidentally,  if  Sam  owned  a 
good  proportion  of  those  theatres — as  he'd  have  to  in  order 


the  Subsequent-Run? 

to  be  assured  bookings  in  them  for  his  picture — Goldwyn 
would  be  making  so  much  money  out  of  exhibition  that  he 
probably  wouldn't  even  look  at  the  production  business.) 

"Using  'Wonder  Man's'  20-week  engagement  on  Broad- 
way as  a  comparison,  the  picture  should  play  to  3,000,000 
to  5,000,000  people  over  and  above  the  900,000  admissions 
at  the  Astor  when  'Wonder  Man'  plays  its  circuit  bookings 
for  Metropolitan  New  York.  This  will  gross  Goldwyn  at 
least  the  same  amount  of  money  he  receives  from  the  Astor 
booking.  Can  he  afford  to  throw  away  50  per  cent  of  his 
revenue?  Over  the  country  the  figures  are  even  higher." 

A  review  of  the  aforementioned  figures  cited  by  this  dis- 
tribution executive  leaves  one  pretty  much  convinced  that 
Goldwyn  is  "talking  through  his  hat,"  But,  since  Goldwyn 
is  an  old  hand  in  this  business,  and  since  he  is  undoubtedly 
very  much  aware  of  a  picture's  potential  gross,  one  wonders 
if  he  isn't  "talking  through  his  hat"  deliberately.  And  if  he 
is,  what  can  be  his  motive? 

Goldwyn's  contention  that  he  can  get  along  without 
subsequent-run  bookings  is  certainly  not  in  keeping  with 
his  actions  and  his  statements  of  a  little  more  than  a  year 
ago.  At  that  time,  most  of  you  may  recall,  Goldwyn  found 
himself  in  a  controversy  with  the  T&?D  Jr.  Enterprises,  with 
which  he  could  not  agree  on  rental  terms  for  the  exhibition 
in  Reno,  Nevada,  of  "Up  In  Arms."  The  T&D  Circuit,  oper- 
ators of  the  five  theatres  in  Reno,  refused  to  agree  to  what 
they  considered  excessive  percentage  demands,  as  well  as  to 
the  requirement  that  they  buy  the  picture  also  for  all  their 
theatres,  which  they  operate  in  many  small  towns  and  cities 
throughout  Northern  California,  including  San  Francisco. 

Goldwyn,  with  his  usual  flair  for  gaining  nation-wide 
publicity  at  a  comparatively  low  cost,  converted  a  Reno 
dance  hall  into  a  theatre  for  the  showing  of  the  picture  and, 
threatening  to  carry  his  fight  against  what  he  termed  "mo- 
nopolistic practices  in  exhibition"  directly  to  the  public, 
issued  a  statement  that  Reno  was  "typical  of  the  squeeze  by 
which  many  theatre  units,  large  and  small,  deprive  inde- 
pendent producers  of  their  rightful  share  of  boxoffice 
dollars." 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Goldwyn  considers  subsequent- 
run  bookings  unprofitable,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how 
he,  as  an  "independent  producer,"  could  have  believed  that, 
through  the  refusal  of  the  T6?D  Jr.  Enterprises  to  book  his 
picture  into  their  theatres,  he  was  deprived  of  his  "rightful 
share  of  boxoffice  dollars."  Moreover,  when  one  considers 
that  Goldwyn  reputedly  spent  $30,000  to  convert  the  Reno 
dance  hall  into  a  theatre,  it  does  seem  that  he  went  to  an 
unusual  amount  of  expense  and  trouble  to  exhibit  his  pic- 
ture in  a  town  that  is  certainly  not  among  the  top  fifty 
first-run  situations  in  the  country.  Could  it  have  been  that 
he  was  merely  trying  to  pressure  the  TSTJ  Circuit  into 
booking  his  picture  in  all  their  theatres,  even  though  none 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


170 


October  27,  1945 


"This  Love  of  Ours"  with  Merle  Oberon, 
Charles  Korvin  and  Claude  Rains 

(Universal,  T^ou.  2;  time,  90  mm.) 

This  is  an  effective  drama,  well  acted  and  directed, 
the  sort  that  will  have  a  particular  appeal  for  women, 
because  the  theme  is  that  of  mother  love  and  sacrifice. 
Although  the  story  will  not  stand  up  under  close  scru- 
tiny, it  has,  nevertheless,  been  handled  deftly,  holding 
one's  interest  throughout.  Merle  Oberon,  as  the 
mother,  who  is  mistakenly  accused  by  her  husband  of 
unfaithfulness,  and  who  in  later  years  finds  that  her 
young  daughter,  taken  away  from  her  as  a  baby,  be- 
lieves her  to  be  dead,  arouses  much  sympathy  for  her- 
self. It  has  several  highly  dramatic  situations,  the  most 
effective  one  taking  place  at  the  finish,  where  Miss 
Oberon,  happily  reconciled  with  her  remorseful  hus- 
band but  miserable  over  her  inability  to  win  the  affec- 
tion of  her  daughter,  who,  unaware  of  their  true  re- 
lationship, treated  her  like  a  strange  intruder,  decides 
to  leave  him  for  the  sake  of  the  girl's  happiness;  it  is 
then  that  the  daughter  becomes  understanding  and 
rushes  into  Miss  Oberon 's  arms  with  the  cry, 
"Mother!"  Tins  scene  will  bring  tears  to  the  eyes  of 
most  women: — 

Charles  Korvin,  a  struggling  young  doctor  in  Paris, 
falls  in  love  with  Merle  Oberon,  an  actress,  and  mar- 
ries her.  When  their  daughter  reaches  the  age  of  two, 
they  arrange  a  birthday  party  for  her.  Korvin,  while 
purchasing  a  cake  for  the  party,  overhears  two  women 
gossip  about  a  supposed  affair  Merle  was  having  with 
another  man.  Korvin  follows  Merle  and  sees  her  enter 
the  home  of  a  strange  man,  unaware  that  she  was 
teaching  him  to  play  the  piano  to  earn  money  for  the 
family  bills.  He  accuses  Merle  of  being  unfaithful  to 
him  and,  taking  their  daughter  with  him,  leaves  her. 
Years  later,  in  the  United  States,  Korvin,  now  a  pro- 
minent doctor,  attends  a  medical  convention  in  Chi- 
cago and,  at  a  night-club,  finds  Merle  playing  the 
piano  as  an  accompanist  to  Claude  Rains,  a  rapid 
sketch  artist.  Emotionally  upset  at  having  met  him, 
Merle  shoots  herself  in  an  attempted  suicide.  Korvin, 
through  a  skillful  operation  saves  her  life  and,  when 
she  recovers,  he  asks  her  to  return  home  with  him, 
pleading  that  their  daughter  was  lonely.  Although 
informed  that  the  little  girl  (Sue  England),  now 
twelve  years  old,  was  under  the  impression  that  her 
mother  had  died,  and  that  she  was  too  young  to  be 
told  the  truth,  Merle  agrees  to  accompany  Korvin 
home,  despite  her  hatred  for  him.  Upon  their  arrival, 
Korvin  introduces  Merle  to  his  household  as  his 
second  wife.  Sue,  however,  greets  her  with  resent- 
ment. Merle  and  Korvin  become  reconciled  when 
she  learns  that  he  had  discovered  her  innocence  years 
previously,  and  had  searched  in  vain  for  her.  Yearn- 
ing for  Sue's  love  but  unable  to  reveal  herself,  Merle, 
distraught  because  of  the  child's  hatred  towards  her, 
decides  to  leave.  But  Rains,  a  guest  at  the  house,  by 
deftly  sketching  Sue's  mental  picture  of  her  mother, 
which  he  makes  to  resemble  Merle,  helps  the  child  to 
grow  more  understanding  and  is  instrumental  in  re- 
uniting them. 

Bruce  Manning,  John  Klorer  and  Leonard  Lee 
wrote  the  screen  play,  Howard  Bendict  produced  it, 
and  William  Dieterle  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Carl  Esmond,  Jess  Barker,  Harry  Davenport,  Helene 
Thimig,  Frank  Morgan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Pursuit  to  Algiers" 
with  Basil  Rathbone  and  Nigel  Bruce 

(Universal,  Oct.  26;  time,  65  mm.) 

This  latest  of  the  "Sherlock  Holmes"  mystery  melo- 
drama is  below  par  for  the  series;  it  is  mild  program 
fare  at  best,  but  it  will  probably  get  by  with  non- 
discriminating mystery  fans.  The  story  is  a  rather 
contrived  affair,  sometimes  difficult  to  follow,  and  its 
development  does  not  adhere  to  logic.  Moreover,  the 
action  bogs  down  frequently  because  of  excessive  dia- 
logue. Occasionally,  however,  a  moderate  amount  of 
suspense  is  present.  The  performances  of  Rathbone 
and  Bruce  are  standard,  but  the  others  in  the  cast  are 
not  shown  to  good  advantage;  at  times,  their  acting 
is  amateurish: — 

Basil  Rathbone  and  Nigel  Bruce,  his  aide,  are  called 
upon  by  the  Prime  Minister  of  the  mythical  govern- 
ment of  Rovcnia,  who  reveals  that  his  King  had  been 
assassinated,  and  that  it  was  urgent  that  the  heir  to  the 
throne,  who  had  been  attending  school  in  England,  be 
given  safe  conduct  back  to  Rovenia  to  assume  power; 
the  Prime  Minister  feared  that  opposing  political  fac- 
tions would  take  the  young  man's  life.  Rathbone  de- 
cides to  accompany  the  youthful  heir  back  to  Rovenia 
by  plane,  and  he  directs  Bruce  to  make  the  trip  by 
boat.  At  sea,  however,  Bruce  is  surprised  when  Rath- 
bone shows  up  in  his  cabin  with  the  young  King  (Les- 
lie Vincent),  explaining  that  he  had  cancelled  the 
plane  trip  to  foil  an  attempt  on  Vincent's  life.  He  ar- 
ranges also  for  Vincent  to  be  introduced  to  the  other 
passengers  as  Bruce's  nephew.  At  Lisbon,  three  sus- 
picious characters  (Martin  Kosleck,  Rex  Evans,  and 
Wee  Willie  Davis)  board  the  ship,  and  their  actions 
soon  convince  Rathbone  that  they  were  bent  on  harm- 
ing Vincent.  A  battle  of  wits  ensues  between  Rath- 
bone and  the  villainous  trio,  with  the  arch  detective 
foiling  their  every  attempt  to  kill  the  young  King. 
Upon  arriving  at  Algiers,  however,  the  conspirators 
succeed  in  kidnapping  Vincent.  When  friends  of  the 
young  King  come  aboard  to  greet  him,  Rathbone  re- 
veals to  the  astonished  Bruce  that  Morton  Lowry,  who 
had  been  their  steward  during  the  trip,  was  in  reality 
the  King,  and  that  Vincent,  who  had  been  found  on 
shore  unharmed,  had  been  posing  as  the  King  as  part 
of  Rathbone's  plan  to  insure  his  safety. 

Leonard  Lee  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Roy  Wil- 
liam Neill  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Marjorie  Riordan,  Rosalind  Ivan,  John  Abbott  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Fallen  Angel"  with  Alice  Faye, 
Dana  Andrews  and  Linda  Darnell 

(20th  Century-Fox,  December;  time,  97  mm.) 
Combining  murder  and  intrigue,  this  melodrama  is 
an  interesting  entertainment  of  its  kind,  one  that  may 
do  well  at  the  box-office,  but  it  is  unpleasant.  The  story 
is  sordid,  and  the  actions  of  most  of  the  characters  are 
hardly  edifying;  none  of  them  are  sympathetic.  For 
instance,  Dana  Andrews,  the  hero,  is  presented  as  a 
shady  character,  completely  lacking  in  fine  traits,  who 
charms  Alice  Faye,  a  wholesome,  small-town  girl  into 
marrying  him,  his  idea  being  to  mulct  her  out  of  her 
small  inheritance  so  that  he  could  take  up  with  Linda 
Darnell,  a  waitress  of  questionable  morals.  Others  in- 
terested in  the  waitress  include  a  dishonorably  dis- 
charged, married  policeman,  a  slot  machine  salesman, 
and  her  elderly  employer.  The  only  pleasant  character 


October  27,  1945  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  171 


is  Miss  Faye,  but  one  finds  it  hard  to  sympathize  with 
her  because  of  her  unhappiness,  for  at  all  times,  before 
and  after  her  marriage,  she  was  aware  of  Andrews' 
unworthiness.  There  is  suspense  and  intrigue  in  the 
second  half  of  the  picture,  during  which  the  waitress 
is  murdered  mysteriously  under  circumstances  that 
point  to  Andrews1  guilt.  The  manner  in  which  he 
clears  himself  and  catches  the  murderer  leaves  much 
to  be  desired,  for  it  is  done  by  convenient  dialogue 
instead  of  by  action : — 

Stranded  without  funds  in  a  small  California  town, 
Andrews  becomes  infatuated  with  Linda  Darnell  and 
offers  to  marry  her.  When  she  refuses  him  because  of 
his  lack  of  money,  he  sets  out  on  a  campaign  to  marry 
Alice,  intending  to  divorce  her  subsequently.  Alice, 
although  warned  against  Andrews  by  her  sister  (Ann 
Revere),  elopes  with  him.  On  their  wedding  night, 
Andrews  steals  out  of  the  house  and  rushes  to  Percy 
Kilbride's  restaurant  to  see  Linda.  He  is  followed  by 
Alice's  sister,  who  overhears  him  tell  Linda  that  he 
had  married  Alice  for  her  money,  and  that  he  would 
soon  be  free  to  marry  her.  Linda,  however,  scorns  him, 
and  rushes  off  on  a  date  with  Bruce  Cabot,  a  juke  box 
salesman.  On  the  following  morning,  Linda  is  found 
murdered,  and  Charles  Bickford,  a  retired  New  York 
policeman,  is  appointed  by  the  local  authorities  to  in- 
vestigate  her  death.  Andrews,  questioned  by  Bickford 
as  a  suspect,  points  out  that  Cabot,  Kilbride,  or  even 
Alice's  sister,  might  have  committed  the  crime.  Bick- 
ford agrees,  but  he  succeeds  nevertheless  in  summing 
up  a  damning  case  of  circumstantial  evidence  against 
Andrews.  Lest  Bickford  pin  the  murder  on  him, 
Andrews  decides  to  run  away.  Alice  insists  upon 
accompanying  him,  vowing  her  belief  in  his  inno- 
cence. Impressed  by  her  love  and  by  her  faith  in  him, 
Andrews  determines  to  clear  himself.  By  tracing  a 
clue  found  at  the  murder  scene,  he  succeeds  in  track- 
ing down  Bickford  as  the  killer,  proving  that  he  had 
murdered  Linda  to  stop  her  from  marrying  Cabot. 
His  name  cleared,  Andrews  vows  to  reform. 

Harry  Kleiner  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Otto 
Preminger  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
John  Carradine,  Olin  Howlin  and  others. 

Not  suitable  for  children. 


MONOPOLY  IN  PRACTICE 

(Continued  from  bac\  page) 

"With  reference  to  Paris,  Lazar  told  the  independ- 
ent, who  was  taking  steps  to  build,  that  if  the  inde- 
pendent went  ahead  with  his  projects  'Schine'  would 
build  a  1200  seat  theatre  in  Lexington  where  the  in- 
dependent had  a  theatre  and  that  the  house  would  be 
run  with  10c  policy  at  all  times.  *  *  * 

"At  Seneca  Falls,  after  an  independent  had  taken 
steps  toward  building  a  theatre,  a  sign  was  placed  on 
the  Seneca  theatre,  (shortly  theretofore  purchased 
by  Schine)  which  read :  'Closed  for  alterations.  Will 
re-open  soon  as  a  Schine  theatre.'  Independent  then 
discontinued  efforts  to  build.  'Schine'  did  not  reopen. 
Practically  the  same  things  recurred  two  years  later. 
The  same  independent  took  steps  to  build.  The  sign 
re-appeared  on  the  'Seneca.'  The  independent  did  not 
go  through  with  his  plan.  The  'Seneca'  did  not  open. 
It  had  not  been  open  in  several  years. 

"After  'Schine'  opened  a  theatre  within  a  town,  it 
was  arbitrarily  able  to  keep  the  independents  from 
opening  a  theatre  in  the  town  with  suitable  run  prod- 
ucts, as  in  Auburn,  Lockport,  Mt.  Vernon,  Paris  and 
Bellefontaine. 


"  'Schine'  was  able  to  monopolize  first  run  product 
at  Corbin,  Medina  and  Lockport  even  though  the 
physical  facilities  of  the  independents  in  those  towns 
were  better  than  Schine's.  He  was  able  to  monopolize 
the  first  neighborhood  run  in  Rochester  even  though 
the  physical  facilities  of  the  independents  were  better. 

"The  evidence  discloses  that  'Schine'  cut  admission 
prices  at  Corbin,  Geneva,  Lexington,  Malone,  Og- 
densburg  and  other  towns;  gave  out  cut  rate  tickets 
in  Addison,  good  in  his  Corning  theatre  for  students, 
and  frequently  engaged  in  two  for  ones  and  bank 
nights  in  other  towns. 

"In  cases  of  purchase  or  the  assumption  of  leases 
other  than  those  hereinbefore  referred  to,  the  agree- 
ments therefor  provided  for  no  competition  by  the 
independents  for  long  periods  of  time.  The  non-com- 
petitive feature  was  also  extended  to  cover  outside 
towns.  *  *  * 

"By  reason  of  franchise  agreements  entered  into 
prior  to  May  19,  1942,  (voided  thereafter,  see  Decree 
herein  of  that  date)  permitting  special  film  rentals  not 
given  independents,  'Schine'  was  able  to  reap  benefits 
unavailable  to  independents  and  these  were  utilized 
against  independent  operators  as  a  means  of  restraint. 
These  have  a  definite  bearing  on  the  competitive  effect 
of  buying  power.  *  *  * 

"Proofs  connecting  the  distributors  with  certain 
of  the  aforesaid  acts  of  defendents  come  from  the  pro- 
visions of  the  franchise  agreements  and  acts  of  the  dis- 
tributors, inter-department  communications  of  the 
distributors  and  statements  made  by  their  authorized 
representatives,  of  which  numerous  ones  have  been  set 
forth  herein.  It  is  hardly  believable  that  the  executive 
officers  of  the  distributors  did  not  know  some  of  the 
methods  employed  by  'Schine'  in  its  efforts  to  restrict 
competition.  *  *  * 

"In  many  instances  the  distributors  refused  to  ne- 
gotiate with  the  independents  for  runs.  After  'The 
Circuit'  came  into  the  town,  in  many  instances  it  was 
impossible  for  the  independent  to  get  a  good  run  of 
major  product,  or  even  to  have  his  requests  to  purchase 
considered.  *  *  *  In  these  instances,  when  the  inde- 
pendent attempted  to  make  application  for  product, 
he  was  simply  advised  that  the  product  had  been  sold 
to  'Schine'  in  a  circuit  deal. 

"Special  privileges  were  granted,  as  in  the  option  of 
paying  a  percent  of  the  gross  receipts  from  product 
or  flat  rental,  and  as  in  deducting  cost  of  competitive 
devices  (bank  nights,  etc.)  from  gross  before  comput- 
ing the  distributor's  share. 

"Special  license  provisions  were  given  by  tying  up 
second  runs.  *  *  * 

"In  certain  instances  Schine's  film  contracts  called 
for  lower  minimum  admission  charge  than  those  for 
the  independent  subsequent  run.  *  *  * 

"There  is  much  other  evidence  going  to  show  the 
influence  of  'Schine'  with  the  distributors  to  gain 
preference  over  independent  competitors  and  also  the 
cooperation  of  the  distributors  with  'Schine'  to  the 
same  end.  *  *  * 

Judge  Knight  is  to  be  commended  for  his  painstak- 
ing task  of  specifying  the  aforementioned  activities  of 
the  defendants,  which  he  held  to  be  unlawful.  Con- 
tending with  these  activities  by  a  powerful  circuit  was 
indeed  an  onerous  task  for  an  independent  exhibitor, 
and  he  should  now  be  thankful  that  Judge  Knight's 
decision  will  permit  him  again  to  engage  in  free  com- 
petition in  an  open  market. 


172 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  27,  1945 


of  them  can  be  classed  among  the  top  fifty  in  the  country, 
and  most  of  them  are  small-town  and  subsequent-run  houses? 

Moreover,  it  will  be  recalled  that,  during  his  battle  with 
the  TSD  Circuit,  Goldwyn,  in  an  outburst  of  patriotic 
fervor,  said  the  following  in  a  statement  to  the  press: 

"Because  of  the  monopolies  existing  throughout  the 
country,  the  boys,  when  they  return  from  the  war,  will 
practically  be  prohibited  from  entering  into  exhibition  of 
motion  pictures.  They  cannot  build  or  occupy  theatres  in 
opposition  to  circuits  or  pooled  situations  without  the  con- 
sent of  existing  owners  or  operators,  as  no  product  of  con- 
sequence will  be  available  to  them.  Tentatively,  Congress 
passed  the  so-called  G.  I.  Bill  of  Rights,  but  no  mention 
was  made  of  the  right  to  a  free  and  open  market  to  them 
for  the  exhibition  of  motion  pictures." 

Surely,  a  man  of  Sam  Goldwyn's  experience  in  this  busi- 
ness realizes  that,  no  matter  how  many  soldiers  may  decide 
to  enter  exhibition,  the  largest  percentage  by  far,  possibly 
99  per  cent  of  them,  will  enter  it  as  subsequent-run  exhibi- 
tors, and,  of  the  remaining  one  per  cent,  few  if  any  will 
build  or  operate  theatres  that  will  rate  among  the  top  fifty  in 
the  country.  Yet,  Goldwyn,  the  very  man  whose  heart  bled 
for  the  returning  G.I.'s,  would  now  be  willing  to  confine 
his  pictures  to  the  top  fifty  theatres,  and  thus  deny  to  these 
same  G.I.'s  the  "free  and  open  market,"  and  the  "product 
of  consequence,"  to  which  he  had  said,  they  were  entitled. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  Goldwyn's  motive  in  assum- 
ing a  disdainful  attitude  towards  subsequent-run  exhibitors, 
for  the  revenue  derived  from  them  is,  as  a  general  rule,  a 
most  important  part  of  a  picture's  final  gross,  often  the 
difference  between  success  and  failure.  Perhaps  Goldwyn 
thinks  that  a  scornful  attitude  towards  these  exhibitors  may 
frighten  them  into  submitting  to  his  notoriously  high  rental 
terms.  Perhaps  he  wants  to  see  how  much  he  can  reduce  the 
sales  resistance  of  the  subsequent-runs  by  announcing  that 
he  is  not  solicitous  of  their  playing  time.  It's  a  new  approach, 
but  not  a  good  one. 

There  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  Goldwyn's  oft-ex- 
pressed scorn  for  the  smaller  exhibitors  stems  from  their 
continuous  complaints  against  his  excessive  rental  demands. 
But  these  complaints  seem  to  be  justified  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  even  the  big  affiliated  circuits,  as  well  as  large  independ- 
ent circuits,  are  constantly  battling  with  Goldwyn  over  terms, 
often  compelling  him  to  sell  away  to  a  competitor. 

It  is  Goldwyn's  prerogative  to  obtain  as  high  a  price  as  he 
can  for  his  pictures.  In  doing  so,  however,  he  should  bear  in 
mind  that,  though  some  of  his  pictures  may  be  capable  of 
drawing  capacity  audiences,  this  fact  alone  does  not  warrant 
an  unusually  high  film  rental.  The  exhibitor  does  not  oper- 
ate his  theatre  all  year  around  for  the  privilege  of  playing 
one  or  two  Goldwyn  pictures  for  a  few  days. 

During  the  course  of  a  year,  an  exhibitor  suffers  many 
cuts  in  attendance  due  to  a  number  of  circumstances,  par- 
ticularly the  weather.  Often  a  good  picture,  possibly  a  Gold- 
wyn picture,  to  which  the  exhibitor  had  given  his  best  play- 
ing time,  fails  to  draw  because  of  conditions  beyond  his 
control.  Consequently,  to  operate  his  business  successfully, 
he  must  look  to  the  capacity-drawing  pictures,  played  under 
favorable  conditions,  to  absorb  a  share  of  these  losses.  But 
under  the  terms  Goldwyn  demands  for  his  pictures,  a  part 
absorption  of  these  losses  is  not  possible.  Goldwyn  wants  an 
outlet  for  his  pictures,  but  he  is  unwilling  to  participate  con- 
structively in  the  maintenance  of  that  outlet.  He  would,  in 
other  words,  have  his  cake  and  eat  it. 

It  would  be  much  more  in  harmony  with  his  liberal  policy 
toward  his  employees,  if  Goldwyn  should  announce  a  plan, 
not  for  the  elimination  of  the  "little  fellow,"  the  subsequent- 
run  operator,  but-  for  the  betterment  of  his  lot. 


MONOPOLY  IN  PRACTICE 

In  its  October  13  issue,  Harrison's  Reports  called  at- 
tention to  the  Government's  victory  in  the  Schine  case,  quot- 
ing porfions  of  Judge  John  Knight's  opinion  as  reported  in 
the  trade  press.  At  that  time,  the  full  text  of  the  opinion  was 
not  available,  and  the  promise  was  made  that,  if  the  full 
opinion  should  contain  information  of  interest  to  exhibitors, 
such  information  would  be  reported  in  these  columns. 

An  official  copy  of  the  opinion  discloses  that  Judge  Knight 
made  a  comprehensive  study  of  the  evidence  in  the  case,  and 
from  it,  he  deduced  the  methods  and  practices  employed  by 
the  Schine  circuit  to  effectuate  an  unlawful  monopoly. 

Since  there  arc  many  exhibitors  who  may  benefit  from  a 
knowledge  of  what  Judge  Knight  held  to  be  unlawful,  por- 
tions of  the  opinion  are  herewith  reproduced.  It  should  be 
pointed  out  at  the  outset,  however,  that  the  entire  group  of 
corporate  defendants,  comprising  the  Schine  circuit,  are  re- 
ferred to  in  the  opinion  as  "Schine,"  the  "Schine  Circuit," 
or  as  "the  Circuit." 

Judge  Knight  wrote: 

"The  means  and  methods  employed  by  the  different  de- 
fendant corporations  through  their  officers  and  authorized 
representatives  to  obtain  a  'monopolistic'  control  were  nu- 
merous. Principally  among  these  were  arbitrarily  depriving 
independents  of  first  and  second  run  pictures,  securing  un- 
reasonable clearances,  making  threats  to  build  or  open 
closed  theatres  to  prevent  construction  or  operation  by  inde- 
pendents, lowering  admission  prices,  obtaining  rental  con- 
cessions, restricting  independents  who  sold  to  Schine  as  to 
periods  and  places  of  operation,  making  long  time  franchise 
agreements  covering  the  'Circuit.'  *  *  * 

"Some  specific  instances  showing  the  predatory  means 
used  by  'Schine'  follow. 

"The  Schine  defendants  arbitrarily  deprived  independ- 
ents of  the  first  run  product  which  they  had  previously  en- 
joyed in  several  towns.  *  *  *  (Ed.  Tv^ote:  There  follows  a 
list  of  towns  and  the  years  involved.) 

"Independents  were  arbitrarily  deprived  of  second  run 
product  which  they  had  previously  exhibited,  *  *  *  Relative 
to  six  towns  including  Corning,  Lynch  wrote  on  October 
21,  1933,  Metro:  'If  there  are  any  other  opposition  towns 
where  you  believe  you  can  sell  a  second  run,  I  would  appre- 
ciate it  if  you  would  take  the  matter  up  with  me  first  before 
selling."  In  1932  Lynch  wrote  Flynn  a  letter  say,  among 
other  things:  'I  want  you  to  refrain  from  selling  him  (inde- 
pendent) any  pictures  whatsoever."  and  Metro  through 
Flynn  agreed  not  to  do  so.  Lynch  also  wired  Fox  to  withhold 
selling  to  this  independent  and  wrote  Fox'  agent  saying  'have 
also  asked  him  (Schmertz — Fox  agent)  to  refrain  from  sell- 
ing this  man  second  run/ 

"  'Schine'  was  able  to  secure  unreasonable  clearances  year 
after  year  in  many  towns.  A  few  only  need  to  be  mentioned. 
*  *  *  (Ed.  J^ote:  There  follows  a  list  of  towns  with  clear' 
ance  ranging  from  90  days  to  180  days.) 

"The  license  contracts  with  'Schine'  in  many  instances 
specified  minimum  admission  prices  for  the  various  runs  as 
well  as  clearance  period.  To  an  extent  this  affects  adversely 
the  time  given  the  competitor.  Interstate  Circuit  v.  United 
States,  supra,  clearly  points  the  reasons  for  condemning 
such  provisions  in  a  film  license  contract  or  agreement. 
Schine  got  clearance  *  *  *  where  none  existed  before. 

"  'Schine'  made  threats  to  build  in  various  towns,  such  as 
Paris,  where  there  was  a  sign  up,  Canadaigua  by  a  sign  and 
newspaper  article  published,  and  where  he  eventually  did 
build.  *  *  * 

"Defendants'  authorized  agents  made  statements  to  in- 
dependents which  are  reasonably  construed  as  threats.  *  *  * 
(Continued  on  inside  page) 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVII 


SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  3,  1945 


No.  44 


with  'To  Have  and 
with  'Frenchman's 


SOME  FANCY  DOUBLE  BILLING 

"Do  you  buy  all  your  pictures  flat  rental?"  queries 
Pete  Wood  in  a  recent  service  bulletin  to  the  members 
of  his  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Ohio.  "If  you 
don't,"  continues  Wood,  "would  you  like  to?  Fox 
West  Coast  Theatres  must,  because  here  are  some  of 
the  programs  shown  in  many  of  the  several  hundred 
Fox  West  Coast  Theatres : 

"1.  'Christmas  in  Connecticut'   with   'Over  21' 

"2.  'Anchors  Aweigh'  with  'G.  I.  Joe' 

"3.  'Over  21'  with  'Junior  Miss' 

"4.  'Over  21'  with  'G.I.Joe' 

"5.  'For  Whom  the  Bell  Tolls'  with  'Music  for 

Millions' 
"6.  'Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis' 

Have  Not' 
"7.  'Keys  of  the  Kingdom' 
Creek' 

"8.  'Can't  Help  Singing'    with    'I'll  Be  Seeing 
You' 

"9.  'Frenchman's  Creek'    with    'I'll  Be  Seeing 
You' 

"10.  'Wilson'    with    'Those  Endearing  Young 
Charms' 

"11.  'Thrill  of  a  Romance'  with  '1001  Nights' 

"To  the  first  Ohio  exhibitor  reporting  that  he  has 
been  able  to  buy  all  or  most  of  the  above  pictures  flat 
rental,  we  will  present  the  fifty  yard  line  from  the 
Ohio  State  Stadium,"  concludes  the  bulletin. 

In  the  aforementioned  double-bills  cited  by  Pete 
Wood,  each  of  the  eight  major  distributors  is  repre- 
sented by  one  or  more  pictures,  indicating  clearly  that 
there  is  justification  for  the  oft-expressed  cry  of  the 
small  exhibitor  that  the  sales  policies  of  the  major 
companies  are  discriminatory. 

Any  sales  policy  that  enables  either  affiliated  cir- 
cuits or  large  independent  circuits  to  double-bill  fea- 
tures of  the  calibre  shown,  but  which,  by  reason  of 
the  rental  terms  demanded,  prohibits  a  small  exhibitor 
from  showing  similar  double-bills,  cannot  be  anything 
but  discriminatory,  particularly  since,  in  most  in- 
stances, the  small  exhibitor  has  to  play  both  pictures 
on  a  percentage  basis. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  many  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  bought  some  of  the  aforemen- 
tioned pictures  under  contracts  that  prohibited 
double-billing. 

Last  May,  the  writer  was  present  at  a  press  con- 
ference, during  which  Mr.  George  Schaefer,  chairman 
of  Lester  Cowan  Productions,  specifically  stated  that 
the  "Story  of  G.  I.  Joe,"  which  is  included  in  the 
aforementioned  double-bills,  would  be  sold  on  per- 
centage only,  and  that  under  no  circumstances  would 
an  exhibitor  be  permitted  to  show  the  picture  with 


a  second  feature.  Did  Mr.  Schaefer  inaugurate  such 
a  policy  for  the  small  independent  exhibitors  only? 
It  would  seem  that  way,  even  though  he  said  nothing 
at  the  time  to  indicate  that  any  distinctions  would  be 
made. 

A  sales  policy  that  allows  circuit  houses  to  double- 
bill  two  "A"  features  is  discriminatory,  not  only  be- 
cause it  fails  to  give  the  small  independent  exhibitor 
an  equal  opportunity,  but  also  because  it  tends  to  re- 
duce the  potential  drawing  power  of  each  of  the  "A" 
pictures  when  it  is  later  played  by  the  independent 
exhibitor;  the  motion  picture-goer  in  the  particular 
area  involved  rightfully  feels  that  he  would  prefer  to 
pay  a  slightly  higher  admission  fee  to  a  circuit  house 
for  the  privilege  of  seeing  two  "A"  features  than  to 
pay  a  lower  admission  price  twice  to  see  the  same  two 
features  at  the  independent's  theatre. 

It  is  bad  enough  that  the  independent  exhibitor  is 
hamstrung  by  the  clearances  that  circuit  houses  gen- 
erally enjoy  over  him,  but  why  kick  him  when  he's 
down? 


AN  INTERIM  REPORT  ON  THE 
NEW  YORK  ANTI-TRUST  TRIAL 

The  New  York  anti-trust  trial  is  progressing  at  a 
speed  that  is  astonishing  most  observors,  who  had  an- 
ticipated that  the  trial  would  require  many  months. 

At  this  writing,  the  feeling  prevails  that  the  five 
major  distributors  might  complete  their  defense  by  the 
end  of  this  week,  and  that  Columbia,  Universal  and 
United  Artists,  the  "Little  Three,"  could  complete 
their  case  during  the  following  week. 

The  trial  has  been  expedited  thus  far  through  the 
admission  of  stipulated  testimony  instead  of  direct 
testimony  on  behalf  of  numerous  executives  of  the 
defendant  companies,  a  procedure  to  which  Robert 
Wright,  the  Government's  trial  attorney  agreed,  re- 
serving the  right  to  call  the  witnesses  for  cross-exami- 
nation, if  necessary. 

Ever  since  the  trial  resumed  on  October  22,  after  a 
recess  of  eleven  days,  the  proceedings  have  been 
marked  by  a  parade  of  leading  executives  who  took 
the  witness  stand  in  an  attempt  to  disprove  the  Gov- 
ernment's charges  of  monopoly. 

Under  the  careful  guidance  of  the  defense  attor- 
neys, these  executives  outlined  the  general  set-up  of 
their  distribution,  production,  and  theatre  departments, 
each  testifying  in  detail  as  to  the  inner  workings  of 
the  department  he  heads  and  as  to  the  competition  to 
be  met  from  similar  departments  of  the  co-defendant 
companies,  as  well  as  from  independent  companies. 
All  this  testimony  was,  of  course,  aimed  at  refuting 
the  Government's  charges  point  by  point. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


174 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  3,  1945 


"Confidential  Agent"  with  Charles  Boyer 
and  Lauren  Bacall 

(Warner  Bros.  J^ov.  10;  time,  1 18  min.) 

With  Charles  Boyer  and  Lauren  Bacall  heading  the 
cast,  "Confidential  Agent"  may  do  well  at  the  box' 
office;  as  entertainment,  it  ranges  from  fair  to  good, 
but,  because  of  its  anti-fascist  theme,  which  is  some- 
what outdated,  it  will  probably  be  received  by  most 
picture-goers  with  mixed  feelings.  The  action  revolves 
around  a  Spanish  Loyalist  agent,  who  comes  to  Eng- 
land in  1937,  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Civil  War,  to 
prevent  agents  of  the  Spanish  Fascists  from  obtaining 
shipments  of  English  coal.  The  story  is  filled  with 
intrigue,  has  many  exciting  moments,  and  is  for  the 
most  part  interesting,  but  it  will  not  stand  up  under 
a  close  analysis,  for  it  leans  too  heavily  on  coincidence. 
Frequently,  the  action  bogs  down.  Moreover,  to  much 
time  is  taken  to  establish  the  story.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  some  judicious  cutting  could  reduce  the  overlong 
running  time.  The  performances  are  generally  good, 
with  Peter  Lorre  contributing  an  outstanding  charac- 
terization of  a  frightened  traitor.  Lauren  Bacall,  who 
showed  much  promise  in  "To  Have  and  Have  Not," 
is  somewhat  disappointing;  she  overacts.  The  produc- 
tion values  are  first  rate: — 

Arriving  in  England  to  negotiate  with  a  British  coal 
magnate  to  prevent  the  sale  of  coal  to  the  Fascists, 
Boyer,  a  Loyalist  agent,  meets  Lauren  Bacall,  the  mag- 
nate's aloof  daughter,  who,  unaware  of  his  identity 
or  mission,  offers  him  a  lift  to  London.  They  are  fol- 
lowed by  Victor  Francen,  a  ruthless  Fascist  agent, 
whose  chauffeur  thrashes  Boyer  in  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  steal  his  credentials.  In  London,  Boyer 
makes  contact  with  two  co-agents,  Katina  Paxinou, 
owner  of  a  small  hotel,  and  Peter  Lorre,  only  to  dis- 
cover that  both  had  turned  traitor,  having  been  bribed 
by  Francen.  When  he  refuses  to  join  them,  they  mur- 
der a  14-year-old  servant  girl,  whom  Boyer  had  be- 
friended, and  frame  him  on  a  fake  murder  charge. 
Meanwhile  Francen 's  henchmen  steal  Boyer 's  creden- 
tials, preventing  him  from  negotiating  with  Lauren's 
father.  Determined  to  see  his  mission  through,  and  to 
avenge  the  murder  of  the  young  girl,  Boyer,  aided  by 
Lauren,  who  had  become  sympathetic  to  his  cause, 
eludes  the  police.  Through  a  series  of  strange  adven- 
tures, he  tracks  down  both  Katina  and  Lorre  and, 
without  being  directly  responsible  for  their  deaths,  has 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them  die.  Then,  upon  learn- 
ing that  Francen  had  concluded  a  deal  with  Lauren's 
father,  Boyer  goes  directly  to  the  coal  miners  and 
makes  an  impassioned  plea  to  them  not  to  mine  the 
coal.  The  English  papers  publicize  his  action  and  con- 
demn the  coal  magnate,  compelling  him  to  cancel  the 
contract.  His  mission  fulfilled,  Boyer,  still  wanted  by 
the  police,  is  helped  to  escape  from  England  by 
Lauren,  who  joins  him  on  a  tramp  steamer. 

Robert  Buckner  produced  it,  and  Herman  Shumlin 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Wanda  Hendrix,  George 
Coulouris,  John  Warburton,  George  Zucco  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Voice  of  the  Whistler"  with  Richard  Dix 
and  Lynn  Merrick 

(Columbia,  Oct.  30;  time,  60  min.) 
Fairly  interesting  but  unpleasant  program  fare. 
The  first  part  of  the  picture,  which  deals  with  the 
loneliness  and  ill  health  of  a  wealthy  industrialist,  has 
considerable  human  interest,  for  all  the  principal 


characters  are  shown  as  kindly  persons  with  fine  traits. 
The  story,  however,  soon  develops  into  a  murder 
melodrama,  in  which  the  actions  of  the  main  charac- 
ters undergo  an  abrupt  change,  each  committing  acts 
that  are  far  from  commendable.  Consequently,  one 
feels  no  sympathy  for  them.  The  direction  is  good,  and 
the  acting  competent.  Some  of  the  situations  generate 
considerable  suspense.  Because  of  the  manner  /in 
which  the  murder  is  planned  and  committed,  the 
picture  is  unsuitable  for  children: — 

111  in  health  and  lacking  true  friends,  Richard  Dix, 
an  industrialist,  leaves  for  a  vacation  on  the  Great 
Lakes.  Arriving  in  Chicago,  he  suffers  a  heart  attack 
as  he  boards  a  taxicab.  Rhys  Williams,  the  driver, 
takes  him  to  his  hoarding  house  and  nurses  him  back 
to  health.  Williams,  a  friendly,  sincere  chap,  per- 
suades Dix  to  visit  a  neighborhood  clinic,  where  he 
meets  Lynn  Merrick,  a  nurse,  who  was  engaged  to 
James  Cardwell,  a  young  interne.  Clinic  physicians, 
informing  Dix  that  he  had  only  a  few  months  to  live, 
advise  him  to  go  to  the  Maine  seacoast.  Impressed  by 
Lynn's  friendliness,  Dix  asks  her  to  marry  him,  offer- 
ing to  leave  her  his  entire  fortune  in  return  for  the 
short  time  she  would  have  to  spend  with  him.  Lynn 
accepts,  planning  to  use  the  money  to  marry  Cardwell 
after  Dix's  death.  Cardwell,  angry,  breaks  with  her. 
Accompanied  by  Williams,  Dix  and  Lynn  go  to  Maine 
and  establish  residence  in  an  abandoned  lighthouse. 
The  outdoor  life  gives  Dix  a  new  lease  on  life  and, 
after  six  months,  he  finds  himself  madly  in  love  with 
Lynn.  But  Lynn,  tired  of  the  secluded  life  they  led, 
openly  regrets  the  bargain.  When  Cardwell  arrives 
unexpectedly  for  a  visit,  Dix,  noting  that  Lynn  was 
still  in  love  with  him,  becomes  insanely  jealous  but 
masks  his  feelings.  Both  men,  though  outwardly 
friendly,  plan  to  do  away  with  one  another.  A  battle 
of  wits  ensues  between  the  two,  with  Cardwell  being 
murdered  by  Dix  after  an  unsuccessful  attempt  on  the 
latter's  life.  Dix  attempts  to  make  it  appear  as  if  Card- 
well  had  died  accidentally,  but  Lynn,  having  wit- 
nessed the  crime,  summons  the  police.  Dix  is  sentenced 
to  the  electric  chair,  while  Lynn  commits  herself  to  a 
life  of  solitude  in  the  lighthouse. 

Wilfred  H.  Pettitt  and  William  Castle  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Rudolph  C.  Flothow  produced  it,  and 
Mr.  Castle  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Tom  Ken- 
nedy, Frank  Reicher  and  others. 

"The  Tiger  Woman"  with  Adele  Mara 
and  Kane  Richmond 

(Republic,  Tv^ov.  16;  time,  57  min.) 
Just  a  minor  program  murder-mystery  melodrama, 
revolving  around  the  murderous  machinations  of  a 
night-club  singer.  The  action  is  slow-moving  and, 
since  one  has  little  trouble  in  figuring  out  the  solu- 
tion, one's  interest  lags.  Moreover,  much  of  the  plot, 
particularly  at  the  start,  is  developed  by  means  of 
lengthy  dialogue,  and  unless  one  pays  close  attention 
to  the  screen  one  would  not  know  what  the  story  was 
all  about.  There  is  no  human  interest,  since  none  of 
the  characters,  not  even  the  hero,  who  brings  the  mur- 
deress to  justice,  are  presented  in  an  appealing  man- 
ner: — 

Adele  Mara,  whose  husband  owned  the  night-club 
where  she  sang,  carries  on  a  secret  love  affair  with 
Richard  Fraser,  her  husband's  business  partner.  Fear- 
ing that  her  husband  may  be  killed  by  a  gangster,  to 
whom  he  owed  a  huge  gambling  debt,  and  that  Fraser, 
because  of  their  love  affair,  may  be  blamed  by  the 
police  for  the  crime,  Adele  enlists  the  aid  of  Kane 


November  3,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


175 


Richmond,  a  private  detective,  to  protect  him.  Later, 
when  Adele  and  Fraser  visit  her  husband  to  ask  him 
for  a  divorce,  they  find  him  shot  dead.  A  suicide  note 
beside  the  body  asks  Fraser  to  see  to  it  that  Adele 
collects  the  $100,000  insurance  money  he  carried  on 
his  life.  When  Fraser  points  out  that  a  suicide  clause 
in  the  policy  invalidated  the  claim,  Adele  induces  him 
to  burn  the  note  so  that  her  husband's  death  would 
look  like  murder.  Testimony  offered  by  Adele  at  the 
coroner's  inquest  convinces  the  police  that  her  hus- 
band was  murdered  and  enables  her  to  collect  the  in' 
surance  money.  But  Richmond,  unconvinced,  be 
comes  suspicious  and  starts  an  investigation  of  his 
own.  Through  clever  strategy,  he  drives  Fraser  to  the 
verge  of  a  voluntary  confession  to  the  police,  but 
Adele,  to  stop  the  confession,  murders  him,  making  it 
appear  as  if  he  had  committed  suicide  to  atone  for 
killing  her  husband.  Richmond,  however,  discovers  a 
clue  indicating  that  Adele  was  responsible  for  both 
murders.  Lacking  conclusive  evidence,  he  makes  love 
to  Adele  and  tricks  her  into  a  confession  that  is  over- 
heard by  the  police. 

George  Carelton  Brown  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Dorrell  and  Stuart  E.  McGowen  produced  it,  and 
Philip  Ford  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Perry  Stew- 
art, Cy  Kendall,  Beverly  Loyd,  Gregory  Gay  and 
others. 

Not  suitable  for  children. 


"Crimson  Canary"  with  Noah  Beery,  Jr. 
and  Lois  Collier 

(Universal,  T^jov.  9;  time,  64  min.) 
Murder  mystery  and  "hot  swing"  music  have  been 
blended  effectively  in  this  program  melodrama;  the 
combination  should  please  both  the  mystery  fans  and 
those  who  enjoy  popular  music.  Although  the  mur- 
derer's identity  is  not  disclosed  until  the  finish,  one 
does  not  find  it  too  difficult  to  guess  who  he  is  early 
in  the  proceedings;  nevertheless,  the  story  holds  one's 
interest  fairly  well.  The  musical  portions  of  the  pic- 
ture are  very  entertaining,  often  more  enjoyable  than 
the  story  itself.  On  the  whole,  the  picture  represents 
a  good  effort  at  something  different  in  program  type 
pictures : — 

Claudia  Drake,  singer  in  Steve  Geray's  Los  Angeles 
night-club,  is  murdered  mysteriously  under  circum- 
stances that  point  suspicion  on  both  Noah  Beery,  Jr. 
and  Danny  Morton,  members  of  a  "swing"  band, 
whose  other  members  included  Steve  Brodie,  Jimmie 
Dodd,  and  Johnny  Kellogg.  Claudia,  a  disreputable 
flirt,  had  been  warned  by  Beery  to  stay  away  from 
Morton,  who  had  taken  to  drink  because  she  had  jilted 
him.  The  boys  leave  town  before  Claudia's  body  is 
discovered,  each  agreeing  to  go  to  a  different  city  so 
that  the  police  could  not  trace  them.  Detective  John 
Litel,  a  "hot"  music  fan,  is  assigned  to  the  case  and, 
through  a  recording  made  by  the  boys  at  the  club,  he 
is  enabled  to  find  Beery  in  San  Francisco,  where  he 
played  the  trumpet  in  a  local  cafe;  Litel  recognized 
the  tone  of  the  trumpet.  Although  Litel  does  not  ar- 
rest him,  hoping  that  he  will  lead  him  to  the  other 
boys,  Beery  becomes  aware  that  he  was  being  watched. 
He  confides  his  troubles  to  Lois  Collier,  his  fiancee, 
who  urges  him  to  surrender.  When  Beery  refuses,  they 
quarrel.  Believing  that  he  could  prove  conclusively 
through  one  of  his  recordings  that  he  and  the  others 
were  on  the  bandstand  at  the  time  of  the  murder, 
Beery  rounds  up  his  friends  and  returns  to  Geray's 
club.  Litel  joins  them,  but  their  alibi  is  destroyed  when 
the  recording  in  question  falls  to  floor  and  breaks. 


Meanwhile  Lois,  who  had  come  to  Los  Angeles,  had 
been  carrying  on  an  investigation  of  her  own,  and 
through  Claudia's  roommate  she  uncovers  important 
clues  that  unmask  Geray  as  the  killer. 

Henry  Blankfort  and  Peggy  Phillips  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Mr.  Blankfort  produced  it,  and  John 
Hoffman  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  the  Esquire 
Ail-American  Band  Winners,  Coleman  Hawkins, 
Oscar  Pettiford,  Josh  White  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Spellbound"  with  Ingrid  Bergman 
and  Gregory  Peck 

(United  Artists;  no  release  date  set;  time,  110  min.) 

Very  Good!  Blending  psychoanalysis,  psychiatry, 
murder-mystery,  and  appealing  romance,  David  O. 
Selznick  has  fashioned  a  powerful  drama  for  adults, 
endowing  it  with  superb  production  values,  and  Al- 
fred Hitchcock,  in  keeping  with  his  reputation  for 
building  up  thrilling  situations  that  hold  one  in  tense 
suspense,  has  applied  his  directorial  skill  in  a  master- 
ful way.  Although  the  picture's  appeal  may  be  di- 
rected more  to  class  audiences  than  to  the  masses, 
since  it  employs  psychiatry  and  psychoanalysis  for  the 
background,  basis,  and  solution  of  the  story,  and  since 
it  resorts  at  times  to  much  technical  scientific  dialogue, 
it  will  probably  draw  to  the  box-office  also  the  masses, 
not  only  because  of  the  stars'  popularity,  but  also 
because  it  has  been  handled  in  a  manner  that  enables 
•  the  average  person  to  understand  fully  the  gist  of  the 
story  even  though  the  complexities  of  its  Freudian 
theme  may  remain  hazy. 

Briefly,  the  story  revolves  around  Gregory  Peck,  as 
an  amnesia  victim,  who  is  suspected  of  murdering  a 
famous  psychiatrist,  his  doctor,  whom  he  attempts  to 
impersonate  as  head  of  an  institution  for  the  mentally 
unbalanced.  Ingrid  Bergman,  as  a  woman  psychiatrist 
on  the  staff  of  the  institution,  falls  in  love  with  him 
and,  despite  his  belief  that  he  may  have  committed 
the  crime,  since  he  had  no  recollection  of  his  past,  tries 
desperately  to  shield  him  from  the  police  and  to  save 
him  from  punishment  because,  she  was  blindly-sure 
that  he  was  innocent.  Risking  her  life,  because  of  the 
danger  that  Peck  might  become  berserk  momentarily, 
Ingrid  probes  his  mind  to  learn  the  cause  of  his  psy- 
chosis and  amnesia  and,  through  an  analysis  of  one  of 
his  dreams,  succeeds  in  establishing  his  identity,  as 
well  as  past  events  in  his  life.  Then,  through  applied 
psychoanalysis,  she  proves  to  him  that  he  was  inno- 
cent of  the  crime,  thus  restoring  his  sanity.  Circum- 
stantial evidence,  however,  points  to  Peck  as  the  killer, 
and  the  police  jail  him  for  the  crime.  But  Ingrid,  un- 
daunted, sets  forth  in  pursuit  of  the  real  murderer 
and,  in  a  final  sequence  that  builds  steadily  to  an  ab- 
sorbing climax,  pins  the  guilt  on  Leo  G.  Carroll,  for- 
mer head  of  the  institution,  whom  the  murdered  man 
was  to  replace. 

The  performances  of  the  entire  cast  are  superior, 
and  throughout  the  action  an  overtone  of  suspense 
and  terror,  tinged  with  touches  of  deep  human  inter- 
est and  appealing  romance,  is  sustained.  A  weird 
dream  sequence  designed  by  Salvador  Dali,  the  Span- 
ish artist,  the  sets  of  which  supposedly  depict  the 
dream  life  of  Peck's  disordered  mind,  is  highly  fan- 
tastic but  most  interesting. 

Ben  Hecht  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel, 
"The  House  of  Dr.  Edwardcs."  The  cast  includes 
John  Emory,  Steven  Geray,  Wallace  Ford,  Michael 
Chekhov  and  many  others. 


176 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  3,  1945 


Mr.  Wright,  however,  was  right  on  his  toes  with 
his  cross-examination  of  these  witnesses,  succeeding 
many  times  in  drawing  from  them  admissions  that,  to 
many  observors,  appeared  damaging  to  the  defense. 
One  highlight,  for  example,  was  the  confirmation  from 
some  of  these  witnesses  that  their  companies  omitted 
from  their  license  agreements  with  affiliated  theatres 
stipulations  governing  admission  prices. 

Another  highlight  of  the  trial  was  Wright's  en- 
deavor to  show  the  Court  that  the  defendants  exer- 
cised arbitrary  control  over  the  operations  of  inde- 
pendent subsequent-run  exhibitors.  He  cited  as  an  ex- 
ample the  dispute  between  Paramount  and  the  Loew's 
circuit  in  New  York  City  over  rental  terms,  revealing 
that,  from  September  1943  to  May  1945,  pending 
settlement  of  the  dispute,  no  Paramount  pictures  were 
made  available  to  subsequent-run  exhibitors  in  the 
New  York  area,  even  in  the  absence  of  any  written 
contract  between  Paramount  and  Loew's. 

Still  another  highlight  was  when  he  brought  out 
that  Paramount  had  given  to  the  Evergreen  Cricuit 
in  Seattle,  a  20th  Century-Fox  affiliate,  a  so-called 
"formula  deal,"  which  is  similar  to  the  deals  made  by 
Paramount  with  its  own  affiliated  theatres.  Under  this 
"formula  deal,"  the  circuit's  film  rental  on  each  pic- 
ture is  determined  by  the  national  gross  of  the  picture, 
exclusive  of  the  circuit's  gross  on  that  picture.  The 
percentage  rate  to  be  paid  by  the  circuit  was  thus  fixed 
after  the  picture  had  established  its  earning  power  in 
theatres  throughout  the  country,  and  all  element  of 
risk  was  eliminated  for  the  circuit  in  its  film  buying. 


A  NOVEL  IDEA 

Daily,  my  desk  is  flooded  with  publicity  releases 
from  the  different  motion  picture  committees  in  charge 
of  the  Victory  Bond  Drive.  Most  of  the  schemes  they 
have  devised  to  help  exhibitors  sell  more  bonds  are  ex- 
cellent, and  some  of  them  are  nothing  short  of  amaz- 
ing. Lack  of  space  prevents  me  from  reproducing  some 
of  their  imaginative  suggestions;  besides,  most  of  you 
know  about  them,  for  the  other  trade  papers,  which 
have  more  space,  are  doing  an  excellent  job  of  keep- 
ing you  posted. 

An  example  of  this  imaginative  thinking  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Victory  Queen  Contest,  one  of  the  most 
potent  bond-selling  plans  yet  devised,  details  of  which 
were  announced  this  week  by  Charles  P.  Skouras,  re- 
gional chairman  of  the  eleven  western  states.  Briefly, 
the  contest,  which  is  limited  to  California,  Washing- 
ton, Arizona,  and  Oregon,  calls  for  the  selection  of  a 
"Queen"  from  each  of  those  states.  Every  town  in  the 
Pacific  area  is  asked  to  participate.  Any  young  woman 
between  the  ages  of  18  and  26  is  eligible  to  enter  the 
contest,  and,  in  each  town,  the  winner  will  be  selected 
on  the  basis  of  bond  sales  exclusively.  The  town 
"Queen"  candidates  will  then  compete  against  other 
town  "Queens"  for  the  title  of  "County  Queen,"  and 
these  winners  will  in  turn  compete  for  the  title  of 
"State  Queen."  Finally,  the  "State  Queens"  will  com- 
pete in  Hollywood  for  the  title  of  "Victory  Queen," 
with  a  one  year  screen  contract  from  a  major  studio 
as  the  grand  prize. 

Space  does  not  permit  an  outline  of  the  contest's 
rules,  but  I  may  say  that  they  give  each  contestant  a 
fair  and  equal  chance.  Most  important  of  all,  they 
are  designed  to  boost  bond  sales. 

The  idea  is  so  good  that,  if  possible,  it  should  be 
extended  to  every  state  in  the  union.  It  is  the  sort  of 
contest  that  will  catch  the  public's  fancy. 


TAKING  GOLDWYN  AT  HIS  WORD 

Samuel  Goldwyn's  recent  statement  to  the  effect 
that  subsequent-run  bookings  are  "economically  unat- 
tractive" to  him,  and  that  he  would  be  willing  to 
forego  them  if  he  could  get  his  pictures  booked  into 
fifty  top  first-run  theatres  throughout  the  country, 
with  seating  capacities  of  from  1200  to  1400,  seems  to 
have  raised  the  ire  of  exhibitors  everywhere. 

Typical  of  the  general  feeling  is  the  following  state- 
ment from  a  recent  ITO  of  Ohio  bulletin,  titled,  "Let's 
Make  Sam's  Wish  Come  True": 

"In  plain  unadulterated  English,  Goldwyn  has 
served  notice  on  the  thousands  of  small  theatre  owners 
throughout  the  country,  and  the  millions  of  theatre- 
goers who  patronize  these  low-priced  theatres,  that 
he  just  doesn't  give  a  damn  about  having  any  business 
dealings  with  the  former,  and  if  the  latter  desire  to  see 
Goldwyn  productions,  they'll  have  to  patronize  the 
fifty  top  first-run  high-priced  theatres  to  which  the 
showing  of  all  future  Goldwyn  pictures  will  be  re- 
stricted. 

"We  admire  Sam  for  being  so  outspoken,  and  in 
order  to  help  him  in  his  desire  to  have  his  pictures 
shown  m  as  few  theatres  as  possible,  we  are  forming 
the  'Make-It-Easy-For-Sam  Goldwyn  League,'  which 
you  are  hereby  invited  to  join.  *  *  *  " 

The  bulletin  then  invites  the  ITO  members  to  fill 
out  a  membership  application,  in  which  the  signers 
resolve  to  do  all  they  possibly  can  to  cooperate  with 
Goldwyn  by  not  showing  his  pictures  in  their  theatres. 

Well,  Goldwyn  asked  for  it. 


ACTIONS 
SPEAK  LOUDER  THAN  WORDS 

The  following  is  from  a  Paramount  publicity  de- 
partment release: 

"Good  will  is  a  tangible,  marketable  and  liquid 
asset  when  applied  to  sales  policy,,  in  the  opinion  of 
Hugh  Owen,  Paramount  Divisional  Sales  Manager, 
who  has  just  returned  from  an  extended  trip  through 
the  Southern  territories. 

"With  many  exhibitor  situations  faced  with  de- 
pleted populations  due  to  post-war  shifts  from  war 
plants  and  service  decampments,  the  Paramount  sales 
policy  of  flexibility  to  meet  these  situations  is  paying 
off,  said  Owen. 

"Rather  than  adhere  to  a  rigid  policy  that  may  work 
hardships  on  individual  situations,  Owen,  in  line  with 
Paramount's  policy  set  up  by  Charles  M.  Reagan, 
vice-president  in  charge  of  distribution,  went  over 
each  situation  with  the  exchange  salesmen  concerned, 
and  worked  out  a  flexibility  of  sales  terms  applicable 
in  terms  of  conditions  existing  in  each  particular  lo- 
cale. In  the  long  run,  Owen  contended,  this  is  defi- 
nitely good -will  in  exhibitor  relations,  negotiable  when 
a  salesman  sits  down  with  an  exhibitor  at  future 
dates." 

Here  is  an  expression  of  an  attitude  for  which  Para- 
mount, Mr.  Reagan  and  Mr.  Owen  should  be  com- 
mended. Unfortunately,  however,  expressions  of  wil- 
lingness to  recognize  changed  conditions  in  individual 
situations,  and  to  make  proper  adjustments,  have  been 
made  before,  not  only  by  Paramount,  but  also  by  most 
of  the  other  film  distributors.  Despite  these  expres- 
sions, the  exhibitors'  complaints  against  outlandish 
rental  terms  are  constantly  increasing,  which  is  an  in- 
dication that  the  adjustments,  both  in  character  and  in 
number,  are  inadequate. 

What  the  exhibitors  need  are  fewer  expressions  of 
"what  we  intend  to  do,"  and  more  deeds. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  Rr»/>fri  1  81  9  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.60  i\uum  ioi«  Publisher 

Canada   16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain   16.50  A  Motjon  picture  Reviewing  Service   

oreat  Britain  . ...........  ia.ia  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Jtg  EdUorial  Policy.  No  problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  10,  1945  No.  45 


Has  the  Independent  Producer  an  Open  Market? 


Ever  since  the  Government's  New  York  anti-trust 
suit  against  the  eight  major  companies  got  under  way 
several  weeks  ago,  the  defense  attorneys  have  per- 
sistently tried  to  compel  Robert  L.  Wright,  the  Gov 
ernment's  trial  attorney,  to  remove  from  his  case  the 
issue  of  monopoly  in  production. 

The  issue  has  been  the  subject  of  much  spirited  dis- 
cussion during  the  trial,  with  Wright  maintaining 
that  the  alleged  monopoly  in  distribution  and  exhibi- 
tion enjoyed  by  the  defendants  narrows,  in  effect,  the 
freedom  of  opportunity  for  independent  producers 
and,  consequently,  serves  to  create  a  restraint  in  pro- 
duction. 

The  defense  attorneys  have  countered  this  con- 
tention with  claims  that  there  is  the  most  intensive 
competition  between  the  defendants  and  independent 
producers  for  the  acquisition  of  stories  and  of  talent, 
and  that  any  independent  producer  with  a  good  pic- 
ture can  get  distribution  for  it. 

Asked  by  the  Court  if  the  Government  claimed 
monopoly  in  production,  Wright  replied:  "Only  to 
this  extent — if  an  independent  producer  wants  to 
recoup  the  cost  of  production  he  must  secure  a  major 
release  for  his  product.'"  Wright  admitted  to  the 
Court  that  he  had  no  specific  evidence  of  monopoly 
in  production,  and  he  conceded  that  there  was  free 
competition  insofar  as  the  acquisition  of  stories  and 
talent  are  concerned,  but  he  reiterated  his  claim  that 
the  defendants'  alleged  control  of  the  distribution 
and  exhibition  markets  had  a  restrictive  control  on 
the  production  activities  of  an  independent  producer. 

It  appears  to  many  observers  at  the  trial  that,  thus 
far,  the  Government  has  not  made  out  much  of  a  case 
with  respect  to  monopoly  in  production. 

It  is  true  that  an  independent  producer,  within  the 
limitations  set  by  his  financial  resources,  can  compete 
freely  for  the  acquisition  of  story  properties  and  for 
most  anything  else  required  to  produce  a  motion  pic- 
ture. But  we  cannot  get  away  from  the  fact  that, 
under  the  present  set-up  of  distribution  and  exhibi- 
tion, the  independent  producer,  particularly  the  one 
who  makes  quality  productions  at  a  cost  comparable 
to  the  finest  produced  by  the  major  companies,  is  able 
to  recoup  his  production  costs  and  make  a  profit  on  his 
picture  in  only  one  way — through  a  distribution  ar- 
rangement with  one  of  the  major  distributors.  And  if 
his  deal  should  be  with  one  of  the  non-theatre-owning 
distributors,  his  chances  of  recouping  production  costs 
plus  profit  are  lessened  to  a  considerable  degree,  for, 
according  to  the  Government's  allegations,  the  five 
theatre-owning  companies,  who  themselves  produce 
and  distribute  the  majority  of  so-called  "A"  features 
released  each  year,  make  available  to  the  non-theatre- 


owning  distributors  only  such  playing  time  as  may  re- 
main after  they  have  taken  care  of  one  another's  needs. 

When  we  take  into  consideration  the  defendants' 
claim  (as  testified  to  at  the  trial  by  William  F. 
Rodgers,  vice-president  and  general  sales  manager  of 
MGM)  that  the  income  from  affiliated  theatres  covers 
no  more  than  the  production  costs  of  a  picture,  while 
the  income  from  the  independent  theatres  makes  up 
the  profit,  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  the  theatre-own- 
ing producers,  who  control  the  available  playing  time 
of  the  theatres  that  pay  production  costs,  are  in  a 
position  to  exert  the  power  of  life  or  death  over  the 
operations  of  an  independent  producer. 

The  defense  attorneys  have,  of  course,  made  the 
claim  that  no  independent  producer  with  a  good  pic- 
ture has  any  difficulty  getting  it  distributed  and  ex- 
hibited. Broadly  speaking,  this  claim  may  be  true.  But 
it  does  not  answer  the  question  that  is  always  vital  to 
the  producer  who  wants  to  make  an  "A"  quality  pic- 
ture. That  question  is  whether  or  not  the  independent 
producer's  picture  will  be  exhibited  by  the  affiliated 
theatres  in  a  manner  and  under  conditions  that  will 
afford  it  the  same  freedom  of  economic  opportunity 
that  is  accorded  the  pictures  of  the  major  companies, 
assuming,  of  course,  that  the  rental  terms  of  the  inde- 
pendent's picture  are  within  reason,  and  that  the  pic- 
ture has  popular  appeal. 

Unanswered  are  also  the  questions:  1.  Does  the 
independent's  picture  receive  the  preferred  playing 
time  it  deserves?  2.  Is  it  automatically  held  over  if  the 
gross  at  the  end  of  the  week  reaches  a  certain  figure, 
such  as  is  done  with  the  pictures  of  a  major  producer? 

Here  are  only  a  few  of  the  important  questions  that 
have  been  overlooked  by  the  defense  attorneys  when 
they  made  their  claim  that  an  independent  producer 
with  a  good  picture  has  a  ready  outlet.  And  yet  the 
answers  to  these  questions  are  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance in  determining  whether  existing  conditions  tend, 
either  to  encourage,  or  to  discourage,  independent 
production. 

The  independent  exhibitor  is  vitally  interested  in 
this  issue,  for  any  condition  that  tends  to  discourage 
independent  production  tends  also  to  affect  the  quality 
of  pictures  in  general;  with  the  competition  of  the 
independent  producers  of  quality  pictures  out  of  the 
way,  the  major  producers  will  have  less  reason  to 
strive  for  better  pictures,  with  the  result  that  the  al- 
ready large  percentage  of  poor  pictures  released  each 
year  may  increase. 

For  many  years,  Harrison's  Reports  has  urged  the 
independent  exhibitors  to  support  the  independent 
producers,  because  it  felt,  as  it  still  feels,  that  such 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


178 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  10,  1945 


"Dakota"  with  John  Wayne 
and  Vera  Hruba  Ralston 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set,  time,  82  mm.) 

This  outdoor  melodrama  is  a  fairly  good  entertainment  of 
its  kind.  The  Western-like  story  and  its  treatment  offer  little 
in  the  way  of  originality,  and  it  is  somewhat  deficient  in  the 
excitement  one  expects  to  find  in  a  picture  of  this  type,  yet 
it  contains  enough  thrills,  suspense,  human  interest,  and 
comedy,  to  put  it  across  with  most  audiences.  John  Wayne, 
as  the  hero,  is  his  usual  rugged,  stalwart  self,  risking  his  life 
to  prevent  a  gang  of  crooks  from  swindling  poor  wheat 
farmers  of  their  land.  Walter  Brennan,  as  an  irascible,  bel- 
lowing river  boat  captain,  provides  most  of  the  comedy,  of 
which  the  picture  has  a  good  share.  Vera  Hruba  Ralston,  as 
Wayne's  "cute"  bride,  is  just  passable.  The  most  thrilling 
part  of  the  picture  comes  at  the  finish,  where  the  thieves  set 
fire  to  the  farmers'  wheat  in  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  grab 
their  lands.  It  makes  for  a  spectacular  blaze.  The  action  takes 
place  in  1870: — 

Against  the  wishes  of  her  father,  a  Chicago  railroad  ty- 
coon, Vera  elopes  with  Wayne,  a  professional  gambler. 
Wayne  favors  going  to  California,  but  his  head-strong  bride 
steers  him  to  Dakota,  explaining  that  her  father  planned 
to  extend  his  railroad  to  that  territory,  and  that  they  could 
use  their  combined  fortune  of  $20,000  to  buy  options  on 
land,  then  sell  to  her  father  at  a  profit.  Ward  Bond  and 
Mike  Mazurki,  fellow  travelers  on  the  stagecoach,  question 
the  couple  and  suspect  their  reason  for  going  to  Dakota. 
Meanwhile  Wayne  had  learned  that  the  two  men  were  poli- 
tical powers  in  Dakota,  and  that  they  were  in  the  midst  of 
a  vicious  campaign  to  drive  the  wheat  farmers  out  of  the 
territory.  On  board  a  river  boat  bound  for  Fargo,  two  of 
Bond's  henchmen  steal  Wayne's  $20,000  at  the  point  of  a 
gun.  Arriving  in  Fargo,  Wayne  teams  up  with  the  wheat 
farmers  in  opposition  to  Bond  and  his  gang.  Several  at- 
tempts arc  made  on  Wayne's  life,  but  Wayne  foils  Bond  at 
every  turn.  Finally,  through  shrewd  manipulations,  Wayne 
outsmarts  Bond  and  tricks  him  into  signing  away  his  ill- 
gotten  rights  to  the  farmers'  lands.  Learning  of  the  ruse, 
Bond,  in  a  last  desperate  attempt  to  regain  his  control,  orders 
his  henchmen  to  set  fire  to  the  wheat  fields.  The  blaze,  how- 
ever, is  brought  under  control,  and  Bond  prepares  to  abscond 
with  Wayne's  $20,000.  Mazurki  kills  him  in  a  fight  over 
the  loot,  and  Wayne,  in  turn,  thrashes  Mazurki  to  recover 
his  money.  With  law  and  order  restored  to  the  town,  Wayne 
and  his  bride  settle  down  to  await  the  coming  of  the  railroad. 

Lawrence  Hazard  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Joseph  Kane 
produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ona  Munson, 
Hugo  Haas,  George  Cleveland,  Paul  Fix  and  others. 


"How  Do  You  Do"  with  Bert  Gordon, 
Cheryl  Walker  and  Frank  Albertson 

(PRC,  Dec.  17;  time,  80  min.) 

A  mirth-provoking  combination  of  comedy,  music,  and 
murder-mystery;  it  should  serve  well  as  a  supporting  feature 
wherever  something  light  is  needed  to  round  out  a  double- 
bill.  It  is  a  non-sensical  type  of  comedy,  in  which  the 
players,  as  themselves,  enact  their  individual  roles  in  a 
tongue-in-cheek  fashion,  poking  fun  at  both  the  picture  and 
themselves.  Bert  Gordon,  the  "Mad  Russian"  of  radio  fame, 
provokes  many  laughs  with  his  quips  and  his  antics.  An 
amusing  twist  is  provided  by  Gordon's  recruiting  of  a  num- 
ber of  character  actors,  known  to  most  audiences  for  their 
portrayals  as  screen  detectives,  to  solve  the  crime.  The  pic- 
ture has  a  trick  ending  that  is  both  novel  and  comical.  Harry 
Von  Zell,  the  radio  announcer,  is  good  in  a  supporting  role, 
as  is  Ella  Mae  Morse,  who  sings  two  songs  in  her  typical 
"boogie-woogie"  style: — 

Upon  the  completion  of  their  radio  series,  Gordon,  Von 
Zell,  Cheryl,  Ella, and  Claire  Windsor,  go  to  a  desert  hotel 
for  a  vacation.  On  their  first  day,  they,  along  with  the  other 
guests  in  the  hotel,  find  themselves  suspected  of  the  murder 
of  a  despised  radio  agent.  To  add  to  their  dismay,  Frank 
Albertson,  a  reporter,  arrives  on  the  scene,  making  them 


vulnerable  to  unfavorable  publicity.  Confusion  reigns  when 
the  body  suddenly  disappears,  and  the  sheriff  prohibits  any 
one  from  leaving  the  hotel.  In  desperation,  Gordon  sends 
telegrams  to  Keye  Luke,  James  Burke,  Thomas  Jackson, 
Fred  KcUey,  and  Leslie  Dennison,  all  screen  detectives,  to 
come  to  his  aid.  Their  arrival  serves  only  to  create  more 
chaos  as  they  apply  their  6crecn  technique  in  an  attempt  to 
solve  the  crime.  Eventually,  after  many  incidents  in  which 
the  body  appears  and  disappears  several  times,  the  "corpse" 
walks  into  the  hotel  and  explains  that  he  was  very  much 
alive;  he  had  been  a  human  guinea  pig  for  his  doctor,  who 
was  experimenting  with  a  new  heart  disease  cure,  which 
caused  a  patient's  heart  to  stop  beating  for  72  hours. 

The  trick  finish  shows  Gordon  in  a  projection  room, 
stating  to  the  producer  that  audiences  would  not  accept  the 
picture  if  the  "corpse"  comes  back  alive.  He  thereupon  calls 
for  a  re-run  of  the  final  sequence  and,  from  his  projection 
room  eal  tin  .1  shot  at  thi  "living  corpse"  OH  the  screen, 
causing  his  body  to  fall  down  in  a  heap. 

Harry  Saubcr  and  Joseph  Carole  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Mr.  Saubcr  produced  it,  and  Ralph  Murphy  directed  it. 


"She  Wouldn't  Say  Yes"  with 
Rosalind  Russell  and  Lee  Bowman 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set,  time,  86  min.) 

In  .spite  of  the  fact  that  the  story  is  thin,  this  is  a  pretty 
good  light  comedy,  the  sort  that  should  go  over  well  with 
the  rank  and  file.  It  centers  around  the  romance  that  comes 
into  the  life  of  an  accomplished  woman  psychiatrist,  who 
had  always  maintained  that  she  was  immune  to  the  emo- 
tions of  love.  The  spectator  is  kept  chuckling  throughout  by 
the  many  mirth-provoking  situations,  particularly  those  that 
arc  brought  about  by  the  attempts  of  Lee  Bowman,  her  suitor, 
and  Charles  Winningcr,  her  father,  to  break  down  her 
resistance.  The  height  of  comedy  is  reached  in  the  situation 
where  Winninger  tricks  her  into  marrying  Bowman  by  lead- 
ing her  to  believe  that  she  was  participating  in  a  mock  mar- 
riage; the  manner  in  which  he  accomplishes  this  is  highly 
amusing.  Rosalind  Russell,  as  the  woman  doctor,  is  delight- 
ful; it  is  the  sort  of  role  her  fans  will  enjoy  seeing  her  play: — 

Through  the  impish  machinations  of  a  ticket  clerk,  Rosa- 
lind and  Bowman,  total  strangers,  are  sold  the  same  upper 
berth  on  a  train  bound  for  Chicago.  Bowman,  a  gay  war 
correspondent,  makes  the  most  of  the  mix-up  to  start  a 
romance  with  Rosalind,  but  she  brushes  him  off.  Respond- 
ing to  the  appeal  of  a  trainman  for  a  doctor,  Rasolind  goes 
to  the  aid  of  an  hysterical  Latin-American  blonde  (Adele 
Jergcns),  who  had  tried  to  kill  herself  because  she  fancied 
that  her  kisses  were  fatal  to  men.  Rosalind  offers  to  try  to 
cure  her  fixation  when  they  reach  Chicago.  On  the  follow- 
ing day,  Bowman,  still  romantically  inclined,  traces  Rosa- 
lind to  her  Chicago  home,  where  he  meets  Charles  Win- 
ninger, her  father,  who,  too,  was  a  psychiatrist.  Winninger 
takes  a  liking  to  Bowman  and  offers  to  help  break  down 
Rosalind's  resistance.  Meanwhile  Rosalind  busies  herself 
with  Adele,  and  learns  that  her  fixation  included  a  desire 
for  other  women's  men.  To  help  her,  Rosalind  conspires  to 
allow  Bowman  to  think  that  she  (Rosalind)  was  in  love 
with  him,  so  that  Adele  would  become  attracted  to  him.  In 
the  meantime  Winninger  tricks  Rosalind  into  marrying 
Bowman  under  the  guise  of  a  mock  marriage.  When  she 
learns  that  the  marriage  was  real,  Rosalind,  at  first  out- 
raged, soon  yields  to  Bowman's  kisses.  Their  embrace,  how- 
ever, is  followed  by  a  quarrel  when  Bowman  learns  that  she 
had  considered  yielding  to  him  just  to  make  him  interesting 
to  Adele.  Infuriated,  he  leaves  her,  threatening  to  take  up 
with  Adele.  The  prospect  of  losing  him  to  Adele  awakens 
Rosalind's  emotions,  and  it  all  ends  with  both  of  them 
sharing  the  same  upper  berth. 

Virginia  Van  Upp,  John  Jacoby,  and  Sarett  Tobias  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Miss  Van  Upp  produced  it,  and  Alexander 
Hall  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Harry  Davenport,  Sara 
Haden,  Percy  Kilbride  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


November  10, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


179 


"Detour"  with  Tom  Neal  and  Ann  Savage 

(PRC,  Hov.  30;  time,  68  min.) 

Martin  Goldsmith's  novel  about  the  misadventures  of  a 
well-intentioned  young  man,  who  hitchhikes  his  way  across 
country  to  join  his  sweetheart,  has  been  fashioned  into  an 
absorbing  melodrama  by  PRC;  it  should  make  a  strong  sup- 
porting feature,  for  it  grips  one's  interest  from  start  to  finish. 
Tom  Neal  and  Ann  Savage  give  outstanding  performances. 
As  the  young  man  who  is  victimized  by  a  blackmailing  tart, 
after  becoming  involved  innocently  in  an  accidental  death, 
Neal  interprets  a  difficult  role  with  deep  understanding. 
One  is  at  all  times  sympathetic  towards  him,  for  the  tragedy 
that  enters  his  life  is  caused  by  a  peculiar  set  of  circumstances 
that  place  him  in  an  untenable  position.  As  the  tart,  Ann 
Savage  is  cruel  and  ruthless,  yet  pitiable.  The  manner  in 
which  Neal  inadvertently  murders  her  is  ingenious.  Well 
produced  and  directed,  the  picture  sustains  a  tense  mood 
throughout: — 

Eager  to  join  his  sweetheart  (Claudia  Drake)  in  Holly- 
wood, Neal,  a  penniless  New  York  musician,  hitchhikes 
across  country.  In  Arizona,  he  is  given  a  lift  by  Edmund 
MacDonald,  a  dissipated  socialite,  who  had  run  away  from 
home  as  a  boy.  MacDonald,  observing  that  Neal  had  no- 
ticed a  bad  gash  on  his  arm,  explains  that  he  had  been 
clawed  by  a  girl  hitchhiker,  with  whom  he  had  become  too 
friendly.  While  Neal  drives,  MacDonald,  sleepy,  tumbles 
out  of  the  car  and  is  killed  accidentally.  Neal,  fearing  that 
he  would  be  accused  of  murder,  changes  identities  with  the 
dead  man,  and  continues  to  drive  the  car  toward  Los 
Angeles.  En  route,  he  offers  a  ride  to  Ann  Savage,  a  weary- 
looking  hitchhiker.  Ann,  uncommunicative  at  first,  sud- 
denly turns  to  Neal  and  asks  him  what  he  had  done  with 
MacDonald's  body;  he  soon  realizes  that  she  was  the  girl 
who  had  clawed  the  dead  man.  Neal  explains  his  innocence, 
but  Ann  threatens  to  turn  him  over  to  the  police  unless  he 
sells  the  car  and  gives  her  the  proceeds.  Helpless,  Neal 
agrees.  When  they  reach  Los  Angeles,  Ann  learns  from  a 
news  story  that  MacDonald's  father,  a  millionaire,  was 
dying,  and  that  he  wished  to  contact  his  missing  son.  She 
tries  to  compel  Neal  to  present  himself  as  the  missing  heir, 
offering  to  divide  the  inheritance  with  him.  When  Neal  re- 
fuses, Ann  picks  up  the  telephone  to  call  the  police.  Neal 
tries  to  stop  her  and,  in  the  ensuing  struggle,  the  telephone 
wire  forms  a  noose  around  her  neck,  strangling  her  acci- 
dentally. Blind  with  terror,  Neal  takes  to  the  road  again, 
but  he  is  soon  picked  up  by  the  police. 

Martin  Goldsmith  wrote  the  screen  play,  Leon  Fromkess 
and  Martin  Mooney  produced  it,  and  Edgar  G.  Ulmer  di- 
rected it. 

Not  suitable  for  children. 


"Girls  of  the  Big  House"  with  Lynne  Roberts 
and  Virginia  Christine 

(Republic,  N.ov.  2;  time,  68  min.) 

Just  a  moderately  entertaining  program  prison  melodrama. 
The  chief  fault  with  the  story  is  that  it  lacks  plausibility;  as 
for  instance  the  fact  that  the  heroine,  though  innocent,  con- 
fesses to  a  crime  and  goes  to  prison  rather  than  have  her 
father  learn  that  she  was  suspected.  There  is  mild  suspense 
here  and  there,  but  on  the  whole  the  doings  of  the  chief 
characters  are  not  so  interesting,  and  in  some  instances  un- 
believable. For  instance,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the 
heroine,  after  breaking  out  of  jail  with  the  greatest  of  ease, 
can  visit  her  home  town  for  a  few  days  without  being  caught 
by  the  police  who  were  searching  for  her,  particularly  since 
they  had  her  home  address  and  since  she  made  no  effort  to 
hide.  There  are  numerous  other  illogical  happenings.  The 
fairly  good  performances  of  the  players  saves  the  picture 
from  being  mediocre: — 

Although  innocently  involved  in  the  theft  of  a  wallet, 
Lynne  Roberts  confesses  to  the  crime  lest  her  father,  a  col- 
lege president,  learn  that  she  was  in  trouble.  In  prison,  she 
finds  herelf  in  the  company  of  Virginia  Christine,  an  habit- 


ual criminal,  and  of  Tala  Birell,  a  murderess,  who  had  mis- 
takenly killed  another  man  while  lying  in  wait  for  her  hus- 
band and  his  girl-friend.  Tala  was  unaware  that  Virginia 
was  the  woman  who  stole  her  husband.  Because  of  her  in- 
ability to  send  letters  to  her  father  without  the  prison  post- 
mark, Lynne  breaks  out  of  jail.  She  visits  her  home  town  and, 
after  spending  two  days  with  her  father  and  with  Richard 
Powers,  her  boy-friend,  a  young  attorney,  she  voluntarily 
returns  to  prison,  first  arranging  with  a  kindly  postmistress 
for  her  letters  to  reach  home  without  the  prison  postmark. 
Back  in  jail,  Lynne  is  punished  for  her  break.  Virginia, 
sympathizing  with  her,  manages  to  get  word  to  Powers  of 
her  plight.  Her  kindly  feelings  toward  Lynne  change,  how- 
ever, when  Tala's  husband  visits  the  prison  and  pays  undue 
attention  to  her.  Insanely  jealous,  Virginia  attacks  Lynne 
with  a  knife.  As  a  result  of  the  incident,  Tala  learns  of  Vir- 
ginia's association  with  her  husband,  and  kills  her.  Mean- 
while Powers,  having  investigated  into  the  cause  of  Lynne's 
imprisonment,  proves  her  innocence  and  gains  her  freedom. 

Houston  Branch  wrote  the  screen  play,  Rudolph  E.  Abel 
produced  it,  and  George  Archainbaud  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Adele  Mara  and  others. 

Not  suitable  for  children. 


"Allotment  Wives"  with  Kay  Francis 
and  Paul  Kelly 

(Monogram,  T^ov.  17;  time,  80  min.) 

As  entertainment,  this  crime  melodrama  is  just  fair,  but 
it  may  do  better  than  average  business  because  of  its  timely, 
exploitable  subject — women  bigamists  who  marry  several 
servicemen  to  collect  allotment  and  insurance  benefits  from 
the  Government,  a  practice  that  has  received  wide  public- 
ity in  the  nation's  newspapers.  A  gangster-picture  formula 
has  been  employed  to  tell  the  story,  which  deals  with  the 
machinations  of  a  crime  ring  that  organizes  the  women  and 
teaches  them  how  to  prey  on  servicemen,  offering  them  pro- 
tection in  return  for  a  share  of  the  benefits  collected.  It  is  a 
rather  sketchily  told  tale,  involving  murder,  kidnapping, 
and  blackmail,  and  occasionally  it  resorts  to  preachment. 
Paul  Kelly,  as  the  secret  investigator  who  exposes  and 
smashes  the  crime  syndicate,  is  believable,  but  Kay  Francis, 
as  head  of  the  ring,  and  Otto  Kruger,  as  her  lieutenant,  fail 
to  make  their  characterizations  convincing: — 

Kelly,  a  colonel  in  the  Army,  is  asked  by  the  Office  of 
Dependency  Benefits  to  investigate  the  increase  of  bigamous 
claims.  Posing  as  a  reporter,  Kelly  soon  establishes  that  a 
crime  syndicate  had  organized  the  racket,  and  he  sets  out 
to  find  its  leaders.  In  the  course  of  his  investigation,  he 
makes  the  acquaintance  of  Kay  Francis,  a  socially  promi- 
nent businesswoman,  unaware  that  she  was  the  secret  leader 
of  the  ring.  Kay,  a  reform  school  "graduate,"  had  turned 
to  organized  crime  in  order  to  give  her  daughter  (Teala 
Loring)  the  better  things  in  life.  She  cleverly  uses  her  friend- 
ship with  Kelly  to  check  on  his  movements.  When  Gertrude 
Michael,  one  of  the  "allotment  wives,"  learns  of  Kay's  con- 
nection with  the  ring,  she  attempts  to  blackmail  her.  Failing 
this,  she  entices  Kay's  daughter,  a  weak  sort,  away  from 
home  and  persuades  her  to  enter  the  easy  life  of  an  "allot- 
ment wife."  Kay,  frantic,  murders  Gertrude.  Meanwhile 
Kelly,  in  a  round-up  of  the  "allotment  wives,"  finds  Teala. 
Kay,  learning  that  Teala  was  with  Kelly,  orders  her  hench- 
men to  recover  the  girl.  Guided  by  Kay,  the  gangsters  raid 
Kelly's  office  and  succeed  in  their  mission,  but  Kay  inad- 
vertently leaves  behind  a  clue  that  reveals  her  to  Kelly  as 
the  secret  leader.  Kelly  and  the  police  rush  to  Kay's  home, 
arriving  in  time  to  prevent  her  from  leaving  town.  In  the 
struggle  that  ensues,  Kay  and  her  henchmen  are  shot  to 
death. 

Harvey  N.  Gates  and  William  Austin  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Jeffrey  Bernard  and  Miss  Francis  produced  it,  and 
William  Nigh  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Bernard  Bedell, 
Anthony  Warde,  Sclmcr  Jackson  and  others. 

Not  suitable  ior  children. 


180 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  10,  1945 


encouragement  would  serve  to  heighten  competition 
among  producers,  and  thus  give  to  the  exhibitors,  not 
only  better  selectivity  of  pictures,  but  also  a  better 
bargaining  position.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  this  paper 
is  interested  in  the  expansion  of  independent  produc- 
tion. 

From  what  has  transpired  thus  far  in  the  New 
York  anti-trust  trial,  one  is  left  with  the  impression 
that  the  independent  producers  are  not  too  badly  off 
under  the  present  set- up  of  distribution  and  exhibition. 
Such  an  impression,  however,  is  at  variance  with  the 
views  expressed  privately  by  several  independent  pro- 
ducers, views  that  should  be  expressed  openly  if  inde- 
pendent production  is  to  forge  ahead  in  this  business. 

This  paper  realizes  that  some  independent  pro- 
ducers may  not  care  to  express  their  views  lest  their 
standing  with  the  major  companies  be  endangered, 
but  it  firmly  believes  that  the  only  way  to  dispose  of 
an  evil  is  to  give  it  wide  publicity.  The  time  has  come 
for  the  independent  producers  to  take  courage,  and  to 
make  known  the  conditions  under  which  they  sell 
their  product.  If  they  are  content  with  the  present 
system  under  which  their  pictures  are  distributed, 
they  should,  in  all  fairness  to  the  distributors  who 
handle  their  product,  come  out  and  say  so.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  are  not  content,  if  they  have  griev- 
ances, they  should,  in  fairness  both  to  themselves  and 
the  independent  exhibitors,  give  expression  to  their 
protests.  In  either  case,  by  breaking  their  silence,  they 
will  benefit  the  industry  as  a  whole. 

Harrison's  Reports  will  gladly  open  up  its  col- 
umns to  any  independent  producer  who  may  wish  to 
have  his  say  on  the  subject. 

"Danny  Boy"  with  Robert  "Buzzy"  Henry 
and  "Ace" 

(PRC,  December  5;  time,  64  min.) 

A  pleasing  program  picture,  revolving  around  a 
young  boy's  devotion  for  his  dog.  It  is  a  simple  story, 
offering  nothing  in  the  way  of  surprises,  and  it  un- 
folds in  a  manner  one  expects,  but  it  contains  enough 
human  interest  and  pathos  to  put  it  across  with  non- 
critical  family  audiences.  Discriminating  patrons, 
however,  may  find  the  proceedings  too  slow,  as  well 
as  mawkishly  sentimental.  The  picture  should  have  a 
particular  appeal  for  children  since  most  of  the  action 
centers  around  a  group  of  young  boys.  "Ace,"  the  dog, 
gives  an  extremely  good  account  of  himself  as  a  war- 
dog  who  returns  to  civilian  life  completely  bewildered 
by  the  transition.  "Buzzy"  Henry,  as  the  dogs  young 
master,  who,  through  loving  care  and  patience,  helps 
the  animal  to  adjust  himself  to  a  post-war  life,  is  an 
ingratiating  youngster.  The  melodramatic  twists  of 
the  plot  are  not  very  creditable,  but  they  should  make 
a  hit  with  the  kids  on  Saturday  afternoons: — 

When  his  dog,  "Danny  Boy,"  returns  from  the 
war,  "Buzzy"  and  his  Boy  Scout  troop  give  him  a 
hero's  welcome.  "Buzzy,"  at  first  dismayed  to  find  the 
dog  apathetic  and  disinterested,  treats  him  with  kind- 
ness and  succeeds  in  winning  back  his  affection. 
Walter  Soderling,  a  grouchy  neighbor,  takes  a  dis- 
like to  the  animal  and  sets  out  on  a  campaign  to  con- 
vince the  townspeople  that  "Danny  Boy"  was  vicious 
and  a  menace  to  the  community.  Failing,  Soderling 
conspires  with  an  unscrupulous  fruit  dealer  to  steal 
the  dog.  "Danny  Boy,"  after  several  days  of  cruel 
treatment  on  the  dealer's  ranch,  frees  himself  and 
makes  his  way  back  to  his  distracted  young  master. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


On  the  following  day,  the  dog,  noticing  Soderling  and 
the  fruit  dealer  together,  attacks  them.  Claiming  that 
the  attack  was  without  justification,  both  men  prefer 
charges  in  Court,  with  the  result  that  "Danny  Boy" 
is  sentenced  to  death.  Ralph  Lewis,  an  ex-Marine  and 
close  friend  of  "Buzzy  s,"  is  appointed  by  the  judge 
to  carry  out  the  sentence.  Lewis  takes  the  animal  out 
into  the  woods,  and  delays  as  long  as  possible  his  pain- 
ful duty.  Meanwhile  "Buzzy's"  Boy  Scout  troop  had 
discovered  evidence  proving  that  Soderling  and  the 
fruit  dealer  had  mistreated  the  dog.  Led  by  "Buzzy," 
the  boys  pedal  their  bicycles  furiously,  reaching  the 
woods  in  time  to  halt  the  execution,  as  well  as  to  wit- 
ness "Danny  Boy  s"  heroic  rescue  of  a  baby  in  the 
path  of  a  train.  It  ends  with  the  arrest  of  the  villains, 
and  with  the  restoration  of  the  dog  to  his  proud 
owner. 

Raymond  L.  Schrock  wrote  the  screen  play,  Leon 
Fromkess  and  Martin  Mooney  produced  it,  and  Terry 
Morse  directed  it. 


"The  Strange  Mr.  Gregory"  with 
Edmund  Lowe  and  Jean  Rogers 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  63  min.) 

For  exhibitors  who  cater  to  audiences  that  enjoy 
murder  melodramas,  this  is  fairly  good  program  en- 
tertainment. Mysticism  serves  as  the  background  for 
the  story,  making  the  proceedings  highly  implausible, 
but  since  it  has  been  handled  competently,  and  since  it 
offers  several  novel  twists,  one's  interest  is  held  from 
start  to  finish.  Some  of  the  situations  bring  about  con- 
siderable suspense,  particularly  in  the  closing  scenes, 
where  the  murderer,  unmasked,  attempts  to  kill  the 
heroine.  Edmund  Lowe,  as  the  sinister  mystic,  makes 
a  suave  villain.  The  manner  in  which  he  feigns  his 
own  "murder,"  so  that  the  husband  of  the  woman  he 
loved  would  be  committed  to  prison  for  the  crime, 
is  intriguing: — 

Lowe,  a  professional  magician,  experiments  in  psy- 
chic matters  and,  with  the  aid  of  Frank  Reicher,  his 
servant,  succeeds  in  putting  himself  in  a  death  trance. 
Fascinated  by  Lowe's  feats  of  magic  on  the  stage,  Don 
Douglas,  an  amateur  magician,  and  Jean  Rogers,  his 
wife,  invite  him  to  their  home.  Lowe  falls  in  love  with 
Jean,  but  her  husband  stands  in  his  way.  To  rid  him- 
self of  Douglas,  Lowe  incites  his  jealousy  and,  through 
his  ability  to  put  himself  in  a  death  trance,  makes  it 
appear  as  if  Douglas  had  murdered  him.  The  death 
trance  fools  the  authorities,  and  Douglas  is  charged 
with  the  murder.  Several  days  later,  Lowe  leaves  his 
crypt  and  murders  his  servant  to  keep  him  silent.  He 
then  assumes  the  identity  of  his  own  "brother,"  a 
fictitious  personality,  which  he  had  been  careful  to 
establish  before  his  "murder,"  and  testifies  in  Douglas' 
behalf  that  his  "dead  brother"  was  insane.  Although 
Douglas  is  convicted,  Lowe,  as  the  "brother,"  wins 
Jean's  gratitude  and  love.  But  Marjorie  Hoshelle, 
Jean's  girl-friend,  becomes  suspicious  of  his  move- 
ments. Together  with  Jonathan  Hale,  the  defense 
attorney,  she  starts  a  private  investigation  and,  after 
a  series  of  mystifying  events,  uncovers  evidence  of  the 
hoax.  They  call  the  police  and  rush  to  Jean's  home  to 
save  her,  arriving  just  as  Lowe  is  about  to  strangle  her. 
He  tries  to  escape,  but  a  policeman's  bullet  ends  his 
life. 

Charles  S.  Belden  wrote  the  screen  play,  Louis 
Berkoff  and  Edward  Kovacs  produced  it,  and  Phil 
Rosen  directed  it. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879, 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Hates:  1270  SIXTH  AVENUE  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  R«nm  1  ftl  2  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  ivuuui  ioia  Publisher 

Canada                             16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  A  Motion  picture  Rawing  Service   

Oreat  Britain  . ...........  10.10  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Jtg  ^j^^,  PoliCy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  17,  1945  No.  46 


IN  DIVISION  THERE'S  WEAKNESS 

It  took  a  powerful  Hollywood  strike  to  convince 
the  Warner  Brothers  that  they  cannot  play  the  'lone 
wolf  in  the  motion  picture  industry. 

When  the  strike  got  beyond  the  control  of  the 
authorities,  when  automobiles  were  overturned,  heads 
cracked,  ribs  busted — when  it  became  necessary  to 
use  tear  gas  and  firemen's  hose  to  disperse  the  pickets, 
it  dawned  on  the  Warners  that  they'll  have  to  play 
ball  with  the  other  studios.  The  realisation  of  it  be' 
came  more  forceful  when  the  strikers'  officials,  know 
ing  that  the  Warner  Brothers  company  had  with- 
drawn from  the  Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Dis- 
tributors  of  America,  now  headed  by  Eric  Johnston, 
singled  out  its  studio  for  picketing,  and  demanded 
damages  for  those  pickets  who  had  been  injured  in 
the  rioting. 

Harrison's  Reports  has  always  admired  the  War- 
ners  for  their  independent  attitude,  for  it  hoped  that 
their  rebellious  conduct  would  in  some  way  benefit 
the  independent  theatre  owners,  struggling  to  make 
a  living;  but  this  strike  has  proved  that,  though  the 
independents  may  benefit  in  some  way  from  their 
attitude,  they  also  ran  the  risk  of  losing  those  benefits 
in  other  ways,  for  during  the  strike,  production  at  the 
Warner  studio  suffered,  just  as  it  did  at  the  other 
studios,  despite  the  producers'  assertions  that  pro- 
duction  went  on  uninterruptedly. 

The  theory  that  applies  to  the  Warners  applies 
also  to  the  independent  exhibitors,  leaving  out  of 
consideration  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of 
America,  which  is  purely  and  simply  an  organization 
that  is  subsidized  by  the  producers,  there  are  regional 
organizations  that  are  not  affiliated  with  the  recog- 
nized independent  exhibitor  organization — Allied 
States  Association,  because,  either  they  fear  losing 
their  independence  of  action,  or  some  of  the  members 
as  well  as  the  officers  of  such  organizations  dislike  this 
or  that  Allied  officer,  either  national  or  state. 

If  a  sectional  exhibitor  organization  hopes  to  bring 
any  benefits  to  its  members,  it  must  be  part  of  a  larger 
organization,  one  of  national  stature,  so  that  the  sec- 
tional organization  may  add  its  strength  to  the  strength 
of  the  organizations  that  form  the  larger  unit. 

Harrison's  Reports  recognizes  the  fact  that  the 
Pacific  Coast  Conference  of  Independent  Exhibitors 
and  a  few  other  organizations  are  cooperating  whole- 
heartedly with  National  Allied,  and  it  commends 
them  for  their  cooperative  spirit;  but  it  also  believes 
that,  as  commendable  as  is  this  attitude,  it  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  bring  to  the  members  all  the  benefits  they  are 
entitled  to.  If  some  of  the  Allied  policies  are  not,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  officers  of  these  units,  satisfactory, 
the  place  where  their  opinions  should  be  expressed  is 


within  the  ranks  of  Allied's,  and  not  without. 
Since  Allied  States  Association  is  functioning  along 
democratic  lines,  where  the  majority  opinion  prevails, 
it  is  unthinkable  that  any  member  from  within  the 
ranks  will  fail  to  convince  the  other  members  as  well 
as  the  organization's  officers  that  a  certain  policy 
should  be  abandoned  as  being  detrimental  to  the  mem- 
bership. It  is  only  necessary  for  him  to  prove  the  policy 
wrong  to  win  over  the  other  members. 

If  in  union  there  is  strength,  let  there  be  union! 


WILL  THE  NEW  PAC 
BE  LIKE  THE  OLD  WAC? 

Members  of  the  present  War  Activities  Committee 
feel  that  the  idea  of  the  committee  should  be  perpetu- 
ated. And  so  they  have  set  out  to  perpetuate  it  by 
forming  a  new  committee,  to  be  known  as  the  Peace- 
time Activities  Committee. 

The  functions  of  the  new  committee  will  be  to  keep 
a  lookout  on  legislation  affecting  the  interests  of  the 
industry  adversely,  and  to  consult  the  Government  on 
matters  of  reconversion  and  of  disposal  of  surplus 
property. 

If  the  function  of  the  new  committee  will  be  to  be 
kept  informed  of  where  and  when  is  contemplated  the 
introduction  of  legislation  affecting  the  interests  of 
production  and  exhibition  adversely,  Harrison's 
Reports  says  that  the  idea  is  well  thought  out;  but 
when  it  comes  to  consulting  the  Government  on  re- 
conversion and  on  the  disposition  of  surplus  property, 
then  this  paper  says  that  these  two  matters  are  alto- 
gether outside  the  knowledge,  and  the  competence,  of 
such  a  committee,  unless  they  mean  the  disposal  of 
surplus  moving  picture  property,  and  not  general 
property. 

But  before  exhibitors  will  give  full  endorsement  to 
the  idea,  they  will  naturally  want  to  know  whether 
the  new  committee  will  be  controlled  by  the  producer- 
distributors,  as  was  the  War  Activities  Committee,  or 
whether  the  independent  exhibitors  will  be  given  an 
equal  voice. 

Allied  States  Association  should  keep  an  eye  on 
the  formation  of  the  new  Peace-time  Activities  Com- 
mittee, to  see  to  it  that  the  independent  exhibitors  are 
given  an  equal  voice  in  its  management  and  in  its 
activities.  The  time  for  Allied  to  take  action  is  now 
and  not  after  the  committee  is  formed,  for  once  it  is 
formed,  complaints  against  its  activities  will  be  heeded 
as  much  as  were  the  complaints  against  the  actions  of 
the  members  of  the  War  Activities  Committee,  which 
is  being  disbanded.  Allied  should  send  inquiries  as  to 
the  purpose,  and  the  composition,  of  the  new  commit- 
tee so  that  its  proponents  may  commit  themselves  in 
writing  now. 


182 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  17,  1945 


"They  Were  Expendable"  with 
Robert  Montgomery  and  John  Wayne 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time.  135  mm.) 

Based  on  William  L.  White's  widely-read  book  of  the 
same  title,  "They  Were  Expendable"  is  a  high-rating  war 
melodrama,  and  a  stirring  tribute  to  the  valiant  officers  and 
crews  of  the  Navy's  P-T  boats,  which  played  an  all-import- 
ant part  in  harrasing  the  Japanese  invasions  at  the  start  of 
the  war.  The  production,  direction,  and  acting  are  first  rate. 
Void  of  "Hollywood  heroics,"  the  story  is  a  cheerless  but 
sincere  account  of  the  courageous  exploits  of  a  squadron  of 
P-T  boats,  based  in  the  Philippines.  It  is  a  realistic  depiction 
of  hardships,  discouragements,  and  sudden  death,  as  the 
brave  crews  carry  out  their  assignments  against  insurmount- 
able odds.  The  action  is  particularly  thrilling  in  the  scenes 
that  show  the  boats  slipping  into  Jap-infested,  mine-filled 
harbors  to  attack  and  sink  enemy  warships.  The  miniature 
work  in  these  scenes  is  most  impressive.  There  are  many 
dramatic  moments,  too,  such  as  the  evacuation  of  General 
MacArthur  and  his  family  from  bcleagured  Bataan.  A  pleas- 
ant, heart-warming  romance  between  an  army  nurse  and  an 
officer  has  been  worked  into  the  plot.  Although  the  picture 
deserves  top  rating  as  a  war  drama,  the  fact  remains  that 
the  story  it  tells  is  dated.  Accordingly,  this  fact,  coupled 
with  the  fact  that  many  picture-goers  have  had  their  fill  of 
war  pictures,  makes  the  extent  of  its  box-office  possibilities 
questionable : — 

Despite  the  complacency  of  their  commanding  officers, 
who  regarded  P-T  boats  as  little  more  than  pleasure  crafts, 
Lieutenants  Robert  Montgomery  and  John  Wayne  main- 
tain their  faith  in  the  boats  as  fighting  craft.  They  are 
given  an  opportunity  to  prove  this  theory  when  the  Philip- 
pines are  blockaded  after  the  Pearl  Harbor  attack.  Before 
long,  their  courageous  raids  account  for  many  Jap  vessels, 
and  they  become  a  most  important  factor  in  the  stalling  of 
the  Jap  invasion.  With  but  four  boats  remaining  of  their 
squadron,  Montgomery  and  Wayne  receive  their  most  im- 
portant assignment — the  evacuation  of  General  MacArthur 
and  other  high-ranking  officers  from  Bataan.  They  complete 
the  hazardous  journey  at  the  cost  of  two  of  their  ships,  but 
they  succeed  in  delivering  their  human  cargo  to  its  desti- 
nation. Their  mission  completed,  Montgomery  and  Wayne 
continue  their  raids  on  Jap  shipping.  Eventually,  both  crews 
are  separated  during  a  desperate  encounter,  with  Wayne 
losing  his  ship  when  it  is  bombed  by  a  Jap  plane,  and  with 
Montgomery  beaching  his  ship,  which  had  been  crippled. 
With  his  few  remaining  men,  Wayne  treks  through  the 
jungle  and  succeeds  in  finding  Montgomery.  As  both  leaders 
prepare  to  join  the  fleeing  army,  they  receive  orders  to  board 
the  last  plane  out  of  the  Philippines,  and  to  return  to  the 
United  States  to  train  new  P-T  crews. 

Frank  Wead,  Comdr.  U.S.N.  (Ret.)  wrote  the  screen 
play,  and  John  Ford,  Captain,  U.S.N.R.  produced  and 
directed  it.  Cliff  Reid  was  associate  producer.  The  cast 
includes  Donna  Reed,  Jack  Holt,  Ward  Bond,  Marshall 
Thompson  and  many  others. 


"The  Dal  tons  Ride  Again"  with  Alan  Curtis, 
Kent  Taylor,  Noah  Beery,  Jr. 
and  Lon  Chaney 

(Universal,  N.ou.  23;  time,  72  min.) 
A  fair  program  Western.  Its  title  may  serve  to  draw 
patrons  who  will  remember  "When  the  Daltons  Rode," 
which  was  a  highly  entertaining  action  melodrama,  produced 
by  Universal  in  1940.  This  one,  however,  is  essentially  a 
picture  for  the  avid  followers  of  Westerns;  though  it  has 
plentiful  action,  good  horseback  riding,  and  exciting  gun- 
play, it  does  not  offer  anything  in  the  way  of  story  or  of 
treatment  that  is  unusual.  A  routine  romance  is  worked 
into  the  plot.  The  flashback  method  is  employed  to  tell 
the  story: — 

Following  the  ambush  and  killings  of  his  notorious 
brothers  by  a  posse,  Alan  Curtis,  badly  wounded,  goes  on 
trial  for  his  life.  Urged  by  Martha  O'Driscoll,  his  sweetheart, 


to  defend  himself.  Curtis  tells  the  court  that  he  and  his 
brothers  (Noah  Beery,  Jr.,  Lon  Chaney,  and  Kent  Taylor) 
had  been  fleeing  to  Argentina  after  committing  a  series  of 
bank  robberies.  Passing  through  Skeleton  Creek,  they  had 
stopped  to  rest  their  horses  on  the  ranch  of  an  old  friend, 
who  later  had  been  murdered  mysteriously.  He  and  his 
brothers  had  investigated  the  murder  and  had  learned  that 
a  gang  of  land-crooks,  headed  by  Thomas  Gomez  and 
Walter  Sandc,  had  been  murdering  ranchers  and  crushing 
their  widows  to  gain  control  of  their  lands.  They  had  taken 
steps  to  protect  their  friend's  widow,  but  Sande,  having 
learned  that  they  were  hunted  bank  robbers,  had  committed 
numerous  crimes  and  had  placed  the  blame  on  them,  com- 
pelling them  to  flee.  Curtis,  having  fallen  in  love  with 
Martha,  daughter  of  John  Litel,  a  militant  publisher,  had 
decided  to  give  himself  up.  The  land-crooks,  however,  had 
attempted  to  hang  him  without  a  fair  trial,  and  he  had  been 
rescued  by  his  brothers,  who  then  had  helped  him  to  smash 
and  expose  the  gang.  After  surrendering  to  the  sheriff, 
Curtis  had  learned  that  his  brothers  were  on  their  way  to 
rob  a  bank  in  a  nearby  town,  and  that  a  posse  was  lying  in 
wait  for  them.  He  had  escaped  from  jail  to  warn  them,  but 
had  arrived  to<i  late.  The  judge  sentences  Curtis  to  life 
imprisonment  for  his  crimes,  but  leaves  him  a  ray  of  hope 
that  he  will  some  day  be  free  because  of  his  efforts  against 
the  land-crooks. 

Roy  Chanslor  and  Paul  Gangelin  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Howard  Wclsch  produced  it,  and  Ray  Taylor  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Jess  Barker,  Milburn  Stone  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Too  Young  to  Know"  with  Joan  Leslie 
and  Robert  Hutton 

(Warner  Bros..  Dec.  1;  time,  86  min.) 

This  is  no  more  than  a  fair  domestic  drama,  of  program 
grade.  Due  to  the  moss-covered  theme,  which  has  not  been 
accorded  any  new  or  unusual  twists,  and  also  to  the  fact 
that  the  hero  and  heroine  break  up  their  marriage  over  a 
trivia]  matter,  the  picture  is  unable  to  enlist  more  than  a 
lukewarm  interest  in  what  takes  place.  Moreover,  it  is  too 
talky.  One  sympathizes  with  the  heroine,  for  she  had  given 
the  hero  no  cause  for  divorce,  but  it  is  difficult  for  one  to 
become  interested  in  the  hero,  a  boorish  fellow,  who  could 
not  control  his  temper;  such  a  character  would  do  well  for 
a  villain  but  hardly  for  a  hero.  It  has  a  few  appealing  situa- 
tions and  some  human  interest,  but  on  the  whole  its  dramatic 
effect  is  weak  because  the  story  lacks  sound  motivation : — 

Joan  Leslie,  a  young  girl  with  a  desire  for  a  movie  career, 
and  Robert  Hutton,  a  mechanically-minded  young  man, 
marry  after  a  whirlwind  courtship.  A  conflict  arises  between 
them  because  of  the  constant  visits  paid  to  their  home  by 
Joan's  movie-struck  friends;  Hutton  looked  upon  these 
friends  as  a  threat  to  the  stability  of  his  marriage.  One  night, 
Hutton  embarrasses  Joan  by  insulting  her  friends  and  by 
ordering  them  to  leave.  They  quarrel  and,  shortly  thereafter, 
are  divorced.  Three  years  later,  in  India,  Hutton,  now  an 
officer  in  the  air  force,  meets  Dolores  Moran,  one  of  Joan's 
girl-friends,  and  learns  that  Joan  had  given  birth  to  a  son 
shortly  after  he  had  left  her.  He  learns  also  that  she  had 
permitted  the  child  to  be  adopted  by  another  couple  im- 
mediately after  birth.  Infuriated  by  Joan's  actions,  Hutton 
obtains  a  leave  of  absence  and  returns  to  the  United  States 
to  find  his  son.  He  visits  Joan  and  berates  her,  despite  her 
claim  that  she  was  heartbroken  at  not  having  the  child  with 
her,  and  that  she  had  permitted  the  infant's  adoption  only 
because  of  her  inability  to  support  him.  Since  even  Joan 
could  not  tell  him  of  the  identity  of  the  couple  who  had 
adopted  the  infant,  Hutton  enlists  the  aid  of  Harry  Daven- 
port, a  children's  court  judge.  Davenport,  a  kindly  and 
understanding  man,  patiently  reconciles  the  differences  be- 
tween Joan  and  Hutton,  re-marries  them,  and,  as  a  wedding 
gift,  presents  them  with  their  child. 

Jo  Pagano  wrote  the  screen  play,  William  Jacobs  produced 
it,  and  Frederick  de  Cordova  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Rosemary  DeCamp,  Arthur  Shields  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


November  17,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


183 


"What  Next,  Corporal  Hargrove"  with 
Robert  Walker  and  Keenan  Wynn 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  95  min.) 

This  sequel  to  "See  Here,  Private  Hargrove,"  is  an  amus- 
ing entertainment;  one  is  kept  chuckling  from  start  to  finish. 
This  time  the  locale  is  France,  during  the  liberation  of  that 
country  by  the  Allies,  and  once  again  the  story  concerns 
itself  with  the  laugh-provoking  misadventures  of  Robert 
Walker,  as  the  well-meaning  "Hargrove,"  whose  troubles 
for  the  most  part  stem  from  the  machinations  of  Keenan 
Wynn,  as  "Mulvehill,"  his  cunning  buddy.  There  are 
several  spots  that  provoke  hearty  laughter;  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  there  is  hardly  a  dull  moment,  for  the  players  are 
helped  along  by  the  well  written  dialogue  and  by  the  well 
conceived  farcical  situations.  Since  the  story  deals  with  the 
humorous  side  of  army  life,  and  since  it  contains  nothing  to 
remind  one  of  the  grim  aspects  of  war,  most  audiences 
should  find  it  acceptable: — 

Leading  a  mobile  gun  crew  on  the  drive  through  France, 
Walker  loses  his  way  and  stumbles  into  a  French  village, 
where  he  is  hailed  by  the  mayor  (Hugo  Haas)  as  the  town's 
liberator.  Because  of  his  felicitous  relations  with  the  towns- 
people, Walker,  together  with  his  buddy,  Keenan  Wynn,  is 
assigned  to  cement  Allied  relations  with  the  village  authori- 
ties. Walker  does  a  fine  job  of  public  relations,  but  in  its 
handling  he  becomes  uncomfortably  involved  with  the 
mayor's  daughter,  Jean  Porter,  who  pursued  him.  Mean- 
while Wynn,  seeking  to  hoodwink  the  townspeople,  is  him- 
self taken  in  by  a  villager,  who  sells  him  a  map  that  pur- 
portedly showed  where  a  large  quantity  of  valuable  watches 
were  buried  in  a  Paris  cellar.  In  the  course  of  events,  Walker 
and  Wynn  lose  their  way  while  en  route  to  a  supply  depot, 
and  stumble  into  Paris  by  mistake.  Their  attempt  to  dig  up 
the  non-existant  treasure  leads  to  their  arrest  on  charges  of 
being  AWOL.  Wynn  persuades  their  battery  chaplain  to 
intercede  for  them,  telling  him  a  false  story  about  Walker's 
anxiety  to  get  out  of  jail  to  marry  the  mayor's  daughter, 
who  had  come  to  Paris  to  meet  him.  Touched  by  their 
plight,  the  chaplain  gains  their  release,  but  he  discovers  the 
hoax  on  the  following  day  and  indignantly  orders  them 
back  to  camp.  Walker,  tired  of  Wynn's  tricks,  breaks  with 
him  and  returns  to  camp  alone.  As  the  zero  hour  approaches 
for  the  battery  to  move  into  action,  Walker  discovers  Wynn 
missing.  Risking  court  martial,  Walker,  accompanied  by  his 
sergeant  (Chill  Wills),  sneaks  back  to  Paris  to  find  his  erst- 
while buddy.  Together,  they  find  Wynn  drunk  and  disorder- 
ly and,  after  extricating  him  from  a  jam  with  the  gendarmes, 
race  back  to  the  battery  in  the  nick  of  time. 

Harry  Kurnitz  wrote  the  story  and  screenplay,  George 
Haight  produced  it,  and  Richard  Thorpe  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Sing  Your  Way  Home"  with  Jack  Haley, 
Marcy  McGuire  and  Anne  Jeffreys 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  72  min.) 

Despite  its  thin,  unconvincing  story,  there  is  enough  en- 
tertainment in  this  comedy  with  music  to  make  it  a  fair 
supporting  feature.  It  is  one  of  those  pictures  in  which  some- 
one, at  the  slightest  provocation,  starts  to  sing  or  play  music. 
This  is  just  as  well,  for  the  music,  which  is  of  the  popular 
variety,  is  melodious,  while  the  story  is  hardly  worth  men- 
tioning. Here  and  there  the  comedy  sparkles,  but  for  the 
most  part  it  is  ineffective.  The  picture's  theme  song,  "I'll 
Buy  That  Dream,"  is  one  of  the  most  popular  tunes  of  the 
day.  "The  Lord's  Prayer,"  sung  by  Donna  Lee,  is  the  out- 
standing musical  bit: — 

Jack  Haley,  an  egotistic  war  correspondent,  seeking  to 
return  to  the  United  States  from  France,  learns  that  he  can 
obtain  passage  on  a  boat  only  by  acting  as  chaperone  to  a 
troupe  of  'teen-aged  American  entertainers,  who,  too,  were 
returning  home.  Haley  accepts  the  assignment  grudgingly, 
and  catches  Gleen  Vernon,  one  of  the  youngsters,  trying  to 
smuggle  Marcy  McGuire,  his  girl-friend,  into  the  troupe. 
Having  been  forbidden  to  send  news  dispatches  over  the 


ship's  radio,  Haley,  in  lieu  of  reporting  Marcy  as  a  stowaway, 
compels  her  to  send  his  dispatches  in  the  form  of  love  mes- 
sages to  a  mythical  sweetheart;  his  paper,  by  means  of  a 
"love"  code,  understood  the  messages.  Because  of  Haley's 
strict  edicts  against  romancing,  the  youngsters,  to  keep  him 
away  from  them,  engineer  a  romance  between  him  and  Anne 
Jeffreys,  a  returning  singer.  Complications  set  in  when 
Anne,  glimpsing  one  of  the  "love"  messages  Marcy  had 
written  for  Haley,  assumes  that  he  was  being  untrue  to  her; 
she  jealously  adds. a  sarcastic  postscript.  Decoded,  her  post- 
script meant  that  the  Allies  had  adopted  Haley's  world 
peace  plan.  Haley's  newspaper  headlines  the  amazing  story, 
causing  international  complications.  As  a  result,  Haley  is 
arrested  when  his  boat  docks,  and  he  finds  himself  in  the 
same  cell  with  his  furious  editor  and  publisher.  Anne,  how- 
ever, learning  about  the  messages  from  Marcy,  explains 
matters  to  the  State  Department  and  gains  Haley's  release. 

William  Bowers  wrote  the  screen  play,  Bert  Granet  pro- 
duced it,  and  Anthony  Mann  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Danger  Signal"  with  Faye  Emerson 
and  Zachary  Scott 

(Warner  Bros.,  Dec.  15;  time,  78  mm.) 

An  interesting  program  melodrama,  with  psychological 
overtones,  well  directed  and  acted.  It  deals  with  the  machi- 
nations of  a  suave  murderer,  who  charms  his  way  into  the 
home  and  hearts  of  two  sisters,  switching  his  attentions 
from  one  to  the  other  because  of  her  money.  Though  slow- 
moving,  the  action  is  charged  with  considerable  suspense. 
One's  interest  is  aroused  right  at  the  start,  and  is  heightened 
as  the  story  unfolds,  reaching  a  climax  in  which  the  villain, 
to  escape  justice,  accidentally  plunges  over  a  steep  cliff  to 
his  death.  This  climax,  however,  is  so  abrupt  and  so  unex- 
pected that  it  loses  its  dramatic  punch.  Zachary  Scott,  as 
the  smooth-talking  villain,  is  properly  despicable.  The  pro- 
duction values  are  modest,  but  the  background  music  is 
very  effective: — 

Implicated  in  the  death  of  another  man's  wife,  Scott 
escapes  to  a  distant  city,  where,  posing  as  a  returned  veteran, 
he  obtains  a  room  in  the  home  of  Faye  Emerson,  a  public 
stenographer,  whose  constant  efforts  to  earn  enough  money 
to  support  her  mother  (Mary  Servoss)  and  her  sixteen-year- 
old  sister  (Mona  Freeman)  left  her  no  time  for  a  social  life. 
Faye,  easily  charmed  by  Scott's  engaging  manner,  falls  in 
love  with  him,  while  he  pretends  to  return  her  love.  Shortly 
afterwards,  Mona  returns  home  from  a  sanatorium  and, 
despite  her  knowledge  that  Faye  and  Scott  were  virtually 
engaged,  becomes  infatuated  with  him.  Scott,  learning  that 
Mona  was  to  inherit  $25,000,  transfers  his  affections  and 
sweeps  her  off  her  feet.  Faye  discovering  his  duplicity,  and 
seeking  to  save  Mona  from  him,  determines  to  kill  him. 
While  typing  some  papers  in  the  laboratory  of  Bruce 
Bennett,  a  shy  scientist  who  loved  her  but  lacked  the  for- 
titude to  tell  her,  Faye  steals  a  vial  of  poison.  Through  a 
ruse,  she  attracts  Scott  to  the  beach  home  of  a  friend  (Rose- 
mary DeCamp),  with  whom  he  had  started  a  flirtation.  His 
suspicions  are  quickly  dispelled  when  Faye  tells  him  that  she 
wanted  to  be  alone  with  him  in  an  attempt  to  win  him  back 
from  Mona.  Although  she  cannot  bring  herself  to  poison 
him,  Faye,  after  dining  with  him,  tortures  him  by  leading 
him  to  believe  that  he  had  been  poisoned.  She  makes  him 
beg  for  his  life  before  admitting  the  ruse.  Enraged,  he  rushes 
from  the  beach  house  only  to  find  himself  confronted  by  the 
husband  of  the  woman  he  had  slain.  In  his  haste  to  evade 
the  man,  Scott  stumbles  over  a  steep  cliff  to  his  death.  Their 
lives  back  to  normal,  Faye  responds  to  the  invigorated  at- 
tentions of  Bennett,  while  Mona  seeks  out  a  boy  her  own 
age. 

Adele  Commandini  and  Graham  Baker  wrote  the  screen 
play,  William  Jacobs  produced  it,  and  Robert  Florey  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Dick  Erman,  John  Ridgely  and 
others. 

Not  suitable  lor  children. 


184 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  17,  1945 


A  RESOLUTION  REGARDING 
COLLECTIONS  IN  THEATRES 

Mr.  Don  R.  Rossitcr,  executive  secretary  of  the 
Associated  Theatre  Owners  of  Indiana,  an  Allied 
affiliate,  has  sent  this  office  the  following  resolution: 

"WHEREAS,  the  Associated  Theatre  Owners  of 
Indiana,  Inc.,  in  Nineteenth  Annual  Convention  as- 
sembled  at  the  Indianapolis  Athletic  Club  on  Tues- 
day, November  6,  1945,  has  received  a  recommenda- 
tion from  its  Board  of  Directors  that  the  practice  of 
taking  collections  in  theatres  be  abandoned;  and 

"WHEREAS,  this  Convention  recognizes  that  the 
war  emergency  which  brought  about  the  practice  has 
passed;  and 

"WHEREAS,  it  is  further  recognized  that  it  is  the 
obligation  of  theatres  to  supply  entertainment  for 
paid  admissions  and  not  to  embarrass  their  patrons  by 
asking  for  contributions  to  charitable  enterprises;  and 

"WHEREAS,  this  Convention  likewise  recognizes 
the  obligation  of  all  motion  picture  theatre  owners  to 
use  the  medium  of  their  screens  in  publicizing  all 
worthy  causes  to  promote  the  public  welfare; 

"NOW,  THEREFORE,  BE  IT  RESOLVED  that 
this  Convention  recommends  to  the  members  of  the 
Associated  Theatre  Owners  of  Indiana,  Inc.,  and  all 
other  independent  theatre  owners,  that  the  practice 
of  taking  collections  in  theatres  when  their  patrons 
are  trapped  in  their  seats,  be  abandoned,  and  that  their 
screens  be  used  to  support  all  proper  movements  for 
the  good  of  the  people; 

"BE  IT  FURTHER  RESOLVED  that  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Association  are  opposed  to  the  War  Ac- 
tivities Committee  of  the  Motion  Picture  Industry  or 
any  other  group  pledging  our  theatres  for  fund  rais- 
ing purposes  without  our  consent." 

"My  Name  is  Julia  Ross"  with  Nina  Foch, 
Dame  Mae  Whitty  and  George  Macready 

(Columbia,  November  27;  time,  65  min.) 

A  pretty  good  psychological  program  melodrama. 
An  ominous  mood  is  sustained  throughout  as  one 
follows  the  fate  of  the  terrified  heroine,  who  had  sud- 
denly discovered  that  her  new  employer  was  trying  to 
drive  her  insane  as  part  of  a  diabolical  plot  to  cover 
up  a  murder.  Suspense  is  brought  about  by  the  hero- 
ine's many  thwarted  attempts  to  either  escape  her 
imprisonment  or  make  known  her  plight  to  different 
persons  who  unwittingly  believed  that  she  was  men- 
tally unbalanced.  Its  action  is  slow-paced,  and  at 
times  it  falls  short  of  generating  the  excitement  in- 
tended, but  on  the  whole  the  story  is  intriguing  from 
beginning  to  end : — 

Desperately  in  need  of  a  job,  Nina  Foch  finds  em- 
ployment as  secretary  to  Dame  Mae  Whitty,  a 
wealthy  English  matron,  and  George  Macready,  her 
son,  who  insist  that  she  must  reside  with  them.  Nina 
hurries  to  her  rooming  house  to  pack  and  to  inform 
Roland  Varno,  her  boy-friend,  of  her  good  fortune. 
Arriving  at  Miss  Whitty 's  London  home,  Nina  is 
shown  to  her  room.  She  awakens  two  days  later  to 
find  that  she  had  been  moved  to  a  lonely,  mansion  on 
the  seacoast  of  Cornwall,  and  that  she  had  been 
drugged.  The  family  and  servants  treat  her  kindly, 
but  refer  to  her  as  "Marion,"  Macready 's  wife,  and 
insist  that  she  had  just  come  from  a  mental  institu- 
tion, after  a  nervous  breakdown.  Aware  that  Mac- 
ready  and  his  mother  were  trying  to  drive  her  insane, 
Nina  investigates  and  learns  that  Macready,  in  a  fit 


of  temper,  had  murdered  his  wife,  and  that  he  and 
his  mother,  by  representing  her  as  the  dead  woman, 
and  by  plotting  to  kill  her  in  a  manner  that  would 
indicate  suicide,  hoped  to  cover  up  evidence  of  Mac- 
ready's  crime.  Macready  and  his  mother  foil  Nina's 
every  attempt  to  escape  and  to  make  known  the  truth, 
but  she  manages  to  outwit  them  by  mailing  a  note  to 
her  boy-friend.  Through  a  hoax,  Nina  leads  Macready 
to  believe  that  she  had  committed  suicide  and,  in  the 
excitement,  escapes  from  the  mansion.  Macready, 
however,  discovers  the  trick  and  prepares  to  kill  her, 
but  she  is  saved  by  the  timely  arrival  of  her  boy- 
friend and  the  police. 

Muriel  Roy  Bolton  wrote  the  screen  play  from 
Anthony  Gilbert's  novel,  "The  Woman  in  Red." 
Wallace  MacDonald  produced  it,  and  Joseph  H. 
Lewis  directed  it  The  cast  includes  Anita  Bolster, 
Doris  Lloyd  and  others. 

Not  suitable  for  children. 


"Strange  Confession"  with  Lon  Chaney, 
J.  Carroll  Naish  and  Brenda  Joyce 

(Universal,  October  5;  time,  62  min.) 

This  murder  melodrama  docs  not  rate  as  anything 
higher  than  ordinary  program  fare.  Since  the  picture 
is  being  billed  as  an  "Inner  Sanctum  Mystery,"  this 
may  help  to  attract  patrons,  but  there  is  nothing 
mysterious  about  the  proceedings;  the  spectator  is 
aware  at  all  times  of  what  is  going  on.  The  story  is, 
in  fact,  an  unconvincing  mixture  of  melodrama  and 
domestic  tragedy,  slow  in  action  and  lacking  in  sus- 
pense. The  one  redeeming  feature  is  the  perform- 
ances of  the  players,  but  even  their  efforts  are  insuffi- 
cient to  hold  one's  interest  throughout: — 

Lon  Chaney,  a  brilliant  young  chemist,  who  be- 
lieved in  working  for  the  good  of  mankind,  brings  to 
his  attorney  a  bag  containing  the  head  of  his  former 
employer  (J.  Carroll  Naish),  and  relates  to  him  the 
story  of  why  he  had  killed  the  man.  Stating  that  Naish 
had  been  a  profit-mad  manufacturer  of  drugs,  Chaney 
relates  that  he  had  resigned  from  his  employ  upon  dis- 
covering that  his  uncompleted  experiments  on  new 
drugs  were  being  marketed  to  the  public  in  a  fraudu- 
lent manner.  After  several  months  in  a  low-paying 
job,  Chaney,  out  of  regard  for  his  wife  and  child 
(Brenda  Joyce  and  Gregory  Muradian),  had  accepted 
Naish's  offer  of  re-employment  on  the  promise  that 
his  experimental  drugs  would  not  be  exploited  until 
proved.  Naish  had  stolen  Chaney 's  uncompleted  notes 
on  a  experimental  drug  for  the  cure  of  influenza,  and, 
in  order  to  market  the  drug,  as  well  as  to  have  an  op- 
portunity to  be  attentive  to  Chaney 's  wife,  he  had  sent 
Chaney  to  South  America  to  complete  his  experi- 
ments on  the  influenza  cure.  While  Chaney  had  been 
away,  his  child  had  become  a  victim  of  an  influenza 
epidemic,  and  his  wife,  believing  that  the  marketed 
drug  had  been  perfected,  had  administered  it  to  the 
child,  who  had  died.  Meanwhile  Chaney,  concerned 
about  the  child,  had  returned  unexpectedly  from 
South  America.  Grieving  over  his  son's  death,  and 
learning  that  the  faulty  drug  had  failed  to  save  him, 
he  had,  in  retaliation,  decapitated  Naish.  Chaney 's 
attorney,  having  called  the  police  to  arrest  his  client, 
promises  to  defend  him  in  court. 

M.  Coates  Webster  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ben 
Pivar  produced  it,  and  John  Hoffman  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Milburn  Stone,  Lloyd  Bridges  and 
others. 

Not  suitable  for  children. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVII  NEW  YORK,  SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  17,  1945  No.  46 

(Partial  Index  No.  6 — Pages  158  to  180  Incl.) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Allotment  Wives — Monogram  (80  min.)  179 

Bad  Men  of  the  Border — Universal  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Border  Badman — PRC  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Club  Havana— PRC  (62  min.)   167 

Code  of  the  Lawless — Universal  (56  min.)  .  .not  reviewed 

Confidential  Agent — Warner  Bros.  (118  min.)  174 

Crime  Doctor's  Warning,  The — Columbia  (70  min.).  162 

Crimson  Canary — Universal  (64  min.)  175 

Dakota — Republic  (82  min.)   178 

Danny  Boy— PRC  (64  min.)   180 

Detour— PRC  (68  min.)   179 

Don't  Fence  Me  In — Republic  (71  min.)  ...  not  reviewed 

Fallen  Angel — 20th  Century-Fox  (97  min.)   170 

Fifth  Chair,  The — United  Artists 

(see  "It's  in  the  Bag")    23 

Frontier  Feud — Monogram  (54  min.)  not  reviewed 

Girls  of  the  Big  House — Republic  (68  min.)   179 

Hold  That  Blonde — Paramount  (77  min.)   158 

How  Do  You  Do— PRC  (80  min.)   178 

Kitty— Paramount   (92  min.)   163 

Lost  Trail,  The — Monogram  (58  min.)  not  reviewed 

People  Are  Funny — Paramount  (92  min.)  163 

Prairie  Rustlers — PRC  (58  min.)  not  reviewed 

Pursuit  to  Algiers — Universal  (65  min.)   170 

Riders  of  the  Dawn — Monogram  (58  min.)  .  .  .not  reviewed 
Rough  Riders  of  Cheyenne — Republic 

(56  min.)   not  reviewed 

Scotland  Yard  Investigator — Republic  (68  min.)  166 

Senorita  from  the  West — Universal  (63  min.)  166 

Sensation  Hunters — Monogram  (63  min.)  162 

Shadow  of  Terror— PRC  (63  min.)   158 

She  Went  to  the  Races — MGM  (86  min.)  166 

She  Wouldn't  Say  Yes — Columbia  (86  min.)   178 

Song  of  the  Prairie — Columbia  (69  min.)  .  ...not  reviewed 
South  of  the  Rio  Grande — Monogram  (62m.)  .not  reviewed 

Spanish  Main,  The— RKO  (101  min.)   158 

Spellbound — United  Artists  (110  min.)  175 

Spider,  The — 20th  Century-Fox  (61  min.)   162 

Strange  Mr.  Gregory,  The — Monogram  (63  min.)  .  .  .  180 

Stork  Club,  The — Paramount  (98  min.)   159 

Sunbonnet  Sue — Monogram  (90  min.)   160 

This  Love  of  Ours — Universal  (90  min.)   170 

Tiger  Woman — Republic  (57  min.)  174 

Trail  to  Vengeance — Universal  (54  min.)  .  .  .not  reviewed 

Voice  of  the  Whistler — Columbia  (60  min.)   174 

Wanderer  of  the  Wasteland — RKO  (67  min.)   160 

Yolanda  and  the  Thief— MGM  (108  min.)  167 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 
Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 
6020  The  Gay  Senorita — Falkenburg-Bannon  .  .  .  .Aug.  9 

6208  Rustlers  of  the  Badlands — Starrett  (58m.).. Aug.  16 

6001  Over  21 — Dunne-Knox  Aug.  23 

6027  Adventures  of  Rusty — Donaldson-Nagel  ...Sept.  6 
6015  I  Love  a  Bandleader — Harris-"Rochester"  .  .Sept.  13 

6209  Outlaws  of  the  Rockies — Starrett  (55  min.) Sept.  19 
Song  of  the  Prairie — Western  musical  (69m)Sept.  27 
She  Wouldn't  Say  Yes — Russell-Bowman  Nov. 

Specials 

A  Song  to  Remember — Muni-Oberon  Mar.  1 

Kiss  and  Tell — Temple-Abel  Oct  18 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 


Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

7022  Crime  Doctor's  Warning — Warner  Baxter  .  .Sept.  27 

7029  Girl  of  the  Limberlost — Nelson-Clifton  Oct.  11 

7201  Blazing  the  Western  Trail — Starrett  (55  m.)  Oct.  18 
7024  Voice  of  the  Whistler — Dix-Merrick  Oct.  30 

Prison  Ship — Lowery-Foch  Nov.  15 

Lawless  Empire — Charles  Starrett  Nov.  15 

Snafu — Parks-Lloyd  Nov.  22 

7023  My  Name  is  Julia  Ross — Foch-Macready  . .  .Nov.  27 

Hit  the  Hay — Canova-Hunter  Nov.  29 

Life  with  Blondie — Singleton-Lake  Dec.  13 

One  Way  to  Love — Carter-Morris  Dec.  20 

Texas  Panhandle — Starrett  Dec.  20 

Strange  Voyage — Bannon-Hunter  Dec.  27 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 
Block  12 

528  Thrill  of  a  Romance — Johnson-Williams  July 

529  Twice  Blessed — Lee  and  Lynn  Wilde  July 

530  Bewitched — Thaxter-Gwenn   July 

Specials 

500  Dragon  Seed — Hepburn-Huston  Aug. '44 

511  Thirty  Seconds  Over  Tokyo — Tracy-Johnson . .  January 

512  Meet  Me  in  St.  Louis — Garland-O'Brien  January 

521  National  Velvet — Rooney-Taylor  April 

527  Valley  of  Decision — Garson-Peck  June 

531  Anchors  Aweigh — Kelly-Sinatra-Grayson  ...Aug. '45 

m  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 
Block  13 

600  Our  Vines  Have  Tender  Grapes — 

Robinson-O'Brien  Sept. 

601  The  Hidden  Eye— Edward  Arnold  Sept. 

602  Abbott  &  Costello  in  Hollywood  Oct. 

603  Her  Highness  fe?  the  Bellboy — Lamar- Walker  .  .  .  .Oct. 

604  Dangerous  Partners — Craig-Hasso  Oct. 

Block  14 

606  What  Next,  Corporal  Hargrove? — 

Walker- Wynn  Not  set 

607  She  Went  to  the  Races — Craig-Gifford  Not  set 

608  Vacation  from  Marriage — Donat-Kerr   Not  set 

609  A  Letter  for  Evie — Hunt-Carroll  Not  set 

610  Yolanda  and  the  Thief — Astaire-Bremer  Not  set 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 

Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

462  Springtime  in  Texas — Wakely  (57  m.)  June  2 

424  Trouble  Chasers — Howard-Gilbert  June  2 

451  Flame  of  the  West — Brown-Woodbury  (70m.)  June  9 

41 1  Muggs  Rides  Again — East  Side  Kids  June  16 

405  China's  Little  Devils — Carey-Kelly  July  14 

456  Stranger  from  Santa  Fe — J.  M.  Brown 

(53  m.)   Aug.  4 

463  Saddle  Serenade — Wakely  (56  m.)  Aug.  11 

404  Divorce — Francis-Cabot  Aug.  18 

431  South  of  the  Rio  Grande — Renaldo  (62  m.) 

(re.)   Sept.  15 

412  Come  Out  Fighting — East  Side  Kids  (reset).  .Sept.  22 
415  The  Shanghai  Cobra — Sidney  Toler  (reset) .  .Sept.  29 
407  Sensation  Hunters — Lowery-Merrick  Oct.  1  3 

457  The  Lost  Trail— J.  M.  Brown  (58  m.)  (re.)...  Oct.  20 

464  Riders  of  the  Dawn — Jimmy  Wakely  (58  m.).Nov.  3 

458  Frontier  Feud — J.  M.  Brown  (54  m.)  Nov.  24 

452  Drifting  Along — J.  M.  Brown  Dec.  29 

(More  to  come) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

561  Lonesome  Trail — Jimmy  Wakely  Dec.  8 

505  Allotment  Wives — Francis-Kelly  Dec.  24 


November  17,  1945       HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway,  Hew  Tor^  18,  H-  V  ) 


Block  6 

4426  Out  of  this  World — Bracken-Lynn  July  13 

4427  Midnight  Manhunt — Gargan-Savage 

(formerly  "One  Exciting  Night")  July  27 

4428  You  Came  Along — Scott-Cummings  Sept.  14 

Special 


4431  Incendiary  Blonde — Hutton-De  Cordova. ..  Aug.  3 1 

Reissues 

4432  Sign  of  the  Cross — Colbert-March.  .No  nat'l  rel.  date 

4433  Northwest  Mounted  Police — Cooper-Carroll .  Aug.  26 


4434  This  Gun  for  Hire — Ladd-Lake  Aug.  26 

^  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Block  1 

4501  Duffy's  Tavern— Ed  Gardner  Sept.  28 

4504  Love  Letters — Jones-Cotton   Oct.  26 

4503  The  Lost  Weekend— Milland-Wyman   Nov.  16 

4502  Follow  That  Woman— Gargan-Kelly  Dec.  14 

Block  2 

4506  Hold  That  Blonde— Bracken-Lake  Nov.  23 

4507  Stork  Club— Hutton-Fitzgcrald   Dec.  28 

4508  People  are  Funny — Haley-Langford  Jan.  11 

4509  Kitty— Milland-Goddard  Jan.  25 

Block  3 

4513  Miss  Susie  Slagle's — Lake-Tufts   Feb.  8 

4512  Masquerade  in  Mexico — Lamour-DeCordova  Feb.  22 
4511  Tokyo  Rose — Barr-Massen   Mar.  8 

4514  Road  to  Utopia — Crosby-Hope  Mar.  22 


502  Girls  of  the  Big  House — Roberts-Powers  .  .  .  .Nov.  2 

563  Colorado  Pioneers — Bill  Elliott  Nov.  14 

504  Captain  Tugboat  Annie — Darwell-Kennedy  .  .Nov.  17 

503  An  Angel  Conies  to  Brooklyn — Dowd-Duke  .  Nov.  27 


RKO  Features 

( 1 270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Torfc  20,  H-  T.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  1 

601  Mama  Loves  Papa — Leon  Errol  

602  George  White's  Scandals — Haley-Davis  

603  The  Falcon  in  San  Francisco — Tom  Conway  . . 

604  Johnny  Angel — Raft-Trevor-Hasso  

605  Radio  Stars  on  Parade — Carney-Brown  

Block  2 

606  Man  Alive — O'Brien-Drew-Menjou   

607  First  Yank  Into  Tokyo—  Neal-Hale   

608  Isle  of  the  Dead— Karloff-Drew  

609  Wanderer  of  the  Wasteland — Warren-Long  . 

610  The  Spanish  Main — Henreid-O'Hara   

Block  3 

Cornered — Dick  Powell  

Dick  Tracy — Conway-Jeffreys  

Hotel  Reserve — English  cast  

Sing  Your  Way  Home— Haley-Jeffreys  

The  Spiral  Staircase — Brent-McGuire  

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper- Young  , 

651  Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  , 

691  Wonderful  Adventures  of  Pinocchio — (reissue) 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  22,  H-  T.) 


566  Stagecoach  Outlaws — Buster  Crabbe  (58m.) .  .Aug.  17 

519  Dangerous  Intruder — Arnt-Borg  (re.)  Aug.  21 

526  Apology  for  Murder — Savage-Beaumont  (re.)  Aug.  27 

563  Frontier  Fugitives — Texas  Rangers  ( 55  m.) ...  Sept.  1 
528  Arson  Squad — Albertson-Armstrong  Sept.  1 1 

567  Border  Badman — Buster  Crabbe  (59  m.)  Oct.  10 

564  Flaming  Bullets — Texas  Rangers  (61  m.)  Oct.  15 

568  Fighting  Bill  Carson— Buster  Crabbe  (55m.).  .Oct.  31 
525  Shadow  of  Terror — Fraser-Gillhorn  (re.).  .  .  .Nov.  5 

111  White  Pongo — Fraser-Wrixon  Not  set 

222  Why  Girls  Leave  Home — Blake-Leonard  Not  set 

(More  to  come) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

651  Prairie  Rustlers — Buster  Crabbe  (58  m.)  Nov.  7 

Song  of  Old  Wyoming- — Dean-Holt  67  m.) . .  .Nov.  12 

The  Navajo  Kid— Bob  Steele  Nov.  21 

Enchanted  Forest — Lowe- Joyce  Dec.  8 

Club  Havana — Ncal  Lindsay  Nov.  23 

Detour — Neal  Savage   Nov.  30 

Danny  Boy — Robert  "Buzzy"  Henry  Dec.  5 

How  Do  You  Do? — Bert  Gordon  Dec.  17 

The  Flying  Serpent — Zucco-Kramer  Dec.  26 

Strangler  of  the  Swamp — LaPlanche-Barrat.  .  .Jan.  1 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway.  Hew  Tor^  19,  H-  T.) 

443  Man  from  Oklahoma — Roy  Rogers  (68  min.)  .Aug.  1 

425  Tell  It  to  a  Star — Livingston-Terry  Aug.  16 

426  Swingin'  on  a  Rainbow — Frazee-Taylor  Sept.  1 

429  Behind  City  Lights — Roberts-Cookson  Sept.  10 

427  The  Fatal  Witness — Ankers-Fraser  Sept.  15 

428  Love,  Honor  and  Goodbye — Bruce-McLaglen  Sept.  15 

444  Sunset  in  Eldorado — Roy  Rogers  (65  min.).  .Sept.  29 

445  Don't  Fence  Me  In — Roy  Rogers  (71  min.)  .  .Oct.  20 

430  The  Tiger  Woman — Richmond-Grey   Nov.  16 

431  Mexicana — Guizar-Moore   Not  set 

(More  to  Come) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

561  Phantom  of  the  Plains— Bill  Elliott  (55m.)  .  .Sept.  7 

551  Bandits  of  the  Badlands — 

Sunset  Carson  (56  min.)  Sept.  14 

501  Scotland  Yard  Investigator — Smith- 

Von  Stroheim   Sept.  30 

562  Marshal  of  Laredo — Bill  Elliott  (56  min.)  . .  .Oct.  7 

552  Rough  Riders  of  Cheyenne — Sunset  Carson 

(56  min.)  Nov.  1 


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 


(444  W.  56th  St..  Hew  Tor^  19,  H-  T.) 

601  A  Bell  for  Adano — Hodiak-Tierney  Aug. 

603  Junior  Miss — Garner-Joslyn  Aug. 

606  The  Way  Ahead — David  Niven  Aug. 

604  Captain  Eddie — MacMurray-Bari  Sept. 

605  Carribean  Mystery — Dunn-Ryan  Sept. 

607  State  Fair — Haymes-Crain   Oct. 

608  The  House  on  92nd  St.— Eythe-Hasso  Oct. 

609  The  Dolly  Sisters — Grable-Haver  Nov. 

611  And  Then  There  Were  None — 

Fitzgerald-Huston   Nov. 

613  The  Spider — Conte-Marlowe  Dec. 

612  Fallen  Angel — Faye-Andrews   Dec. 

610  Col.  Effingham's  Raid — Coburn-Bennett  ....Not  set 

Special 

602  Wilson — Knox-Fitzgerald  Aug. 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Hew  TorJ(  19,  H-  T.) 
The  Southerner — Scott-Field  (formerly  "Hold 

Autumn  in  Your  Hand")  Aug.  10 

Paris-Underground — Bennett-Fields   Oct.  6 

Captain  Kidd — Laughton-Scott  Oct.  19 

Getting  Gertie's  Garter — O'Keefe-McDonald  .  .  .  .Nov.  30 

Blithe  Spirit — English  cast  Dec.  14 

Spellbound- — Bergman-Peck   Dec.  28 

Abilene  Town — Scott-Dvorak   Jan.  11 

Whistle  Stop — Raft-Gardner  Jan.  25 

The  Outlaw— Russell-Buetell  Feb.  8 

Johnny  in  the  Clouds — English  Cast  Feb.  15 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  T.) 

9045  Easy  to  Look  At — Jean-Grant  Aug.  10 

9075  Strange  Affair  of  Uncle  Harry — 

Sanders-Raines-Fitzgerald  (reset)   Aug.  17 

9001  Lady  on  a  Train — Deanna  Durbin  (reset)  .  .Aug.  24 
Reissues 

9096  Imitation  of  Life — Claudette  Colbert  June  15 

9097  East  Side  of  Heaven — Bing  Crosby  June  15 

m  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

501  Shady  Lady — Paige-Simms  Sept.  7 

502  Men  in  Her  Diary— Hall- Allbritton  Sept.  14 

503  River  Gang— Jean-Qualen  Sept.  21 

1101  Bad  Men  of  the  Border — Grant-Knight 

(56  min.)   Sept.  28 


Page  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index       .     November  17,  1945 


504  That  Night  With  You— Tone-Foster  Sept.  28 

505  Strange  Confession — Chaneyjoyce  Oct.  5 

506  Senorita  from  the  West — Jones-Granville.  .  .  .Oct.  12 

1102  Code  of  the  Lawless — Grant-Knight  (56m)Oct.  19 

507  Pursuit  to  Algiers — Rathbone-Bruce  Oct.  26 

508  This  Love  of  Ours — Oberon'Rains 

(reset)   Nov.  2 

509  Crimson  Canary — Beery,  Jr. -Collier   Nov.  9 

510  The  Daltons  Ride  Again — Curtis-Taylor  (re.)Nov.  23 

1103  Trail  to  Vengeance — Grant-Knight   (54m)Nov.  30 

511  House  of  Dracula — Chaney-Atwill  Dec.  7 

512  Pillow  of  Death — Chaney -Joyce  Dec.  1.4 

514  Scarlet  Street — Robinson-Bennett  Dec.  28 

1104  Gun  Town — Grant-Knight   Jan.  18 

(Ed.  N.ote:  "That  Wight  in  Paradise,"  listed  in  the  previous 
index  as  a  Jvfou.  2  release,  has  been  withdrawn.) 

Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Xew  Tor\  18,  H-  Y.) 

501  Pride  of  the  Marines — Garfield'Parker  Sept.  1 

502  Rhapsody  in  Blue — Alda-Leslie  Sept.  22 

503  It  All  Came  True — Bogart-Sheridan  (reissue) 

(97  min.)   Oct.  6 

504  Born  for  Trouble — Johnson-Emerson  (reissue) 

(57  min.)  (formerly  titled  "Murder  in  the 

Big  House)   Oct.  6 

505  Mildred  Pierce— Crawford-Carson-Scott  Oct.  20 

506  Confidential  Agent — Boyer-Bacall   Nov.  10 

507  Too  Young  to  Know — Leslie-Hutton  Dec.  1 

508  Danger  Signal — Emerson-Scott  Dec.  15 

San  Antonio — Errol  Flynn  (re.)  Dec.  29 

SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 
Columbia — One  Reel 

6504  Hot  Foot  Light — Color  Rhap.  (7m.)  Aug.  2 

6809  Chips  and  Putts — Sports  (9m.)  Aug.  10 

6662  Community  Sings  No.  12  (10m.)  Aug.  23 

6754  Treasure  Jest — Fox  &  Crow  (6'/2m.)  Aug.  30 

6810  Salmon  Fishing — Sports  (9m.)  Sept.  2 

6505  Carnival  Courage — Col.  Rhap.  (7m.)  Sept.  6 

m  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

7951  Milt  Britton  6?  Band— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.)  Aug.  30 

7851  Screen  Snapshots  No.  1  (9  m.)  Sept.  7 

7651  Community  Sings  No.  1  (9'/2m.)  Sept.  20 

7801  Champion  of  the  Cue— Sports  (71/2  m.)  .  .  .Sept.  27 

7852  Screen  Snapshots  No.  2  (10  min.)  Oct.  11 

7652  Community  Sings  No.  2  (10  m.)  Oct.  18 

7701  Simple  Siren — Phantasy  (reset)  (6'/2  min.)  Oct.  25 

7802  Puck  Chasers — Sports  (10  min.)  Oct.  25 

7952  Randy  Brooks  Orchestra — Film  Vodvil 

( 10l/2  min  )  Oct.  30 

7751  Phoney  Baloney — Fox  6?  Crow  (7  m.)  (re.)  Nov.  1 
7901  The  Magic  Stone — Panoramic  (10  m.)  Nov.  8 

7853  Screen  Snapshots  No.  3  (9  min.)  Nov.  15 

7803  Cadet  Cagers — Sports  (&Y2  min)  Nov.  22 

7653  Community  Sings  No.  3  (10  min.)   Nov.  29 

7854  Screen  Snapshots  No.  4  Dec.  13 

7953  Morale's  Copacabana  Orch.— Film  Vodvil  .  .Dec.  13 
7601  Catnipped — Flippy  (7\/2  min.)  (reset)  Dec.  13 

7804  Mermaids'  Paradise— Sports   Dec.  20 

7654  Community  Sings  No.  4  Dec.  20 

7501  Rivver  Ribber — Col.  Rhap.  (8  min.)  (reset)  Dec.  20 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

7401  If  a  Body  Meets  a  Body — Stooges  (18  m.)  .Aug.  30 
7409  Vine,  Women  6?  Song — Musical  Gaiety 

(22^2  m-)  (re.)  Sept.  6 

7120  Jungle  Raiders — Serial  (15  ep.)  (reset)  ..Sept.  14 

7421  The  Mayor's  Husband— Hugh  Herbert 

(16  m.)   Sept.  20 

7431  Where  the  Fest  Begins — S.  Howard  (17  m.)  Oct.  4 

7422  Dance,  Dunce,  Dance — Eddie  Foy,  Jr. 

(18'/2  m.)  Oct.  18 

7432  A  Miner  Affair— A.  Clyde  (19  min.)  Nov.  1 

7402  Micro-Phonies — 3  Stooges  (17  min.)  Nov.  15 

7423  Calling  All  Fibbers— V.  Vague  (16>/2  min.)  Nov.  29 

7433  High  Blood  Pressure — Schilling-Lane  (19  m.)Dec.  6 

7434  A  Hit  with  a  Miss — S.Howard  (16  min.)  ...Dec.  13 
7140  Who's  Guilty?— Serial  (15  episodes)  Dec.  13 

7435  Spook  to  Me— A.  Clyde  (17  min.)  Dec.  27 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

T-613  Modern  Guatemala  City — Traveltalk  (9m.)  Aug.  25 
(End  of  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

S-751  Football  Thrills  of  1944— Pete  Smith  (8m.)Sept.  8 
T-711  Where  Time  Stands  Still— Traveltalk  (9m.)  Sept.  22 

W-731  Flirty  Birdy — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Sept.  22 

M-781  Strange  Destiny — Miniature  (10  m.)  .  .  .  Sept.  29 
K-771  The  Great  American  Mug — Pass.  Par.(  10m. )Oct.  6 

S-752  Guest  Pests — Pete  Smith  (9  m.)   Oct.  20 

M-782  Spreadin  the  Jam — Miniature  (10  m.)  .  .Oct.  27 
K-772  Stairway  to  Light — Passing  Parade  (10  m.)  Nov.  10 

K-773  People  on  Paper — Pas.  Par.  (10  min.)  Nov.  17 

S-753  Bus  Pests — Pete  Smith  (9  min.)   Dec.  1 

S-756  Badminton — Pete  Smith  (10  min.)   Dec.  8 

K-774  The  Golden  Hunch— Pas.  Par.  (10  min.)  Dec.  15 

S-754  Sports  Sticklers — Pete  Smith  (10  min.)  Jan.  5 

K-775  Magic  on  a  Stick — Pas.  Par.  (9  min.)  Jan.  19 

S-755  Gettin'  Glamour — Pete  Smith  (7  min.)  Feb.  2 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 
A-701  A  Gun  in  His  Hand— Special  (19  m.)  . .  .Sept.  15 
A-702  Purity  Squad— Special  (20  m.)   Nov.  3 

Republic — Two  Reels 

483  Federal  Operator  99  (12  episodes)  Lamont- 

Talbot   July  7 

484  Purple  Monster  Strikes — Morgan-Stirling 

(15  episodes)   Sept.  29 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 


533  13 
54114 
54115 
54116 
54117 


64301 
64201 
64302 
64101 
671 

53706 
53405 
53111 
53406 

53112 

53113 


63501 

63701 
63201 

63401 
63502 


RKO — One  Reel 

Colorado  Rainbows — Sportscope  (8m.)  ..Aug.  10 

Duck  Pimples — Disney  (7J/2  m.)  Aug.  10 

The  Legend  of  Coyote  Rock — Disney (7m.)  Aug.  24 

No  Sail — Disney  (7  m.)  Sept.  7 

Hockey  Homicide — Disney  (8m.)  Sept.  21 

(More  to  Come) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Athletic  Items — Sportscope  (8m.)   Sept.  7 

Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  1  (71/2  min.)   Sept.  14 

Battling  Bass — Sportscope  (8  min.)   Oct.  5 

Canine  Patrol — Disney  (7  min.)  Oct.  26 

The  House  I  Live  In — Sinatra  (10  min.)  .  .Nov.  9 

RKO — Two  Reels 

Double  Honeymoon — Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  Aug.  3 
It's  Your  Move — Edgar  Kennedy  (17  m.)  Aug.  10 
Annapolis — This  is  America  (16  m.)  ...  .Aug.  24 
You  Drive  Me  Crazy — Edgar  Kennedy 

(17  m.)   Sept.  7 

California  Boom  Town — This  is  America 

(16  m.)   Sept.  21 

Americans  in  Paris — This  is  Amer.  (16m.)  Oct.  19 
^  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

A  Western  Welcome — Western  Musical 

(18  m.)  (reissue)   Sept.  7 

Beware  of  Redheads — Leon  Errol  (17  m.)  Sept.  14 
The  Derby  Decade — Headliner  Revivals 

(22  m.)   Sept.  21 

The  Big  Beef— Edgar  Kennedy  (17  m.)  .  .  .Oct.  19 
Sagebrush  Serenade — Western  Musical  (re.)Oct.  26 


Paramount — One  Reel 

U4-7  Jasper's  Booby  Traps — Puppetoon  (8  m.)..Aug.  3 

J4-6  Popular  Science  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  10 

E4-6  Mess  Production — Popeye  (6  m.)   Aug.  24 

R4-10  Campus  Mermaids — Sportlight  (8m.)  ....Sept.  7 

L4-6  Unusual  Occupations  No.  6  (10m.)  Sept.  14 

Y4-6  From  A  to  Zoo — Speak,  of  Animals  (9m.)  .Sept.  21 
U4-8  Jasper's  Close  Shave — Puppetoon  (8m.)  .  . .  .Sept.  28 
>  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

R5-1  What  a  Picnic — Sportlight  (9  m.)   Oct.  5 

J5-1  Popular  Science  No.  1(10  m.)   Oct.  12 

U5-1  laspar  U  the  Beanstalk — Puppetoon  (8  m.).Oct.  19 

R5-2  Paddle  Your  Own— Sportlight  (9  m.)   Nov.  9 

Y5-1  Animal-ology — Speak,  of  Animals  (9  m.)  Nov.  23 
U5-2  My  Man  Jaspar — Puppetoon  (7  m.)   Dec.  14 


November  17,  1945       HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF4-6  You  Hit  the  Spot — Musical  Parade  (17  m.).Aug.  17 
(End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Little  Witch — Musical  Parade  (17  rn.)  ...Oct.  26 
Naughty  Nannette — Musical  Parade  Dec.  28 


FF5-1 
FF5-2 


9357 
9317 
9358 
9378 
9240 


1361 
1341 
1362 
1342 
1363 
1343 
1364 
1344 
1365 
1321 

9129 


1581 
1681 

1301 
1302 

1303 


Universal — One  Reel 

Victory  Bound — Var.  Views  (9m.)  Aug.  6 

School  for  Mermaids — Per.  Odd.  (9m.)  . . .  .Aug.  13 

Village  of  the  Past — Var.  Views  (9m.)  Aug.  20 

Kanine  Aristocrats — Per.  Odd.  (9m.)  Aug.  27 

Dippy  Diplomats — Cartune  (7m.)   Aug.  27 

>  (End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Gabriel  Hcatter  Reporting — Per.  Odd.  (9m.)Scpt.  10 

Queer  Birds — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Sept.  17 

Hillbilly  Artist — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Sept.  24 

Go  North — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Oct.  1 

Paper  Magic — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Oct.  15 

Grave  Laughter — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Oct.  22 

Pottery  Poet — Per.  Od.  (9  m.)   Oct.  29 

Doctor  of  Paintings — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  .  .  .Nov.  5 

Front  Line  Artist — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Nov.  12 

The  Loose  Nut — Cartune  (7  m.)  Dec.  17 

Universal — Two  Reels 

Waikiki  Melody — Musical  (15  m.)  Aug.  29 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

1593  Secret  Agent  X-9— Serial  (13  ep.)  ...July  24 
1693  The  Royal  Mounted  Rides  Again — Serial 

(13  episodes)  Oct.  23 

Solid  Senders — Jan  Garber — Musical  (15m.) Nov.  21 
Hot  y  Hectic — Tommy  Tucker — 

Musical  (15  m.)  Nov.  28 

Synco-Smooth  Swing — Ted  Fio  Rita 

— Musical  (15  m.)   Dec.  19 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

6501  Mighty  Mouse  in  Gypsy  Life — Terry.  (6m.)  .Aug.  3 

6251  Memories  of  Columbus — Adventure  (8  m.)  Aug.  17 

6502  Aesop's  Fable— The  Fox  &  the  Duck— Terry 

(7  m.)   Aug.  24 

6252  Magic  of  Youth — Adventure  (7  m.)  Aug.  31 

6503  Swooning  the  Swooners — Terrytoon(7m.) .  Sept.  14 
6351  Ski  Aces — Sports  (7  m.)   Sept.  21 

6504  Aesop's  Fable — The  Watch  Dog — Terry 

(7  m.)   Sept.  28 

6253  China  Carries  On — Adventure  (8m.)   Oct.  12 

6505  Who's  Who  in  the  Jungle-Gandy  Goose — 

Terrytoon   Oct.  19 

6254  Bountiful  Alaska — Adventure  (8  m.)   Oct.  26 

6506  Mighty  Mouse  Meets  Bad  Bill  Bunion — 

Terrytoon  Nov.  9 

63  52  Time  Out  for  Play— Sports  Nov.  16 

6255  Song  of  Sunshine — Adventure  (9  m.)  Dec.  7 

6256  Louisiana  Springtime — Adventure  (8  m.)  .  .Dec.  21 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  12  No.  1 — Palestine  Problem — 

March  of  Time  Sept.  7 

Vol.  12  No.  2 — American  Beauty — 

March  of  Time—  (18  m.)  Oct.  5 

Vol.  12  No.  3—18  Million  Orphans 

March  of  Time  (17  m.)   Nov.  2 


Vitaphone — One  Reel 

1310  I'ma  Little  Big  Shot  Now — Hit.  Par.  (7  m.) .  Aug.  4 

1724  Hare  Conditioned — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  . . .  .Aug.  11 

1709  Fresh  Airedale — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)   Aug.  25 

1312  Old  Glory— Hit.  Par.  (7  m.)   Aug.  25 

1710  Bashful  Buzzard — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  . . .  .Sept.  15 

1711  Peck  Up  Your  Troubles— L.  Tune  (7  m.)  Oct.  20 

1313  Busy  Bakers— Hit.  Par.  (7m.)   Oct.  20 

1725  Hare  Tonic— Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Nov.  10 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 


Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

2601  Spade  Cooley — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  (re.)  ..Sept.  1 

2402  Miracle  Maker* — Varieties  (10  m.)  Sept.  1 

2401  Alice  in  Jungleland — Var.  (10  m.)  Sept.  22 

2602  Here  Come  the  Navy  Bands — 

Melody  Masters  ( 10  min.)  Sept.  29 

2603  Musical  Novelties— Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Oct.  6 

2403  Story  of  a  Dog — Varieties  (10  m.)   Oct.  27 

2501  Sports  Go  to  War— Sports  (10  m.)   Nov.  10 

2301  Sunbonnct  Blue— Hit  Parade  (7  m.)   Nov.  17 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

1005  America  the  Beautiful — Special  (20  m.)  . . .  .Aug.  4 

1006  Orders  from  Tokyo — Special  (20  m.)   Aug.  18 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

2101  Barber  Shop  Ballads — Featurette  (20  m.)  ..Sept.  8 

2102  Star  in  the  Night— Featurette  (20  m.)  Oct.  13 

2103  All  Star  Musical  Revue— Feat.  (14  m.)  ..Nov.  3 

2104  Good  Old  Corn— Featurette   Nov.  24 

2801  Fashions  for  Tomorrow — Special  Nov.  17 


NEWS  WEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 

65125  Sat  (O)  .  .Nov.  17 
65226  Wed.  (E)  .Nov.  22 
65127  Sat.  (O)  .  .Nov.  24 
65228  Wed.  (E)  .Nov.  29 
65129  Sat.  (O)  .  .Dec.  1 
65230  Wed.  (E)  .Dec.  6 
65131  Sat.  (O)  .  .Dec.  8 
65232  Wed.  (E)  .Dec.  13 
65133  Sat.  (O)  .  .Dec.  15 
65234  Wed.  (E)  .Dec.  20 
65135  Sat.  (O)  .  .Dec.  22 
65236  Wed.  (E)  .Dec.  27 
65137  Sat.  (O)  .  .  Dec.  29 
65238  Wed.  (E)  .Jan.  3 
65139  Sat.  (O)   .  .Jan.  5 


Paramount  News 


23  Sunday 

24  Thurs. 

25  Sunday 

26  Thurs. 

27  Sunday 

28  Thurs. 

29  Sunday 

30  Thurs. 

31  Sunday 

32  Thurs. 

33  Sunday 

34  Thurs. 
3  5  Sunday 

36  Thurs. 

37  Sunday 


(O) 
(E)  . 

(O) 
(E)  . 

(O) 
(E)  . 

(O) 
(E)  . 

(O) 
(E)  . 

(O) 
(E)  . 

(O) 
(E) 

(O) 


.  .Nov.  18 
.  .Nov.  22 
.  .Nov.  26 
.  .Nov.  29 
. .  Dec.  -2 
. .  Dec.  6 
. .  Dec.  9 
.  .Dec.  13 
.  .Dec.  16 
. .  Dec.  20 
.  .Dec.  23 
.  .  Dec.  27 
.  .  Dec.  30 
.  .Jan.  3 
..Jan.  7 


Fox 

23  Tues. 

24  Thurs 

25  Tues. 

26  Thurs 

27  Tues. 

28  Thurs. 

29  Tues. 

30  Thurs, 

31  Tues. 

32  Thurs. 

33  Tues. 

34  Thurs. 

35  Tues. 

36  Thurs. 

37  Tues. 


Movietone 

(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E, 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O) 

(E) 
(O) 


4 
6 
11 
13 
18 


News 

221  Tues. 

222  Thurs 

223  Tues. 

224  Thurs 

225  Tues. 

226  Thurs 

227  Tues. 

228  Thurs 

229  Tues. 

230  Thurs 

231  Tues. 

232  Thurs 

233  Tues. 

234  Thurs 

235  Tues. 


of  the 

(O)  . 
(E)  . 
(O)  . 
(E)  . 
(O)  . 
■  (E)  . 
(O)  . 
(E)  . 
(O)  .. 

(E)  . 
(O)  .. 
(E)  . 
(O)  .. 

(E)  . 
(O)  .. 


.  Nov.  20 
.Nov.  22 
.Nov.  27 
.Nov.  29 
.  .Dec. 
.  .Dec. 
.  .Dec. 
.  .Dec. 
.  .Dec. 
.  .Dec.  20 
.  .Dec.  25 
.  .Dec.  27 
..Jan.  1 
.  .Jan.  3 
..Jan.  8 

Day 

.Nov.  20 
.Nov.  22 
.  Nov.  27 
.Nov.  29 
.Dec.  4 
.Dec.  6 
.  Dec.  1 1 
.Dec.  13 
.Dec.  18 
.Dec.  20 
.Dec.  25 
.Dec.  27 
.Jan.  1 
.Jan.  3 
.Jan.  8 


Universal 


451  Tues. 

452  Thurs 
45  3  Tues. 

454  Thurs 

455  Tues. 

456  Thurs. 

457  Tues. 

458  Thurs. 

459  Tues. 

460  Thurs. 

461  Tues. 

462  Thurs. 

463  Tues. 

464  Thurs. 

465  Tues. 


(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(El 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O) 

(E) 
(O) 


.  .Nov.  20 
.  .Nov.  22 
. .  Nov.  27 
.  .  Nov.  29 
..Dec.  4 
..Dec.  6 
.  .Dec.  11 
.  .Dec.  13 
.  .Dec.  18 
.  .Dec.  20 
.  .Dec.  25 
.  .Dec.  27 
..Jan.  1 
. .Jan.  3 
..Jan.  8 


All  American  News 

160  Friday   Nov.  16 

161  Friday   Nov.  23 

162  Friday   Nov.  30 

163  Friday   Dec.  7 

164  Friday   Dec.  14 

165  Friday   Dec.  21 

166  Friday   Dec.  28 

167  Friday   Jan.  4 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII                      SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  24,  1945  No.  47 


SAM  GOLDWYN  —  A  PROBLEM  CHILD 

Sam  Goldwyn  has  been  the  spoiled  child  of  the  motion 
picture  industry.  He  considers  publicity  as  a  toy,  and 
it  seems  as  if,  whenever  one  of  his  publicity  men  pre- 
sents  him  with  an  idea  of  bringing  his  name  to  the 
attention  of  the  public,  he  jumps  at  it,  as  a  child 
jumps  to  grab  a  new  toy. 

But  like  a  child,  Sam  does  not  know  that  certain 
toys  are  dangerous  to  play  with,  and  whenever  he  is 
hurt  he  yells. 

In  the  October  27  issue  of  Harrison's  Reports, 
your  attention  was  called  to  a  Sam  Goldwyn  inter- 
view  that  appeared  in  Showmen's  Trade  Review,  un- 
der  the  heading  "Goldwyn  Snubs  Suhsequents."  The 
gist  of  the  interview  was  that  Sam  Goldwyn  does  not 
care  for  the  money  from  the  subsequent-runs,  and  that 
if  he  had  fifty  top  first-run  houses  throughout  the 
country  to  play  his  pictures  in  he  could,  not  only  re- 
coup the  cost  of  his  negatives,  positive  prints,  and 
advertising,  but  also  make  a  profit.  He  could  then  for- 
get about  the  subsequent-run  theatres,  on  the  ground 
that  they  are  economically  unattractive  because  of  the 
high  cost  of  selling  and  servicing  them. 

Taking  his  cue  from  what  Goldwyn  was  reported 
to  have  said  in  that  interview,  and  from  criticism  that 
was  made  of  him  in  these  columns,  Pete  Wood,  busi- 
ness manager  of  the  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of 
Ohio,  sent  to  the  members  of  his  association  a  bulletin 
suggesting  that  they  accommodate  Sam  Goldwyn  by 
not  booking  his  pictures.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Pete  pro- 
posed the  formation  of  a  "Make-It-Easy-for-Sam 
Goldwyn  League,"  the  members  of  which  were  to 
pledge  themselves  not  to  play  any  Goldwyn  pictures, 
as  an  accommodation  to  Goldwyn. 

But  it  is  evident  that  Sam's  remarks,  as  reported  by 
Showmen's  Trade  Review,  as  well  as  by  The  Inde- 
pendent and  The  Exhibitor,  the  subsequent  criticism 
in  Harrison's  Reports,  and  the  action  of  Pete  Wood, 
gave  Sam  quite  a  jolt,  for  he  now  tells  us  that  he  had 
been,  not  only  misunderstood,  but  also  "entirely  mis- 
quoted" by  the  trade-press  reporters. 

In  denying  the  accuracy  of  the  trade-press  reporters, 
Goldwyn,  in  a  prepared  statement,  said : 

"I  did  say  that  I  thought  the  ideal  way  to  show  pic- 
tures in  our  bigger  cities  was  to  play  them  simul- 
taneously in  about  fifty  situations  in  theatres  with  a 
seating  capacity  of  1200  to  1400.  I  thoroughly  believe 
that  such  a  policy  would  not  only  not  harm  the  sub- 
sequent-runs but  could  materially  benefit  them. 


"To  quote  me  as  saying,  'I  want  my  pictures  to  play 
in  only  fifty  theatres  throughout  the  country'  is  simply 
nonsense." 

In  publishing  Goldwyn's  claim  that  he  had  been 
misquoted,  Showmen's  Trade  Review,  in  its  Novem- 
ber 10  issue,  stated  that  it  was  doing  so  as  a  courtesy 
to  Goldwyn,  but  emphasized  that  its  action  was  "not 
to  be  construed  as  indicating  that  we  wish  to  retract 
or  amend  our  report  of  the  Goldwyn  interview  held 
in  New  York  on  Oct.  15.  That  report  was  prepared 
from  notes  that  were  checked  by  our  reporter — whom, 
we  wish  to  add,  has  been  a  member  of  our  staff  for 
many  months,  has  had  years  of  training  and  experi- 
ence in  reporting.  .  .  .  Furthermore,  as  far  as  we  know, 
no  paper  reporting  the  interview  has  quoted  nor  re- 
fered  to  the  statement  which  .  .  .  Goldwyn  declares 
to  be  the  correct  quotation  of  his  remarks  on  subse- 
quent-runs." 

The  Exhibitor,  too,  has  refused  to  retract  or  amend 
its  original  report  of  this  interview.  Mel  Konecoff, 
that  paper's  New  York  correspondent,  had  this  to  say 
in  his  weekly  column  regarding  Goldwyn's  denial : 

"Memo  to  Mr.  Goldwyn :  You're  not  hinting  that 
we  and  another  trade  paper  reporter  who  also  ran  an 
almost  identical  story  are  twisters-of-facts,  are  you? 
Or  is  that  merely  a  way  of  telling  us  how  a  story 
should  be  written?  How  could  you?  After  a  re-exami- 
nation of  our  notes  taken  at  the  interview,  we  can 
only  state  that  our  report  on  the  matter  still  stands." 

The  firm  stand  taken  by  these  papers  apparently 
disturbed  Goldwyn,  for  he  had  his  publicity  agent  ar- 
range another  meeting  with  representatives  of  the 
aforementioned  papers,  to  which  this  writer  was  in- 
vited. The  gist  of  Goldwyn's  remarks  at  this  meeting 
was  that  he  could  not  understand  why  he  should  be 
made  into  a  target  by  the  trade  papers.  He  claimed 
that  news  items  and  editorials  about  him,  particularly 
the  editorials  that  have  appeared  in  these  columns, 
were  treating  him  unjustly,  for  he,  more  than  any 
other  person  in  the  industry,  has  been  and  still  is  the 
best  friend  the  independent  exhibitor  ever  had.  He 
pointed  out  that  the  pressure  exerted  against  him  by 
some  of  the  large  circuits  has  resulted  in  a  closer  rela- 
tionship between  him  and  the  independents,  who  have 
often  bought  his  pictures  away  from  the  large  cir- 
cuits. Goldwyn  stated  also  that  any  independent  who 
bought  his  pictures  away  from  a  large  competitor  was 
subsequently  shown  preference  so  long  as  he  con- 
continued  on  last  page) 


186 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  24,  1945 


"San  Antonio"  with  Errol  Flynn 
and  Alexis  Smith 

(Warner  Bros.,  Dec.  29;  time,  110  min.) 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  offers  nothing  startling  in  the 
way  of  novelty  of  plot  or  of  action,  this  "glorified"  Western, 
photographed  in  Technicolor,  i6  a  good  entertainment  of  its 
type.  It  should  go  over  fairly  well  with  an  average  audience, 
for  it  blends  fast  and  exciting  action  with  romance  and  com- 
edy.  Errol  Flynn's  popularity  will  undoubtedly  mean  much 
at  the  box-office.  As  a  Texas  rancher  who  breaks  up  a  pow- 
erful  ring  of  cattle  rustlers,  Flynn  makes  a  fearless  hero,  with 
enough  dash  and  bravado  to  endear  him  to  the  ladies.  There 
is  plentiful  horseback  riding,  shooting,  and  fighting — enough 
to  satisfy  the  most  ardent  Western  fans.  One  sequence  that 
will  undoubtedly  thrill  them  is  the  one  in  which  a  rousing 
barroom  brawl  takes  place.  In  between  the  melodramatic 
scenes,  one  is  kept  amused  by  the  antics  of  S.  Z.  Sakall : — 

In  his  fight  against  organized  bands  of  cattle  rustlers, 
Flynn  obtains  from  a  slain  rustler  a  cattle  tally  book  indicat' 
ing  that  Paul  Kelly,  operator  of  a  music  hall  in  San  Antonio, 
was  leader  of  the  outlaws.  To  reach  San  Antonio  safely, 
Flynn  outwits  Kelly's  gunmen  by  commandeering  a  ride  in 
a  private  stagecoach  chartered  by  Alexis  Smith,  a  New  York 
actress,  who  had  been  booked  by  her  manager  (S.  Z.  Sakall) 
to  perform  in  Kelly's  music  hall.  Flynn,  upon  reaching  San 
Antonio,  organizes  a  group  of  ranchers  to  help  him  prove 
Kelly's  guilt.  Kelly,  aware  that  Flynn  had  possession  of  the 
tally  book,  schemes  to  regain  it.  Meanwhile  Victor  Francen, 
Kelly's  partner  in  the  music  hall,  planned  to  obtain  the  tally 
book  so  that  he  could  blackmail  Kelly  into  a  partnership  in 
the  cattle  rustling  business.  On  the  night  of  Alexis'  opening 
performance,  Flynn  accepts  an  invitation  to  visit  her  dressing 
room,  but  first  takes  the  precaution  of  leaving  the  tally  book 
with  John  Litcl,  one  of  his  rancher  friends.  Kelly,  who  had 
intercepted  the  invitation,  ambushes  Flynn,  but  fails  in  an 
attempt  to  kill  him.  During  the  fracas,  Litel  is  killed  by 
Francen,  who  obtains  the  tally  book.  Litel's  murder  is  unwit- 
tingly witnessed  by  Sakall,  who,  threatened  by  Francen, 
agrees  to  keep  his  identity  secret.  Sakall  eventually  confides 
to  Alexis  that  he  had  witnessed  Francen's  killing  of  Litel, 
and  she  in  turn  gives  the  information  to  Flynn,  who  had  been 
appointed  as  town  marshall  to  find  the  killer.  When  Flynn 
atempts  to  make  the  arrest,  a  fight  between  the  ranchers  and 
the  outlaws  takes  place  in  the  music  hall.  Francen  and  Kelly 
both  make  their  escape,  with  Flynn  in  hot  pursuit.  In  the 
course  of  events,  Kelly  kills  Francen  to  regain  the  tally  book, 
only  to  meet  death  himself  when  he  clashes  with  Flynn  in  a 
running  gunfight. 

Alan  LeMay  and  W.  R.  Burnett  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Robert  Buckner  produced  it,  and  David  Butler  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Florence  Bates  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Johnny  in  the  Clouds" 
with  an  all-English  cast 

(United  Artists,  Feb.  15;  time,  88  min.) 
A  good  British-made  war  drama  that  in  story,  direction, 
and  acting  reflects  credit  on  all  concerned  in  its  making;  but, 
like  numerous  other  good  war  dramas  that  are  reaching  the- 
atres at  a  time  when  most  pepole  are  shopping  for  "escapist" 
entertainment,  its  box-office  chances  are  questionable.  Origi- 
nally released  in  England  under  the  title,  "The  Way  to  the 
Stars,"  it  offers  a  genuinely  stirring  story  concerning  the 
private  lives  of  a  group  of  American  and  British  fliers,  who 
shared  an  English  airfield  in  the  early  days  of  the  war.  Un- 
like most  war  pictures,  this  one  should  appeal  to  feminine 
audiences,  for  it  is  void  of  battle  sequences,  and  it  tells  with 
considerable  human  appeal  and  tenderness  of  the  friend- 
ships, loves,  and  tragedies  experienced  by  the  different  char- 
acters. Although  it  is  a  serious  picture,  it  is  not  without  its 
moments  of  rich  humor,  most  of  which  concerns  the  British 
fliers*  belief  that  they  would  not  like  the  American  fliers, 


and  the  equal  certainty  on  the  part  of  the  Americans  that  the 
British  fliers  would  be  difficult  to  get  along  with. 

The  story  opens  in  1940  with  the  arrival  of  John  Mills,  a 
young,  inexperienced  RAF  flier,  at  the  airfield.  Michael 
Redgrave,  his  squadron  leader,  gives  him  inspiration  and 
encouragement,  and  both  soon  become  fast  friends.  Redgrave 
marries  Rosamund  John,  cultured  manager  of  an  inn  nearby 
the  airfield,  and  Mills  falls  in  love  with  Renee  Asherson,  a 
guest  at  the  inn.  When  Redgrave  loses  his  life  on  a  bombing 
mission,  leaving  Rosamund  with  a  baby  son,  Mills,  aware  of 
the  widow's  unhappy  lot,  begins  to  deliberately  neglect  Renee 
because  of  a  conviction  that  it  was  unfair  for  fliers  to  marry 
during  war-time.  Meanwhile  a  squadron  of  American  fliers 
had  taken  over  the  airfield,  and  Douglas  Montgomery,  an 
American  pilot,  who  had  a  wife  and  two  children  at  home, 
becomes  fast  friends  with  Mills  and  with  Rosamund,  in  a 
platonic  way.  When  Montgomery,  too,  loses  his  life,  the 
tragedy  serves  to  accentuate  Mills'  aversion  for  war-time  mar- 
riages. Rosamund,  realizing  what  was  troubling  him,  has  a 
long  talk  with  him  and  is  instrumental  in  getting  him  to  re- 
new his  romance  with  Renee  and  to  lead  her  to  the  altar. 

Terence  Rattigan  wrote  the  screen  play,  Anatole  de  Grun- 
wald  produced  it,  and  Anthony  Asquith  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Stanley  Holoway,  Felix  Aylmcr,  Bonar  Col- 
leano,  Jr.,  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Last  Chance"  with  an  all-foreign  cast 

(MGM.  no  release  date  set;  time,  105  min.) 

From  a  production  point  of  view — that  is,  story  con- 
struction, photography  and  acting,  this  Swiss-made  war 
melodrama  compares  favorably  with  the  better  war  dramas 
that  have  been  produced  in  Hollywood.  The  story,  which 
opens  in  Italy  in  1943,  and  which  deals  with  the  adventures 
of  two  escaped  Allied  soldiers — an  American  and  an  Eng- 
lishman, who  aid  a  group  of  international  political  refugees 
to  flee  across  Northern  Italy  to  the  safety  of  the  Swiss  border, 
grips  one's  attention  throughout.  The  manner  in  which  this 
helpless  group  of  people,  including  a  few  orphaned  children, 
make  their  grim  march  through  mountain  snows,  at  the  mercy 
of  the  elements  and  of  the  ever-present  enemy,  give  the 
picture  many  high  moments  of  suspense  and  of  drama.  Con- 
siderable human  interest  is  brought  about  by  the  harmony 
with  which  the  refugees,  each  of  a  different  nationality,  work 
together  as  they  strive  to  reach  their  common  goal,  and  by 
their  tolerant  understanding  of  one  another's  problems  and 
heartaches.  Without  resorting  to  preachment,  the  story  is,  in 
fact,  an  eloquent  and  effective  plea  for  racial  tolerance.  Al- 
though English  is  the  predominant  language  spoken,  the 
dialogue  includes  French,  Italian,  Yiddish,  German,  Serbian, 
and  Swiss,  which  are  translated  through  superimposed  Eng- 
lish subtitles.  Because  of  the  fact  that  it  is  a  war  melodrama, 
and  of  the  fact  that  the  players  are  unknown  in  this  country, 
the  picture  will  undoubtedly  require  considerable  exploita- 
tion to  attract  American  movie-goers,  but,  once  in  the  the- 
atre, they  should  find  it  extremely  interesting. 

In  the  development  of  the  plot,  the  two  Allied  soldiers 
escape  from  an  enemy  train  transporting  prisoners  to  Ger- 
many. Italian  underground  workers  help  them  to  find  refuge 
with  an  Italian  priest,  who  harbored  international  refugees 
and  arranged  for  a  village  guide  to  lead  them  over  mountain 
passes  into  Switzerland.  When  the  retreating  Germans  attack 
the  village  and  kill  the  guide,  the  Allied  soldiers  decide  to 
head  for  Switzerland  immediately.  The  priest,  however,  asks 
them  not  to  leave  the  refugees  at  the  mercy  of  the  retreating 
Germans,  and  to  take  them  along.  Realizing  that  their  own 
chances  of  escape  would  be  endangered,  the  Allied  soldiers 
agree.  All  start  out  on  the  difficult  trek  to  Switzerland  and, 
after  many  hardships,  sacrifices,  and  narrow  brushes  with  the 
enemy,  succeed  in  reaching  their  goal. 

Richard  Schweizer  wrote  the  screen  play,  L.  Wechsler  pro- 
duced it,  and  Leopold  Lindtberg  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes E.  G.  Morrison,  John  Hoy,  Ray  Reagan  and  many 
others.  ....... 


November  24,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


187 


"Cornered"  with  Dick  Powell 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  102  min.) 

It  is  evident  that  RKO,  employing  the  same  producer- 
director-star  combination,  meant  to  make  this  melodrama  as 
thrilling  as  "Murder,  My  Sweet,"  but  it  has  made  just  a  fairly 
good  entertainment.  The  chief  fault  with  the  picture  is  that 
its  makers,  apparently  striving  to  inject  a  maximum  amount 
of  intrigue  and  suspense,  have  allowed  the  story  to  wander 
all  over  the  lot,  with  the  result  that,  on  the  whole,  it  becomes 
long  drawn  out  and  tiresome,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it 
achieves  many  high  moments  of  suspense.  Dick  Powell,  as 
the  tough  RAF  flier  seeking  to  avenge  the  murder  of  his 
French  wife  by  a  mysterious  collaborationist,  delivers  a  force- 
ful performance,  as  does  Walter  Slezak,  as  a  crooked  Argen- 
tine guide.  Most  of  the  excitement  occurs  at  the  finish,  where 
Powell  tracks  down  the  elusive  murderer  and  beats  him  to 
death.  It  is  not  a  pleasant  entertainment,  for  the  action 
throughout  is  lurid: — 

Honorably  discharged  from  the  RAF,  Powell  goes  to 
France  and  learns  that  his  patriotic  French  bride  had  been 
murdered  by  collaborationists  during  the  German  occupa- 
tion. Determined  to  track  down  and  kill  the  traitor  respon- 
sible, Powell  learns  that  a  man  named  "Jarnac"  was  the  one 
he  sought.  He  is  told  by  French  officials  that  "Jarnac"  had 
been  slain,  but,  suspecting  a  hoax  to  conceal  "Jarnac's"  fas- 
cist activities,  he  sets  out  on  his  trail.  The  pursuit  leads  him 
to  Argentina,  where  he  is  met  by  Walter  Slezak,  a  profes- 
sional guide,  who,  seemingly  acquainted  with  "Jarnac's"  ac- 
tivities, takes  him  to  a  party  at  the  fashioiable  home  of  a 
wealthy  Argentine  couple,  where  he  meets  Morris  Carnov- 
sky,  an  attorney,  and  Micheline  Cheirel,  who  is  introduced 
as  "Jarnac's"  wife.  Powell  bluntly  tells  her  that  he  was  after 
her  husband,  and  doggedly  settles  down  to  watch  her  move- 
ments. Carnovsky,  however,  reveals  to  him  that  he  and 
Micheline  headed  a  group  of  Argentine  patriots,  and  that 
they,  too,  were  seeking  "Jarnac"  to  stop  his  fascist  activities 
in  South  America.  Powell,  still  determined  to  have  his  re- 
venge, soon  finds  himself  in  trouble  with  the  collaboration- 
ists, who  sought  to  keep  him  from  "Jarnac,"  and  with  the 
anti-collaborationists,  who  wanted  him  out  of  the  way  be- 
cause he  interfered  with  their  plans.  After  a  series  of  many 
incidents,  in  which  Slezak,  posing  as  his  friend  but  actually 
a  collaborationist,  tries  to  betray  him,  Powell  eventually 
meets  up  with  "Jarnac"  (Luther  Adler)  and  murders  him. 
Carnovsky,  grateful  that  Powell  had  helped  smash  the  fas- 
cist ring,  promises  to  defend  him  against  the  murder  charge. 

John  Paxton  wrote  the  screen  play,  Adrian  Scott  produced 
it,  and  Edward  Dmytryk  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ed- 
gar Barrier,  Jack  LaRue,  Steven  Geray,  Nina  Vale  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Getting  Gertie's  Garter"  with 
Dennis  O'Keef  e  and  Marie  McDonald 

(United  Artists,  J^ov.  30;  time,  73  min.) 

A  pretty  good  farce-comedy.  Based  on  the  stage  play  of  the 
same  title,  which  was  produced  on  Broadway  about  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  and  which  was  made  into  a  silent  picture  by 
P.D.C.  in  1927,  the  story  revolves  around  the  efforts  of  a 
young  scientist  to  retrieve  from  his  former  sweetheart  an 
expensive  garter  he  had  given  her.  The  idea  being  that  if 
either  the  scientist's  wife  or  the  former  sweetheart's  fiance 
learned  of  the  garter  there  would  be  trouble.  The  pursuit  of 
the  garter  results  in  the  usual  farcical  complications,  such 
as  bedroom  mixups  and  other  situations  in  which  some  of  the 
characters  try  to  hide  from  other  characters  so  that  their 
presence  together  would  not  be  misconstrued.  The  situations 
keep  one  laughing  and  giggling  all  the  way  through,  and  they 
are  helped  greatly  by  the  zestful  acting  of  the  players: — 

Dennis  O'Keefe,  a  brilliant  young  scientist,  is  served  with 
a  subpoena  to  testify  against  a  store  clerk  charged  with  em- 
bezzlement. The  charge  was  based  on  the  fact  that  the  clerk 
had  absconded  with  money  given  to  him  by  O'Keefe  for  the 
purchase  of  an  inscribed  garter,  which  he  had  given  to  Marie 


McDonald,  his  former  sweetheart,  who  was  to  be  married  to 
Barry  Sullivan,  his  best  friend.  Visualizing  the  ruin  of  his 
career  and  of  his  marriage  to  Sheila  Ryan,  should  the  garter 
incident  get  into  the  newspapers,  O'Keefe  sets  out  to  retrieve 
the  garter.  His  pursuit  leads  him  to  the  home  of  Binnie 
Barnes  and  Jerome  Cowan,  where  Marie's  wedding  was  to 
take  place  on  the  following  day.  Meanwhile  Sheila,  sus- 
picious of  his  worrisome  actions,  follows  him.  Marie,  think- 
ing of  her  own  happiness,  refuses  to  give  up  the  garter  until 
O'Keefe  makes  a  clean  breast  of  it  to  his  wife.  She  hides  the 
garter  in  a  wastebasket  only  to  have  it  disappear  when  the 
maid  cleans  her  room.  In  the  meantime  O'Keefe  had  started 
a  search  that  leads  him  in  and  out  of  Marie's  bedroom  under 
circumstances  that  cause  both  his  wife  and  Sullivan  to  become 
suspicious.  Sheila,  aided  by  Cowan,  tries  to  check  on  his 
movements,  but  their  actions,  too,  lead  them  into  a  number 
of  compromising  situations.  To  make  matters  even  more  com- 
plicated, the  garter  falls  into  the  hands  of  J.  Carroll  Naish, 
a  blackmailing  butler.  Matters  become  so  confused  that 
Marie,  tired  of  it  all,  finally  tells  the  true  story,  and  all  be- 
come reconciled. 

Allan  Dwan  and  Karen  DeWolf  wrote  the  scTeen  play 
from  the  stage  play  by  Wilson  Collison  and  Avery  Hop- 
wood.  Edward  Small  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Dwan  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Vera  Marshe,  Frank  Fenton  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Saratoga  Trunk"  with  Gary  Cooper 
and  Ingrid  Bergman 

(Warner  Bros.,  no  release  date  set;  time,  135  min.) 

Very  good!  With  two  box-office  names  such  as  Ingrid 
Bergman  and  Gary  Cooper,  its  success  at  the  box-office  is 
practically  guaranteed.  The  production  is  extremely  lavish, 
and  the  story,  based  on  Edna  Ferber's  widely-read  novel,  of- 
fers a  mixture  of  romance,  comedy,  chicanery,  and  melo- 
drama that  is  sure  to  please  the  majority  of  movie-goers,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that,  under  close  scrutiny,  it  adds  up  to  no 
more  than  a  melange  of  Hollywood  hokum,  artificial  but  col- 
orful. As  such,  it  is  exciting  and  engrossing  entertainment, 
mainly  because  of  the  excelent  work  of  the  stars.  Ingrid  Berg- 
man, as  the  vengeful,  fiery-tempered  heroine,  is  both  fas- 
cinating and  beautiful;  her  magnificent  interpretation  of  the 
role  marks  her  as  one  of  the  most  versatile  actresses  on  the 
screen.  Gary  Cooper,  as  the  tough,  lanky  Texas  gambler, 
with  whom  she  falls  in  love,  is  exceptionally  good.  Although 
nothing  offensive  is  shown,  the  story's  theme  and  the  acts  of 
the  different  characters  make  it  unsuitable  for  children.  The 
action  takes  place  in  New  Orleans  and  Saratoga  in  the 
1875's.  The  clothes  worn  by  Miss  Bergman  should  delight 
women  patrons: — 

Accompanied  by  Flora  Robson,  a  mulatto,  and  Jerry 
Austin,  a  dwarf,  both  her  servants,  Ingrid,  a  frank  adven- 
turess and  illegitimate  daughter  of  an  aristocrat  of  New 
Orleans,  returns  to  that  city  from  Paris,  determined  to  take 
revenge  on  her  father's  family,  who  had  treated  her  mother 
shabbily,  and  also  to  find  a  wealthy  husband.  In  the  course 
of  succeeding  in  her  revenge,  Ingrid  meets  and  falls  in  love 
with  Cooper,  who,  objecting  to  her  methods,  leaves  her.  He 
writes  to  her  several  weeks  later-  from  Saratoga,  and  informs 
her  that  the  place  was  crawling  with  millionaires,  and  that  it 
was  made  to  order  for  her  talents.  Posing  as  a  widowed 
French  Countess,  Ingrid  goes  to  Saratoga  Springs,  where  she 
cleverly  becomes  a  sensation  and  wins  the  heart  of  John 
Warburton,  a  young  railroad  millionaire.  While  Ingrid 
schemes  to  marry  Warburton,  Cooper  works  a  plan  of  his 
own  to  gain  control  of  a  railroad  from  a  group  of  financiers 
who  had  once  cheated  his  father.  He  becomes  involved  in  a 
fight  with  the  financiers'  gangsters  and  is  wounded  seriously. 
Seeing  him  injured  and  bloody,  Ingrid  hurls  herself  at  him 
with  endearing  cries.  She  declares  her  love  for  him  and  gives 
up  all  thoughts  and  schemes  to  marry  a  millionaire. 

Casey  Robinson  wrote  the  screen  play,  Hal  B.  Wallis  pro- 
duced it,  and  Sam  Wood  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Flor- 
ence Bates,  John  Abbott  and  others. 


188 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  24,  1945 


tinued  to  be  a  Goldwyn  customer.  All  in  all,  Sam 
Goldwyn  went  to  great  lengths  to  convince  the  trade- 
press  representatives  at  the  meeting  that  he  was 
grossly  misunderstood,  and  that  he  was  entitled  to 
kindlier  treatment  in  their  reports  about  him. 

As  it  has  already  been  said  at  the  beginning  of  this 
article,  Sam  Goldwyn  yells  when  he  is  hurt.  He  should 
be  more  careful  about  what  he  has  to  say,  before  rush- 
ing into  print  again.  After  all,  he  is  one  of  the  indus- 
try's recognized  leaders,  and,  as  such,  should  realize 
that  his  words,  his  ideas,  and  his  actions  are  subject  to 
close  scrutiny.  Moreover,  he  has  an  obligation,  if  not 
to  the  exhibitors,  at  least  to  the  salesmen  of  the  com- 
pany that  is  selling  his  pictures — RKO.  The  effect  of 
Sam's  statement  on  the  sales  of  his  pictures  among  the 
subsequent-run  exhibitors  must  have  been  demoraliz- 
ing. These  salesmen  must  have  had  a  trying  time  off- 
setting Goldwyn's  thoughtless  remarks  about  a  class 
of  his  customers. 

The  continuance  of  recriminations  about  the  inci- 
dent can  serve  no  further  purpose.  All  the  parties  in- 
volved have  had  a  chance  to  talk  things  over,  and  to 
make  their  positions  clear  to  one  another.  Harrison's 
Reports  hopes  that,  as  a  result  of  this  incident,  Sam 
Goldwyn  will  have  a  finer  appreciation  of  the  potency 
of  his  statements,  and  will,  therefore,  weigh  his  ideas 
carefully  before  expressing  them  in  public.  He  will 
then  have  no  cause  to  complain  about  his  relationship 
with  the  trade  press. 


A  WORTHY  IDEA 
BUT  HIGHLY  EMBARRASSING 

From  time  to  time,  a  prominent  member  of  the  mo- 
tion picture  industry  gets  an  inspiration  of  sending 
out  a  chain  letter  with  the  purpose  of  increasing  the 
sale  of  War  Stamps.  From  among  his  friends,  he  se- 
lects ten  and  sends  them  each  a  25  cent  War  Stamp. 
Each  of  these  friends  is  in  turn  requested  to  select  ten 
of  his  friends,  send  each  a  25  cent  War  Stamp,  with  a 
request  that  they,  too,  select  ten  friends  and  ask  each 
to  repeat  the  process.  The  general  idea  is  that,  eventu- 
ally, each  of  the  letter  senders  will  receive  back  from 
ten  persons  ten  25  cent  stamps. 

There  are  other  detailed  instructions  contained  in 
the  letter,  all  designed  to  perpetuate  the  chain,  but 
what  I  have  dealt  with  is  enough  to  give  the  reader  an 
idea  of  what  the  chain-letter  system  is  like,  if  he  does 
not  already  know  it. 

The  person  who  conceived  the  chain  letter  idea 
feels  that  it  is  the  patriotic  duty  of  every  letter  recipi- 
ent to  help  augment  the  sale  of  War  Stamps;  he  be- 
lieves that,  if  every  one  of  his  friends  and  their  friends 
perpetuate  the  chain,  the  sale  of  War  Stamps  will  be 
so  pyramided  that  the  Government  will  receive 
enough  money  to  pay  the  nation's  war  debt. 

Last  summer  I  received  one  such  letter  and,  being 
unwilling  to  scrap  it,  I  followed  the  suggestions. 
Some  of  the  ten  friends  to  whom  I  wrote  have  an- 
swered me,  saying  that  they  were  so  snowed  under 
with  similar  letters  that  they  could  not  possibly  carry 
out  my  suggestions.  And  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
other  nine  friends  of  the  person  who  sent  me  the  chain 
letter  received  similar  complaints  if  they  followed  the 
chain  letter  suggestions. 


From  Philadelphia  I  received  a  letter  from  one  of 
my  friends  informing  me  that  the  Post  Office  authori- 
ties in  that  city  had  declared  chain  letters  to  be  in  vio- 
lation of  the  postal  regulations  even  if  they  are  in- 
tended  to  benefit  the  United  States  Government. 

Regardless  of  whether  the  chain  letter  to  increase 
the  sale  of  war  stamps  is  or  is  not  violating  postal 
regulations,  the  idea  itself  is  annoying,  for  most  letter 
recipients  haven't  either  the  facilities  or  the  time  to 
write  ten  letters.  Moreover,  they  are  loath  to  impose 
upon  their  friends;  they  feel  that  it  would  be  better 
for  a  friend  to  ask  for  a  direct  contribution  to  the 
cause,  for  the  labor  involved  costs  more  than  the  War 
Stamp  contribution. 

It  is  a  good  idea  in  theory,  but  wrong  in  practice. 

"Mexicana"  with  Tito  Guizar 
and  Constance  Moore 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time  84  mirx.) 
Although  it  has  been  produced  on  a  pretty  lavish 
scale,  this  comedy  with  Latin-American  music  is  only 
mildly  entertaining  and  often  dull.  Not  much  can  be 
said  for  the  story,  which  is  not  only  trite  but  also  silly 
and  tiresome.  The  players  strive  hard  to  be  funny,  but 
they  fail  to  make  an  impression;  most  of  the  comedy 
situations,  which  range  from  bedroom  farce  to  slap- 
stick antics  on  the  narrow  ledge  of  a  high  building,  fall 
flat.  Tito  Guizar  and  Constance  Moore  put  over  the 
musical  numbers  in  competent  style;  but  the  songs 
arc  not  outstanding.  The  picture's  setting  is  Mexico, 
and  worked  into  the  plot  are  the  usual  scenes  of  festive 
gayety  one  expects  to  sec  in  musicals  of  this  type,  but 
all  this  is  presented  in  so  routine  a  fashion  that  it  leaves 
the  spectator  unmoved : — 

Tired  of  the  frenzied  adoration  of  his  feminine  fans, 
Tito  Guizar,  a  popular  Mexican  crooner,  enters  into 
a  scheme  cooked  up  by  his  manager  (Leo  Carrillo) 
whereby  Constance  Moore,  a  visiting  American  musi- 
cal star,  would  pose  as  his  secret  wife;  Guizar  hoped 
that  his  fans,  believing  that  he  was  married,  would  let 
him  live  peacefully.  Constance  agrees  to  the  hoax  at 
the  insistence  of  her  manager  (Howard  Freeman) ,  but 
against  her  better  judgment.  Convinced  that  Guizar 
was  a  conceited  fellow,  Constance  plans  to  teach  him 
a  lesson.  Their  clashing  temperaments  soon  result  in 
numerous  scenes  and  quarrels  as  both  try  to  outwit 
one  another  in  their  efforts  to  gain  public  attention. 
Meanwhile  Estilita  Rodriguez,  a  fiery  Mexican  dancer 
who  loked  upon  Guizar  as  her  own,  suspects  that  the 
"marriage"  was  a  hoax,  and  her  efforts  to  expose  it 
compel  Guizar  to  confine  himself  to  Constance's  bed- 
room suite.  Matters  become  even  more  complicated 
when  Carrillo  and  Freeman,  to  give  the  "marriage" 
authenticity,  arrange  with  two  youngsters  to  pose  as 
the  couple's  children.  This  move  gives  Estilita  an  op- 
portunity to  expose  the  marriage  as  a  hoax.  She  gives 
the  story  to  the  newspapers,  and  the  unfavorable  pub- 
licity results  in  a  break  between  Constance  and 
Guizar,  who  by  this  time  had  really  fallen  in  love.  It 
all  turns  out  for  the  best,  however,  when  both  are  re- 
united at  a  gay  Pan-American  festival. 

Frank  Gill,  Jr.,  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Alfred 
Santell  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Steven  Geray  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  1,  1945  No.  48 


THE  TRIAL  IS  ENDED 

As  most  of  you  undoubtedly  know  by  this  time, 
the  trial  of  the  Government's  New  York  anti-trust 
case  against  the  eight  major  producers  was  concluded 
on  November  20,  after  consuming  no  more  than 
twenty  days  of  courtroom  testimony.  The  speed  with 
which  the  trial  was  carried  through  has  astonished 
most  informed  industryites,  who  had  expected  that 
the  proceedings  would  last  as  much  as  six  months. 

The  only  details  still  remaining  in  the  suit  are  the 
filing  of  briefs  by  both  sides,  and  the  presentation  of 
oral  arguments.  The  Government  has  until  December 
1?  to  file  its  brief,  while  the  defendants  have  until 
January  7  to  file  theirs.  The  Court  has  set  January  1 5 
as  the  day  on  which  it  will  hear  the  oral  arguments  of 
both  sides. 

As  was  to  be  expected,  predictions  as  to  the  final 
outcome  of  the  trial  are  filling  the  air  thick  and  fast, 
with  varying  reasons  given  by  the  predictors  as  to 
why  one  side  or  the  other  will  emerge  victorious. 

In  the  opinion  of  this  paper,  it  is  yet  too  early  for 
one  to  make  predictions,  because  of  the  intracacies  of 
the  evidence  and  of  the  testimony  thus  far  presented 
by  both  sides.  For  instance,  the  Government  has  sub' 
mitted  approximately  450  documents  to  prove  its 
charges  of  monopoly  against  the  defendants,  and  one 
would  have  to  study  these  documents  carefully  to 
understand  their  full  significance  before  he  could 
qualify  as  a  predictor.  And,  before  venturing  his  pre- 
diction,  he  would  also  have  to  make  a  close  study  of 
the  material  offered  by  the  defendants.  Even  the 
Court  hasn't  had  time  for  such  a  study. 

It  is  possible  that,  with  the  filing  of  briefs  and  the 
presentation  of  oral  arguments,  the  evidence  and  tes- 
timony presented  thus  far  may  be  summarized  in  a 
manner  that  will  give  to  the  unbiased  observor  a 
clearer  picture  of  the  strength  and  weakness  of  each 
side,  thus  putting  him  in  a  better  position  to  predict 
the  outcome.  For  the  present,  however,  predictions 
should  be  held  in  abeyance,  for  they  can  be  nothing 
more  than  either  propaganda  or  guess-work. 


A  CITATION  FOR  THE  INDUSTRY 

"In  recognition  of  its  united  efforts  in  war  and 
continued  assistance  in  war  time,"  says  a  Washington 
dispatch  to  Motion  Picture  Daily,  "the  industry  will 
be  given  a  Government  citation  signed  by  President 
Truman,  and  the  War,  Treasury  and  Navy  Depart- 
ments, on  Dec.  4,  ,  ,  ," 

Just  how  much  good  will  a  citation  do  for  the  in- 
dustry unless  the  public  is  told  about  this  citation  and 
about  what  induced  the  President  and  the  three  gov- 
ernmental departments  to  issue  it? 

During  the  last  two  years  of  the  War,  Harrison's 
Reports  continued  urging  the  leaders  of  the  industry 


to  take  page  advertisements  in  the  newspapers  and 
the  national  magazines  to  make  known  to  the  public 
what  the  motion  picture  industry  was  doing,  not  only 
for  the  nation,  but  also  for  the  members  of  the  armed 
forces. 

-  The  heads  of  other  industries  took  such  ads  to  gain 
good  will  by  establishing  in  the  minds  of  the  public 
what  they  had  done  and  were  doing  to  help  the  nation 
win  the  war.  What  the  motion  picture  industry  did 
for  the  war  effort,  however,  was  far  greater  than  that 
of  any  other  industry,  including  newspapers  and  ra- 
dio. The  picture  industry  sold  billions  and  billions  of 
dollars  worth  of  bonds,  presented  to  the  three 
branches  of  the  armed  services  more  than  forty  mil- 
lion dollars  worth  of  film  exhibitions,  and  brought  to 
the  members  of  the  armed  services  a  bit  of  home  dur- 
ing their  rest  periods,  helping  greatly  to  keep  up  their 
morale.  But  this  paper's  pleas  for  institutional  adver- 
tising were  made  in  vain.  And  the  crackpot  politi- 
cians, aware  that  the  industry  has  done  nothing  to 
gain  the  public's  good  will,  have  been  and  still  are 
sniping  at  it. 

The  industry  leaders  could  have  used  the  indus- 
try's war-time  aid  to  the  Government  as  a  means  of 
convincing  the  Congressional  tax  committees  that  the 
twenty  per  cent  tax  on  admissions  should  be  either 
repealed  entirely  or  cut  substantially,  but  most  of  our 
industry  leaders  either  are  tired  old  men  or  they  have 
made  their  "pile"  and  care  little  about  what  happens 
to  the  industry  now. 

Will  some  younger  executives  undertake  to  do 
what  the  older  executives  are  failing  to  do? 


WELCOME  TO  A  NEW  PRODUCER 

Hal  Home,  former  Director  of  Advertising,  Pub- 
licity and  Exploitation  for  20th  Century-Fox,  has 
issued  an  announcement  of  the  formation  of  a  new 
production  company  to  be  known  as  Story  Produc- 
tions, Inc.,  with  Armand  Deutsch,  as  president,  and 
Home  as  chairman  of  the  board  and  executive  vice- 
president. 

The  announcement  states  that  the  company  has  al- 
ready acquired  several  best-selling  novels,  and  that  it 
is  presently  negotiating  with  well  known  producers, 
directors  and  writers  for  their  services  in  the  com- 
pany's production  plans. 

For  years  Hal  Home  has  been  recognized  as  one 
of  the  leaders  in  planned  exploitation  campaigns,  and 
as  such  his  experience  qualifies  him  as  a  man  who 
should  know  the  likes  and  dislikes  of  the  picture-going 
public. 

This  paper,  which  for  years  has  encouraged  more 
independent  production,  welcomes  Hal  Home  into 
the  field  and  wishes  him  the  best  of  success. 


190 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  1,  1945 


"A  Walk  in  the  Sun"  with  Dana  Andrews 
and  Richard  Conte 

( 20th  -Century-Fox,  January;  time,  117  min.) 

This  is  a  distinguished  war  melodrama,  produced  and 
directed  with  great  care,  and  it  will  probably  be  hailed  by 
many  critics  as  one  of  the  outstanding  war  pictures  yet 
made.  Its  box-office  possibilities,  however,  are  questionable, 
first,  because  it  is  a  war  picture,  and  secondly,  because  its 
appeal  will  be  directed  mostly  to  high-class  audiences.  It  is 
doubtful  if  the  masses  will  give  the  picture  the  support  it 
deserves,  for  the  action  is  slowed  down  considerably  by  an 
over-abundance  of  dialogue.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  except  for 
an  occasional  burst  of  battle  action,  the  characters  do  noth- 
ing but  talk,  talk,  talk.  True,  this  dialogue  is  meaningful,  for 
it  concerns  that  thoughts  and  reactions  of  soldiers  under  bat- 
tle conditions,  but  there  is  so  much  of  it  that  it  comes  to  a 
point  where  one  begins  to  squirm.  Another  drawback,  par- 
ticularly as  far  as  women  are  concerned,  is  that  the  picture 
has  an  all-male  cast;  there  is  no  romantic  interest. 

The  story,  which  takes  place  in  Italy  in  1943,  at  the 
Salerno  beachhead,  revolves  around  a  platoon  of  American 
soldiers  who  become  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  invasion 
force,  and  around  their  trials  and  tribulations  as  they  strive 
to  attain  their  objective — a  blockhouse,  six  miles  inland, 
camouflaged  as  a  farmhouse,  which  the  Nazis  were  using  to 
guard  a  bridge.  The  capture  of  this  objective  is  marked  by 
several  thrilling  combat  scenes,  and  by  individual  feats  of 
daring  and  sacrifice.  In  between  these  melodramatic  inci- 
dents,  the  story  concerns  itself  chiefly  with  the  reactions  of 
the  different  soldiers  to  the  conditions  that  plucked  them 
out  of  a  peaceful  civilian  existence  and  placed  them  on  a 
battlcfront.  In  many  respects,  the  picture  is  not  unlike  "The 
Story  of  G.I.  Joe,"  for  it  is  a  personalized  story  of  the 
part  the  infantryman  has  played  in  the  war.  The  characteri- 
zations of  the  soldiers  are  colorful;  each  comes  from  a  differ- 
ent walk  in  life,  and  on  the  whole  they  represent  a  cross- 
section  of  the  many  thousands  of  American  soldiers  who 
have  served. 

Dana  Andrews,  the  best  known  player  in  the  cast,  gives 
a  good  account  of  himself  as  the  sergeant  who  finds  himself 
in  charge  of  operations  when  his  immediate  superior,  lack- 
ing confidence  in  himself,  orders  him  to  assume  command. 
Acting  honors,  however,  go  to  Richard  Conte  for  his  ex- 
cellent portrayal  of  a  cocky  machine  gunner. 

Robert  Rossen  wrote  the  screenplay  from  a  story  by 
Harry  Brown,  and  Lewis  Milestone  produced  and  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Sterling  Holloway,  George  Tyne,  Nor- 
man Lloyd,  Lloyd  Bridges  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"A  Letter  for  Evie"  with  Marsha  Hunt, 
Hume  Cronyn  and  John  Carroll 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  89  min.) 

The  mistaken  identity  theme  has  been  used  to  good  ad- 
vantage in  this  comedy-drama;  it  should  please  most  audi- 
ences. The  story,  which  revolves  around  a  meek,  small-built 
soldier,  who  starts  a  letter-writing  romance  with  a  pretty 
girl,  but  represents  himself  as  a  brawny,  romantic  fellow  by 
mailing  her  a  picture  of  his  buddy,  has  a  number  of  novel 
twists.  Most  of  the  comedy  stems  from  the  fact  that  the 
buddy  learns  of  the  romance  and  takes  advantage  of  the 
ruse.  The  manner  in  which  the  little  fellow  attempts  to  foil 
his  buddy,  while  keeping  the  girl  from  learning  the  truth, 
results  in  many  hilarious  situations.  The  ending  is  satisfy- 
ing, for  the  meek  fellow,  with  whom  the  audience  sympa- 
thizes, wins  the  girl : — 

Marsha  Hunt,  secretary  in  a  New  York  shirt  factory, 
seeks  romance.  She  puts  a  letter  in  the  pocket  of  a  shirt, 
destined  for  shipment  to  an  army  camp,  and  invites  the 
recipient  to  write  to  her.  The  shirt  is  issued  to  John  Carroll, 
a  woman-jilting  soldier,  who  reads  the  letter  and  throws  it 
away,  but  Hume  Cronyn,  his  buddy,  a  lonesome  little  fel- 
low, recovers  it.  He  answers  the  letter  and  includes  a  picture 


of  Carroll  as  himself.  Marsha,  enthralled  by  the  picture, 
starts  a  letter-writing  romance  with  Cronyn.  Ordered  over- 
seas, Cronyn  and  his  company  pause  in  New  York.  Eager 
to  meet  Marsha,  he  goes  to  her  apartment  and,  assuming 
Carroll's  name,  tells  her  that  "Cronyn"  had  been  sent  away 
on  a  secret  mission,  and  that  he,  as  "Cronyn's  buddy,"  had 
been  asked  to  entertain  her.  Meanwhile  at  the  barracks, 
Carroll  discovers  one  of  Marsha's  letters  and  learns  of  the 
ruse.  The  next  evening  he  follows  Cronyn  to  Marsha's 
apartment  and,  assuming  Cronyn's  name,  sweeps  Marsha 
into  his  arms.  Knowing  Carroll's  reputation  with  women, 
Cronyn  resorts  to  many  tricks  to  keep  him  away  from 
Marsha,  but  his  efforts  are  unavailing;  Marsha  and  Carroll 
become  engaged.  But  before'  the  marriage  can  take  place 
both  men  are  sent  overseas.  In  France,  Carroll  marries  a 
French  girl.  Marsha,  concerned  about  not  hearing  from 
Carroll,  visits  the  home  of  Cronyn's  parents,  where  she  dis- 
covers that  Cronyn  and  not  Carroll  had  written  the  love 
letters.  When  Cronyn  is  returned  home  wounded,  he  goes 
to  Marsha  and,  still  assuming  Carroll's  name,  informs  her 
that  her  lover  had  been  killed  rather  than  hurt  her  with  the 
news  of  Carroll's  marriage.  Marsha,  by  this  time  in  love 
with  Cronyn,  informs  him  that  she  knew  the  truth  and 
slips  her  arms  around  his  neck. 

De  Vallon  Scott  and  Alan  Friedman  wrote  the  screen 
play,  William  H.  Wright  produced  it,  and  Jules  Dassin 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Pamela  Britton  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Man  in  Grey"  with  James  Mason 
and  Margaret  Lockwood 

(Universal,  no  release  date  set;  time.  92  min.) 

This  adult  romantic  drama  is  a  fairly  good  British  cos- 
tume picture,  produced  lavishly,  but  much  of  it  is  unpleasant. 
Set  in  the  early  1800's,  the  story  is  a  mixture  of  romance, 
chicanery,  and  violence,  fascinatingly  played  by  a  com- 
petent cast.  The  unpleasantness  is  caused  by  the  brutal  be- 
haviour of  the  heroine's  husband,  and  by  the  cruel,  conniv- 
ing antics  of  his  conscienceless  mistress,  who  posed  as  his 
wife's  friend.  Particularly  disagreeable  are  the  sequences  in 
which  the  mistress  mercilessly  causes  the  heroine  to  die,  only 
to  be  beaten  to  death  herself  by  the  husband.  The  heroine, 
who  had  been  tricked  into  a  marriage  of  convenience,  is  a 
sympathetic  character,  and  one  understands  her  reasons  for 
wanting  to  run  away  with  another  man.  Their  romance  pro- 
vides the  picture  with  many  pleasant  moments,  but  one  will 
leave  the  theatre  conscious  only  of  the  unpleasantness: — 

Phyllis  Calvert,  a  pretty  London  debutante,  is  tricked 
by  her  mother  into  marrying  James  Mason,  an  arrogant 
nobleman,  who  did  not  love  her  but  required  a  heir  for  his 
title.  After  their  son  is  born,  both  agree  to  lead  their  own 
lives  but  to  outwardly  keep  up  the  appearance  of  their  mar- 
riage. Phyllis  meets  up  with  Margaret  Lockwood,  a  penniless 
actress  who  had  been  her  school  chum,  and  insists  that  she 
come  home  to  live  with  her.  Mason,  though  learning  that 
Margaret  had  been  leading  a  shady  life,  falls  in  love  with 
her  and  makes  her  his  mistress  secretly.  Margaret  immedi- 
ately plots  to  oust  Phyllis  from  the  house.  Meanwhile  Phyllis 
had  met  Stewart  Granger,  a  dashing  adventurer  from  the 
West  Indies,  and  a  romance  between  them  is  started.  Mar- 
garet fosters  the  romance  to  gain  her  own  ends,  then  engi- 
neers a  fight  between  Mason  and  Granger,  causing  Mason  to 
order  Phyllis  out  of  the  house.  Phyllis  decides  to  go  to 
Jamaica  with  Granger,  but  the  Prince  Regent  persuades  her 
to  return  to  Mason  to  avoid  a  scandal.  On  her  return  home, 
Phyllis  is  taken  ill,  and  Margaret,  furious  because  her  plans 
had  been  upset,  allows  her  to  catch  a  chill  and  die.  Mason, 
frightened  that  a  scandal  might  tarnish  his  name,  thrashes 
Margaret  to  death. 

Margaret  Kennedy  and  Leslie  Arliss  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Edward  Black  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Arliss  directed  it.  It 
is  a  Gainsborough  production. 

Not  suitable  for  children. 


December  1,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


191 


"Hit  the  Hay"  with  Judy  Canova 
and  Ross  Hunter 

(Columbia,  N.ou.  29;  time,  62  min.) 
Sixty-two  minutes  of  unbearable  boredom!  If  Academy 
Awards  were  handed  out  for  the  dullest  comedy  of  the 
year,  this  one  would  undoubtedly  win  first  prize.  The  story 
is  insipid,  tedious,  and  long  drawn  out,  with  very  little 
action.  The  characters  behave  in  so  ridiculous  a  manner 
that  the  spectator  becomes  impatient  with  them.  The  plot 
is  interspersed  with  songs,  several  which  are  operatic  arias, 
which  Judy  Canova  sings  in  burlesque  fashion,  but  her  ef- 
forts to  be  funny  fall  flat.  It  is  doubtful  if  even  her  most 
ardent  followers  will  find  Miss  Canova's  antics  entertain' 
ing: — 

Ross  Hunter  faces  bankruptcy  because  of  his  inability  to 
secure  financial  backing  from  Paul  Stanton  for  his  civic 
opera  company.  Lunching  in  a  food  market,  Ross  finds  Judy 
singing  operatic  arias  while  milking  a  cow.  Discovering 
that  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  former  opera  singer,  Ross 
takes  her  to  Stanton  who,  after  hearing  her  voice,  agrees  to 
finance  the  opera.  Ross  enlists  the  aid  of  Doris  Merrick,  his 
girl-friend  columnist,  who  gives  Judy  a  publicity  build-up. 
He  soon  finds  that,  although  Judy  sang  well,  she  was  totally 
lacking  in  acting  ability.  Lest  he  lose  his  financial  backer, 
Ross,  in  desperation,  conceives  the  idea  of  having  Judy  sing 
from  the  wings  while  a  double  played  her  part  on  the  stage. 
Gloria  Holden,  another  singer,  who  was  jealous  of  Judy's 
success,  demands  the  leading  role  under  threat  of  exposing 
Judy  as  a  fraud.  Ross  succeeds  in  thwarting  Gloria's  scheme, 
but  Judy,  stricken  with  remorse,  refuses  to  deceive  the  pub- 
lic in  further  operas.  To  save  the  opera  company,  however, 
Judy  writes  her  own  version  of  "William  Tell,"  designed 
to  suit  her  special  talents.  The  novelty  of  the  production  ap- 
peals to  the  opera  patrons,  and  Judy  emerges  a  greater  suc- 
cess than  ever. 

Richard  Weil  and  Charles  Marion  wrote  the  original 
screenplay,  Ted  Richmond  produced  it,  and  Del  Lord  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Fortunio  Bonanova,  Francis 
Pierlot,  Grady  Sutton  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"House  of  Dracula"  with  Lon  Chaney, 
John  Carradine  and  Onslow  Stevens 

(Universal,  Dec.  7;  time,  67  min.) 

This  is  another  one  of  Universal's  horror  concoctions,  for 
which  it  has  resurrected  its  deathless  trio — Frankenstein's 
Monster,  the  Wolf  Man,  and  Dracula.  To  these  three  play- 
mates it  has  added  the  inevitable  mad  scientist,  and  the  net 
result  is  an  entertainment  that  is  more  ludicrous  than  ter- 
rifying; it  may  prove  acceptable  to  the  avid,  undiscrimi- 
nating  horr*r  picture  fans,  but  the  more  discriminating 
patrons  will  be  either  amused  or  bored.  In  story  and  in 
treatment,  it  is  a  rehash  of  familiar  horror  picture  formulas. 
Much  happens,  but  nothing  that  will  surprise  anyone. 
Since  the  action  is  considerably  gruesome  in  spots  it  is 
not  suitable  entertainment  for  children: — 

Engaged  in  research  for  the  correction  of  human  deform- 
ities, Onslow  Stevens,  an  eminent  scientist,  is  asked  by 
"Count  Dracula"  (John  Carradine)  to  cure  him  of  the 
vampire  curse.  Stevens  was  unaware  that  "Dracula"  was 
merely  seeking  to  further  his  unholy  interest  in  Martha 
O'Driscoll,  his  (Steven's)  secretary.  Meanwhile  Lon  Chaney 
enlists  the  scientist's  aid  in  relieving  a  brain  pressure,  which, 
at  full  moon,  transformed  him  into  a  werewolf.  Chaney,  im- 
patient about  the  cure,  attempts  suicide  by  throwing  him- 
self into  the  sea.  In  his  rescue  of  Chaney,  the  scientist  finds 
Frankenstein's  Monster  lying  in  a  cave.  Stevens  decides  to 
restore  life  to  the  Monster,  but  Jane  Adams,  his  hunchback 
nurse,  dissuades  him.  In  the  course  of  treating  "Dracula," 
Stevens,  following  a  transfusion,  becomes  contaminated  with 
his  blood  and  finds  himself  turning  into  a  vampire.  The 
affliction  causes  him  to  suffer  periodic  strokes  of  insanity, 
during  which  he  brings  about  "Dracula's"  permanent 


death,  and  murders  Ludwig  Stossel,  his  kindly  handyman. 
In  his  sane  moments,  however,  he  manages  to  perform  a 
successful  operation  on  Chaney.  In  the  meantime,  the  vil- 
lagers, having  discovered  that  Stevens  had  murdered  Stossel, 
form  a  posse  to  hang  him.  By  this  time  completely  mad, 
Stevens  murders  his  nurse  and  gives  life  to  Frankenstein's 
Monster.  Chaney,  to  protect  himself  and  Martha,  kills  the 
scientist.  He  then  starts  a  fire,  causing  the  Monster  to 
perish  in  the  flames. 

Edward  T.  Lowe  wrote  the  screenplay,  Paul  Malvern 
produced  it,  and  Erie  C.  Kenton  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Lionel  Atwill,  Glenn  Strange  and  others. 


"The  Bells  of  St.  Mary's"  with 
Bing  Crosby  and  Ingrid  Bergman 

(RiCO,  no  release  date  set-  time,  126  min.) 

Excellent!  That  it  will  be  a  smash  box-office  success  is 
assured,  not  only  because  of  the  stars'  wide  popularity,  but 
also  because  it  is  a  simple,  inspired  entertainment,  the  sort 
the  masses  will  relish.  As  in  "Going  My  Way,"  which  he 
also  wrote,  produced,  and  directed,  Leo  McCarey  has  proved 
again  that  great  pictures  do  not  require  pretentious  stories. 
"The  Bells  of  St.  Mary's"  tells  a  simple  story,  which,  in 
warmth,  human  appeal,  wholesomeness,  and  humor,  is  in 
every  way  comparable  to  "Going  My  Way."  In  it  we  find 
Bing  Crosby  cast  once  again  as  "Father  O'Malley,"  the 
youthful,  understanding  parish  priest,  this  time  taking  over 
a  new  assignment  as  pastor  of  a  parochial  school,  which  was 
in  a  bad  state  of  repair,  and  which  had  inadequate  funds. 
How  he  helps  Ingrid  Bergman,  the  Sister  Superior,  to  acquire 
a  new  building,  despite  their  good-mannered  differences  over 
school  matters,  is  told  in  such  a  charming  and  human  way 
that  those  who  will  see  the  picture  will  leave  the  theatre  with 
a  feeling  that  they  would  like  to  see  it  again. 

The  story,  though  simple,  is  rich  in  incidents,  some  of 
which  are  highly  amusing,  and  others  that  cannot  help 
tugging  at  one's  heart-strings.  For  example,  there  is  con- 
siderable appeal  in  Crosby's  undertaking  to  reconcile  an 
estranged  couple  so  that  their  dejected  'teen-age  daughter 
could  have  a  happy  home  life.  Another  phase  of  the  story 
that  is  rich  in  humor  and  in  human  interest  is  the  manner 
in  which  Miss  Bergman  and  Crosby,  working  independent- 
ly, soften  the  heart  of  a  crochety  old  millionaire  and  induce 
him  to  donate  his  new  office  building,  adjoining  the  school 
grounds,  for  a  new  school.  Among  the  many  delightful  high- 
lights are  Miss  Bergman's  efforts  to  teach  a  young  boy  the 
manly  art  of  self-defense,  only  to  be  knocked  down  flat  when 
she  invites  him  to  try  to  hit  her  on  the  chin,  and  the  staging 
of  a  Christmas  play  by  a  group  of  kindergarden  children, 
who  enact  their  own  version  of  the  Nativity — both  se- 
quences are  memorable.  Crosby's  singing  of  a  few  religious 
songs,  in  which  he  is  joined  by  Miss  Bergman,  adds  much 
to  the  picture's  entertaining  qualities. 

The  dramatic  phase  of  the  story  concerns  the  illness  of 
Miss  Bergman,  who  develops  a  touch  of  tuberculosis  but  is 
not  told  about  it.  Crosby,  advised  by  the  doctor  that  she 
needed  a  milder  climate,  arranges  for  her  transfer  from  St. 
Mary's  but,  unwilling  to  tell  her  the  truth,  allows  her  to 
think  that  she  was  being  transferred  because  of  their  differ- 
ences. The  closing  scenes,  where  she  leaves  the  school,  and 
where  Crosby  brings  himself  to  tell  her  the  true  reason,  are 
powerfully  dramatic. 

The  acting  of  the  entire  cast  is  excellent.  Crosby  delights 
one  with  his  ease  and  natural  charm,  and  Miss  Bergman  will 
undoubtedly  rise  to  new  heights  of  popularity  because  of 
the  effective  way  in  which  she  portrays  her  role.  Watching 
them  both,  one  forgets  that  they  are  acting.  Leo  McCarey 
set  himself  a  high  mark  to  shoot  at  in  producing  a  follow-up 
to  "Going  My  Way,"  but  none  can  deny  that  he  reached 
that  mark  with  high  honors. 

Dudley  Nichols  wrote  the  screen  play.  The  cast  includes 
Henry  Travers,  William  Gargan,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Joan 
Carroll,  Rhys  Williams,  Una  O'Connor,  Martha  Sleeper 
and  many  others. 


192 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  1,  1945 


"Snafu"  with  Robert  Benchley, 
Vera  Vague  and  Conrad  Janis 

(Columbia,  J\(ov.  22;  time,  82  min.) 

A  moderately  entertaining  comedy-farce,  of  program 
grade.  Based  on  the  Broadway  stage  play  of  the  same  title, 
the  story  deals  with  the  problems  that  beset  an  under-age 
veteran  when  he  is  returned  home  from  the  battlefronts  by 
parental  request.  Occasionally  it  manages  to  be  really 
funny,  but  for  the  most  part  the  proceedings  are  tedious. 
The  trouble  with  the  story  is  that,  for  the  sake  of  an  occa- 
sional  gag,  opportunities  to  inject  human  interest  have  been 
sacrificed.  Moreover,  the  farcical  situations  have  been  con- 
trived in  so  ordinary  a  manner  that  the  spectator  loses  in- 
terest in  the  outcome;  he  guesses  in  advance  just  what  the 
next  move  of  the  players  will  be.  The  fact  that  the  title 
stands  for  military  slang  of  coded  obscenity,  known  to 
many  people,  may  prove  to  be  a  drawback  at  the  box-office. 
Another  possible  drawback  that  should  be  considered  is  the 
fact  that  Robert  Benchley,  who  plays  one  of  the  leading 
roles,  died  recently;  some  picture-goers  may  be  sensitive 
about  seeing  him  on  the  screen: — 

Discovering  that  Conrad  Janis,  their  fifteen-year-old  run- 
away son,  had  falsified  his  age  to  join  the  army,  Robert 
Benchley  and  Vera  Vague  effect  his  discharge.  Conrad  re- 
turns home  a  hero,  but  finds  it  difficult  to  adjust  himself 
to  family  life,  because  of  his  parents'  failure  to  recognize 
that  he  had  grown  into  manhood.  When  Jimmy  Lloyd,  his 
overseas  buddy  arrives  in  town  on  a  furlough,  Conrad  in- 
vites him  to  become  a  house  guest.  Nanette  Parks,  a  jour- 
nalism student  at  a  nearby  girls'  school,  visits  the  house  to 
interview  the  boy  hero,  but  she  mistakes  Jimmy  for  Con- 
rad. Attracted  to  her,  Jimmy  poses  as  Conrad  and,  after 
spending  the  evening  with  her,  trails  her  to  her  dormitory 
room  to  return  a  notebook  she  had  forgotten.  His  presence 
in  the  dormitory  starts  a  riot  when  the  girls  mistake  him  for 
a  masher  and  compel  him  to  flee.  Conrad,  unaware  of 
Jimmy's  experience,  finds  himself  accused  of  being  the  sol- 
dier in  the  girls'  dormitory.  This  charge,  together  with  the 
failure  of  his  parents  to  understand  him,  causes  him  to 
rebel;  he  runs  off  with  Janis  Wilson,  his  schoolgirl  sweet- 
heart, to  be  married.  Benchley,  already  harrassed  by  Janis' 
hysterical  aunt,  and  by  the  head  matron  of  the  girls'  school, 
finds  matters  even  more  complicated  when  Marcia  Mac 
Jones,  an  Australian  girl,  arrives  to  visit  Conrad  and  an- 
nounces that  she  was  an  expectant  mother.  Meanwhile  Con- 
rad, having  changed  his  mind  about  marrying  Janis,  re- 
turns home.  Everything  is  finally  straightened  out  when 
Marcia  explains  that  she  was  the  bride  of  one  of  Conrad's 
buddies,  and  when  Jimmy  confesses  that  he,  not  Conrad,  had 
visited  the  girls'  dormitory. 

Louis  Solomon  and  Harold  Buchman  wrote  the  screen 
play,  and  Jack  Moss  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Enid  Markey  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

(Ed.  7\(ote:  In  one  sequence  a  Chesterfield  cigarette  ad- 
vertisement on  a  magazine  cover  is  displayed  prominently.) 


"A  Game  of  Death"  with  John  Loder, 
Edgar  Barrier  and  Audrey  Long 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  72  min.) 
Originally  produced  by  RKO  in  1932  under  the  title  of 
"The  Most  Dangerous  Game,"  this  remake,  like  the  original, 
may  give  enjoyment  to  morbid  people  with  sadistic  instincts, 
but  it  may  prove  a  bit  too  harrowing  for  average  picture- 
goers.  The  story,  which  revolves  around  a  maniacal  hunter 
whose  prey  is  human  beings,  instead  of  beasts,  is  different 
but  hardly  pleasurable.  One  gruesome  scene  is  in  the  vil- 
lain's trophy  room,  where  heads  of  his  victims  are  shown 
floating  in  jugs  of  water.  It  has  considerable  excitement  and 
suspense,  particularly  in  the  closing  scenes,  where  the  vil- 
lain chases  the  hero  and  heroine  through  the  jungle 
swamps  in  an  effort  to  kill  them.  It  is  a  lurid  tale,  completely 
void  of  comedy  relief: — 


Washed  ashore  after  the  yacht  on  which  he  had  been  a 
guest  is  wrecked,  John  Loder,  an  author  and  big  game 
hunter,  finds  himself  on  a  lonely  Carribbean  island.  He 
locates  a  castle  occupied  by  Edgar  Barrier,  an  ex-Prussian 
officer,  his  four  servants,  and  a  pack  of  6avage  dogs.  Barrier 
invites  Loder  to  stay  in  the  castle,  and,  at  dinner,  he  meets 
Audrey  Long  and  her  brother,  Russell  Wade,  who,  too, 
had  been  shipwrecked  days  previously.  Warned  by  Audrey 
that  there  was  something  sinister  about  Barrier,  Loder  in- 
vestigates and  learns  that  Barrier,  after  causing  ships  to  be 
wrecked  by  placing  false  signals  on  the  water,  gave  refuge 
to  the  survivors.  After  entertaining  them  for  a  few  days, 
he  would  order  the  survivors  to  leave  the  castle  and  try  to 
escape  from  him.  He  then  would  hunt  them  down  and  kill 
them.  Loder,  aided  by  Audrey  and  her  brother,  plot  to 
trap  Barrier.  But  Barrier,  learning  of  their  scheme,  impri- 
sons Audrey  and  Loder,  and  chases  her  brother  to  his  death. 
Loder,  aware  that  he  and  Audrey  would  be  the  next  victims, 
taunts  Barrier  into  giving  them  a  sporting  chance  for  their 
lives.  Barrier,  priding  himself  as  a  sportsman,  accepts.  Loder 
outwits  him  and,  after  a  terrible  ordeal,  kills  Barrier  and 
makes  his  escape  with  Audrey  in  a  motor  boat. 

Norman  Houston  wrote  the  screen  play,  Herman  Schlom 
produced  it,  and  Robert  Wise  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Russell  Hicks,  Gene  Stutenroth  and  others. 

Not  suitable  for  children. 


"Vacation  from  Marriage"  with 
Robert  Donat  and  Deborah  Kerr 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  94  min.) 

Produced  in  Britain  by  MGM,  this  domestic  comedy- 
drama  is  a  delightfully  pleasant  entertainment.  Depicting 
the  changes  wrought  by  the  war  in  the  lives  of  a  prosaic 
married  couple,  who  led  a  dull,  unadventurous  existence, 
the  story  is  a  skilful  blend  of  comedy  and  drama,  rich  in 
human  appeal.  Most  of  the  humor  lies  in  the  fact  that,  after 
three  years  of  separation,  during  which  each  served  in  the 
British  Navy,  and  each  learned  how  to  enjoy  life,  both  dread 
the  necessity  of  returning  to  one  another  to  resume  a  mo- 
notonous married  life,  without  realizing  that  the  other's  way 
of  life  was  what  each  now  desired.  The  scenes  in  which  they 
first  meet  after  the  separation  and  come  to  the  realization 
that  the  other's  personality  had  changed  completely  are 
highly  humorous.  One's  interest  is  held  throughout,  thanks 
to  the  engaging  performances  of  Robert  Donat  and  De- 
borah Kerr,  as  the  principals.  Although  the  story  has  a 
war  background,  it  has  little  to  do  with  the  fighting: — 

Donat,  a  timid  office  clerk,  placidly  married  to  Deborah, 
a  drab,  mild-mannered  woman,  joins  the  navy  at  the  start 
of  the  war.  Under  the  rigors  of  navy  training,  he  becomes 
toughened  physically,  and  world-wise  mentally.  At  home, 
Deborah,  tired  of  an  idle  life,  becomes  a  Wren.  The  change 
from  a  humdrum  existence  has  a  decided  effect  on  her; 
she  blossoms  out  and  soon  discovers  that  she  had  been  miss- 
ing many  pleasures,  particularly  when  she  becomes  infatu- 
ated with  a  young  naval  architect.  Meanwhile  Donat,  too, 
becomes  eager  for  life  when  he  falls  in  love  with  Ann  Todd, 
his  nurse,  while  recuperating  from  wounds  in  a  North 
African  hospital.  After  a  separation  of  three  years,  Donat 
and  Deborah  each  receive  a  ten-day  furlough  and  both 
arrange  to  meet  in  their  London  apartment.  Each  felt 
morally  obliged  to  return  to  the  other,  but  the  thought  of 
resuming  their  dull  married  life  was  abhorrent  to  both. 
Deborah  journeys  to  London  accompanied  by  Glynis  Johns, 
her  Wren  friend,  while  Donat  takes  with  him  Caven  Wat- 
son, his  buddy.  Both  tell  their  friends  that  they  planned  to 
ask  for  a  divorce.  Meeting  for  the  first  time,  Deborah  and 
Donat  are  delightfully  shocked  to  see  the  change  in  one 
another,  but  inadvertent  remarks  made  by  their  friends 
about  what  each  said  of  the  other  leads  them  into  a  quarrel. 
Eventually,  however,  both  become  repentant,  and  the  finish 
finds  them  in  each  other's  arms. 

Clemence  Dane  and  Anthony  Pelissier  wrote  the  screen 
play,  and  Alexander  Korda  produced  and  directed  it.  The 
supporting  cast  is  composed  of  English  players. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  8,  1945  No.  49 


HARRY  BRANDT'S  AMBITION 

Harry  Brandt,  of  New  York  City  and  environs,  be- 
sides  owning  a  circuit  of  theatres,  has  one  burning 
desire — to  effect  a  new  national  exhibitor  organic 
tion. 

The  November  23  issue  of  Film  Daily  reports  that, 
two  days  previously,  Mr.  Brandt  advocated  such  an 
organization,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  the  Decern!' 
ber  5  meeting  of  theatremen  in  Washington,  con- 
vened for  the  purpose  of  formulating  a  unit  that  will 
carry  on  some  of  the  functions  of  the  theatre  division 
of  the  War  Activities  Committee,  will  serve  as  an 
opportunity  for  them  to  weld  their  interests. 

In  expressing  his  views,  Mr.  Brandt  failed  to  make 
clear  what  kind  of  theatremen  he  had  in  mind  when 
he  said  that  these  will  have  an  opportunity  to  "weld 
their  interests"  at  the  Washington  meeting. 

Mr.  Brandt  knows,  or  at  least  ought  to  know,  that 
there  are  two  kinds  of  exhibitors :  affiliated  with  pro- 
ducers  and  distributors,  and  not  affiliated.  He  un- 
doubtedly knows  also  that  the  interests  of  the  two  are 
not  identical.  The  former,  have  no  trouble  obtaining 
the  film  they  need,  because  of  the  interlocking  inter- 
ests of  the  different  theatre-owning  producer  groups; 
the  latter,  are  not  in  so  fortunate  a  position,  as  he  has 
undoubtedly  learned,  not  only  from  experience,  but 
also  from  the  Government's  suit  against  these  groups 
to  bring  about  a  dissolution  of  their  theatre  operation 
activities. 

Harry  Brandt  knows  that  there  is  a  national  organi- 
zation consisting  of  independent  theatremen — Allied 
States  Association  of  Motion  Picture  Exhibitors.  Why 
does  he  not  join  that  organization?  If  he  means  what 
he  says  he  will  join  this  organization — or  he  should 
have  joined  it  long  ago. 

It  may  be  that  he  dislikes  some  of  the  Allied  officers 
and  some  of  the  Allied  policies,  but  the  place  where  he 
can  express  his  views  most  effectively  is,  not  in  the 
hallways,  but  on  the  floor  of  the  meeting  room  when- 
ever either  the  directors  or  the  members  at  large  hold 
a  meeting.  Since  the  organization  is  founded  on  demo- 
cratic principles,  it  is  the  vote  of  the  majority  that  de- 
termines both  the  leadership  and  the  policies  of  Allied. 
Hence,  if  Brandt  can  prove  that  certain  of  the  policies 
are  wrong,  they  will  be  corrected;  and  if  he  dislikes 
the  methods  of  certain  of  the  officers,  it  is  up  to  him 
to  prove  his  point  and  they  will  undoubtedly  be  re- 
placed. 

How  about  it,  Harry? 


STIFFENING  BRITISH  QUOTA 

MAY  BE  A  BLESSING 

In  recent  weeks  some  members  of  the  British  Par- 
liament have  demanded  that  the  imports  of  American 
pictures  to  Great  Britain  be  reduced  by  fifty  per  cent 
of  what  it  is  now,  for  two  reasons :  to  cut  down  the 
amount  of  exchange,  limiting  it  to  about  $80,000,000 
annually,  and  to  compel  the  American  theatres  to 
show  British  pictures. 

This  paper  could  not  criticize  the  members  of  the 
British  Parliament  if  the  proposal  to  reduce  the  im- 
ports of  American  pictures  had  been  made  as  an  eco- 
nomic measure.  Unfortunately,  however,  Robert 
Boothby,  M.P.,  who  made  the  reduction  demand, 
mixed  in  politics  with  his  recommendation;  he  said 
that  the  American  producers  are  out  to  exploit  the 
screens  of  the  world,  and  suggested  that  they  be 
stopped. 

Just  how  Mr.  Boothby  expects  to  stop  the  Ameri- 
can producers  from  exploiting,  as  he  believes,  the 
screens  of  the  world  by  reducing  the  number  of  pic- 
tures Great  Britain  imports  from  the  United  States  is 
hard  to  understand.  If  anything,  the  efforts  of  the 
American  producers  to  reach  every  theatre  the  world 
over  will  be  accentuated  by  the  loss  of  part  of  the 
revenue  from  Great  Britain. 

This  paper  has  discussed  repeatedly  the  inability  of 
British  pictures  to  reach  the  American  screens  in 
greater  numbers,  pointing  out  that  the  blame  lies, 
neither  on  the  American  exhibitor,  nor  on  the  Ameri- 
can public.  Whenever  a  good  British  picture  reaches 
the  United  States  and,  after  a  trial  or  two,  attracts 
the  picture-going  public,  the  exhibitors  rush  to  book 
it. 

It  may  be  true  that  some  of  the  theatre-owning 
producers  do  not  give  the  worthwhile  British  pictures 
the  same  attention  they  give,  either  to  their  own  pic- 
tures, or  to  those  of  the  other  theatre-owning  pro- 
ducers, but  that  does  not  mean  that  they  are  discrimi- 
nating against  British  pictures,  for  they  give  the  same 
treatment  to  the  pictures  of  the  non-theatre-owning 
American  producers.  Notice  the  complaints  of  some 
of  the  members  of  the  Society  of  Independent  Motion 
Picture  Producers,  which  Society  has  as  members  such 
outstanding  producers  as  David  Selznick,  David 
Loew,  Eddie  Small,  Hunt  Stromberg,  Arnold  Press- 
burger,  Sol  Lesser,  Charles  Rogers  and  others. 

The  British  critics  of  the  American  exhibitors  and 
producers  seem  unable  to  comprehend  two  facts :  the 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


194 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  8,  1945 


"Frontier  Gal"  with  Yvonne  De  Carlo 
and  Rod  Cameron 

(Universal,  Dec.  21;  time,  84  min.) 

A  pretty  good  "glorified"  Western,  in  Technicolor.  In 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  story  is  ordinary,  it  should  enjoy 
wide  audience  appeal,  for  it  has  plentiful  rough-and-tumble 
action,  comedy,  some  music,  and  a  fiery  romance.  Some  of 
the  melodramatic  situations  arc  wildly  imaginative,  and  the 
hectic,  romantic  by-play  between  Yvonne  De  Carlo  and 
Rod  Cameron  is  sometimes  stretched  to  the  limit  of  comic 
absurdity,  but  if  one  accepts  the  story  for  what  it  is  he 
should  find  it  entertaining.  Miss  De  Carlo's  acting  shows 
improvement  over  her  work  in  "Salome,  Where  She 
Danced,"  and,  as  in  that  picture,  extra  care  has  been  taken 
to  see  that  her  physical  attributes  are  shown  off  to  good 
advantage.  The  surprise  of  the  picture  is  five-year-old  Bev- 
erly Simmons;  she  is  a  natural  little  actress,  and  her  charm 
is  captivating: — 

Rod  Cameron,  a  fuguitive  wanted  for  the  shooting  of  his 
partner's  slayer,  rides  into  Red  Horse  Gulch  in  search  of 
the  assassin's  accomplice.  There  he  meets  Yvonne,  operator 
of  a  saloon.  She  misinterprets  his  attentions  as  a  proposal 
of  marriage  and,  when  he  tries  to  laugh  it  off,  compels  him 
at  the  point  of  a  gun  to  marry  her.  Amused,  he  takes  her 
forcibly  to  his  ranch  for  a  honeymoon,  much  to  the  chagrin 
of  Sheldon  Leonard,  her  discarded  admirer.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day,  however,  the  law  catches  up  with  Cameron,  and 
he  is  sent  to  prison.  Returning  after  a  six-year  term,  Camer- 
on finds  that  he  has  a  five-year-old  daughter  (Beverly  Sim- 
mons). Despite  the  coolness  between  Cameron  and  Yvonne, 
the  little  girl  wins  his  affection  and,  when  he  sees  her  sing- 
ing in  the  saloon,  he  wrests  her  away  from  Yvonne  and  takes 
her  to  his  ranch.  He  sends  for  his  former  sweetheart,  a 
schoolteacher,  to  give  the  child  a  woman's  care.  When 
Yvonne  comes  out  to  the  ranch,  Cameron  tells  her  that  he 
intended  to  marry  the  schoolteacher.  She  agrees  to  divorce 
him  and  to  give  up  her  daughter  in  the  belief  that  the  child 
would  have  a  cultural  advantage.  Their  agreement  is  frus- 
trated, however,  when  Leonard,  still  angered  at  having  been 
jilted,  kidnaps  Beverly.  Cameron  rides  after  him,  while 
Yvonne  rounds  up  the  sheriff  (Andy  Devine)  and  a  posse. 
After  a  hot  pursuit,  Cameron  catches  Leonard  and  in  a 
desperate  struggle  throws  him  over  a  cliff  to  his  death.  He 
then  rescues  the  child  from  a  perilous  perch  on  a  log  over  a 
deep  chasm.  Their  daughter  saved,  Cameron  and  Yvonne 
become  reconciled. 

Michael  Fessier  and  Ernest  Pagano  wrote  and  produced 
the  screen  play,  and  Charles  Lamont  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Fuzzy  Knight,  Andrew  Tombes  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"An  Angel  Comes  to  Brooklyn"  with 
Kaye  Dowd,  Robert  Duke  and  David  Street 

(Republic,  Tiov.  27;  time,  70  min.) 

Republic  presents  this  program  musical  as  a  "novel  ex- 
periment in  screen  entertainment,"  because  it  combines  the 
talents  of  a  group  of  ambitious  youngsters — all  newcomers 
to  the  screen.  For  offering  these  young  players  an  oppor- 
tunity, Republic  is  deserving  of  commendation,  unfortu- 
nately, however,  it  furnished  them  with  a  dull,  slow-paced 
fantasy  type  story  that  strains  for  its  laughs,  with  the  result 
that  the  picture  is  tiresome  on  the  whole.  The  song  and 
dance  sequences  are  plentiful  and  pleasing,  and  they  are 
performed  against  fairly  elaborate  backgrounds,  but  they 
are  not  enough  to  hold  one's  interest.  The  players  work 
pretty  hard  to  put  over  the  picture,  but  they  are  weighed 
down  by  the  poor  material. 

The  story  opens  in  Actors'  Heaven,  where  departed 
show  people  stood  ready  to  help  struggling  young  actors 
on  the  Earth.  Learning  that  Kaye  Dowd.  an  aspiring  young 
actress,  refused  to  be  discouraged  by  producer  Wilton 
Graff's  refusal  to  employ  her,  the  chief  of  Actors'  Heaven 
assigns  one  of  his  angels,  Charles  Kemper,  a  former  magician, 
to  go  to  the  Earth  to  help  her.  Kemper,  concealing  his 


identity,  becomes  friendly  with  Kaye  and  with  Robert  Duke, 
a  young  artist  in  love  with  her,  and  he  arranges  with  Graff 
to  grant  Kaye  another  audition.  Graff,  however,  entranced 
by  Kemper's  feats  of  magic,  rejects  Kaye  again,  but  tries  to 
sign  Kemper.  Determined  that  Kaye  should  not  lose  cour- 
age, Kemper  pretends  to  be  a  man  of  means  and  offers  to 
produce  a  show  if  she  and  Duke  would  organize  one.  The 
youngsters,  inspired,  round  up  their  stage-struck  friends  and 
dream  up  an  elaborate  musical  show.  Meanwhile  Kemper 
seeks  ways  and  means  to  interest  Graff  in  their  plans.  David 
Street,  an  advertising  writer,  who  loved  Kaye  but  wanted 
her  out  of  show  business,  determines  to  sabotage  the  plans. 
He  succeeds  by  intercepting  and  concealing  a  message  from 
Graff  offering  to  grant  the  youngsters  an  audition.  In  the 
meantime  Kemper  had  been  recalled  to  Heaven  for  making 
a  mess  of  Kaye's  case.  With  Kemper'6  disappearance,  Kaye 
loses  heart,  but  Duke  encourages  her  to  put  on  the  show 
anyway.  Kemper,  in  Heaven,  pleads  for  another  chance  to 
help  Kaye.  His  plea  granted,  Kemper  returns  to  the  Earth 
where  he  exposes  Street's  perfidy  and,  after  inspiring  the 
youngsters  with  enough  confidence  to  sell  Graff  the  idea  of 
backing  the  show,  returns  to  Heaven  vindicated. 

Stanley  Paley  and  June  Carroll  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Leonard  Stillman  produced  it,  and  Leslie  Goodwins  directed 
it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Masquerade  in  Mexico"  with 
Dorothy  Lamour  and  Arturo  de  Cordova 

(Paramount,  Feb.  22;  time.  96  min.) 

Diverting  entertainment  for  sophisticated  audiences. 
There  is  nothing  exciting,  novel,  or  suspensive  about  the 
farcical  story,  but  it  has  been  given  such  a  lavish  produc- 
tion, and  the  performances  are  so  engaging,  that  one's  inter- 
est is  held,  despite  the  obvious  ending.  Comedy  is  aroused 
throughout,  most  of  which  has  to  do  with  the  predicaments 
Dorothy  Lamour  finds  herself  in  when  a  young  banker 
compels  her  to  help  h\m  get  rid  of  his  wife's  admirer,  an 
amorous  Mexican  bull-fighter.  Considerable  laughter  is  pro- 
voked by  the  romantic  antics  of  Arturo  de  Cordova,  as  the 
matador.  The  action,  which  takes  place  in  Mexico  City,  has 
a  gay  Latin  atmosphere,  and  it  is  interspersed  with  inciden- 
tal music  and  dancing.  Miss  Lamour's  clothes  should  make 
a  hit  with  the  women  patrons.  An  outstanding  comedy  bit 
is  provided  by  Mikhail  Rasumny,  in  the  small  role  of  a 
music-loving  Mexican  cab  driver: — 

Dorothy,  a  New  York  chorus  girl,  is  tricked  by  George 
Rigaud  into  flying  to  Mexico  with  a  stolen  diamond.  Land- 
ing in  Mexico  City,  Dorothy,  to  avoid  a  search  by  customs 
officials,  slips  the  gem  into  the  pocket  of  Patric  Knowles,  a 
wealthy  banker  and  fellow  passenger,  who  is  arrested  but 
subsequently  freed.  Dorothy  breaks  relations  with  Rigaud 
and,  posing  as  a  Spanish  Countess,  secures  a  singing  en- 
gagement in  a  night-club.  Knowles  discovers  her  there  and, 
under  threat  of  exposing  her,  employs  her  to  steal  the  affec- 
tions of  de  Cordova,  with  whom  his  amorous  wife  (Ann 
Dvorak)  had  become  infatuated.  Dorothy  becomes  a  guest 
at  Knowles'  home,  where  she  captivates  de  Cordova  to  the 
annoyance  of  Ann.  Meanwhile  Dorothy  and  Knowles,  with- 
out revealing  their  feelings,  fall  in  love  with  each  other. 
Complications  set  in  when  Rigaud,  having  learned  of  the 
scheme,  arrives  at  Knowles*  home  and  represents  himself 
as  the  Count,  Dorothy's  husband.  As  a  result,  numerous 
farcical  situations  ensue  until  Dorothy,  tired  of  it  all,  ap- 
peals to  Knowles  for  relief.  He  helps  her  by  paying  Rigaud 
a  huge  sum  of  money  to  leave  the  country,  and  by  suggest- 
ing that  she  marry  de  Cordova.  The  bullfighter,  however, 
aware  that  Dorothy  and  Knowles  loved  each  other,  sees  to 
it  that  each  learns  of  the  other's  feelings.  Knowles,  delighted, 
declares  his  intention  to  obtain  a  divorce  and  to  marry 
Dorothy. 

Karl  Tunberg  wrote  the  screen  play  and  produced  it,  and 
Mitchell  Leisen  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Natalie 
Schafer,  Billy  Daniels  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


December  8,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


195 


"Miss  Susie  Slagle's"  with  Veronica  Lake, 
Sonny  Tufts  and  Lillian  Gish 

(Paramount,  Feb.  8;  time,  88  min.) 

Good  wholesome  entertainment;  it  has  deep  human  ap- 
peal, dramatic  situations,  and  a  fair  amount  of  comedy.  The 
story,  which  revolves  around  a  group  of  medical  students 
residing  in  a  boarding  house  operated  by  a  gentle  old  lady, 
is  episodic,  but  its  warmth  and  simplicity  will  appeal  to  most 
picture-goers,  for  it  will  leave  them  with  a  pleasant  feeling. 
Lillian  Gish,  as  the  landlady,  is  charming;  the  affection  she 
shows  for  the  students,  and  her  efforts  to  help  them  over' 
come  their  problems,  pleases  one.  There  is  not  an  unpleas- 
ant character;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  all  are  appealing.  Two 
charming  romances,  one  that  ends  tragically,  are  worked  into 
the  plot.  The  action  takes  place  in  1910,  and  the  settings  of 
the  period  have  been  reproduced  with  care: — 

Miss  Gish,  who  maintained  her  boarding  house  for  medi- 
cal students  only,  most  of  whom  were  sons  of  eminent  doc- 
tors who  had  lived  with  her  during  their  student  days,  wel- 
comes among  her  new  guests  Sonny  Tufts,  Lloyd  Bridges, 
and  Pat  Phelan.  Aided  by  Billy  De  Wolf,  an  upper  class- 
man, the  boys  work  hard  at  their  studies.  Tufts  was  deter- 
mined to  become  a  surgeon,  despite  his  psychological  fear 
of  seeing  people  die,  the  result  of  a  tragedy  he  had  witnessed 
as  a  boy.  Romance  enters  into  Tufts'  life  when  he  meets 
and  falls  in  love  with  Joan  Caulfield,  daughter  of  Ray  Col- 
lins, a  staff  doctor.  Phelan,  too,  finds  romance  with  Ver- 
onica  Lake,  a  student  nurse.  When  an  epidemic  of  diptheria 
sweeps  the  city,  the  students  are  drafted  to  handle  other 
cases  while  the  doctors  combat  the  disease.  Phelan  becomes 
a  victim  of  the  disease,  and  his  friends  and  Veronica  take 
turns  watching  at  his  bedside.  He  dies  during  Tufts'  watch. 
Feeling  himself  responsible,  and  convinced  that  he  could 
never  overcome  the  fear  of  death,  Tufts  refuses  to  handle 
cases  assigned  to  him,  and  he  decides  to  resign  from  the 
school.  Miss  Gish  takes  him  in  hand,  and  in  a  kindly,  per- 
suasive way  induces  him  to  attend  a  maternity  case.  He  finds 
the  prospective  mother  in  a  critical  condition  and  loses  his 
nerve,  but  Veronica,  who  was  assisting  him,  gives  him  cour- 
age. He  performs  a  delicate,  emergency  operation,  saving 
both  mother  and  baby.  His  obsession  overcome,  Tufts  gradu- 
ates from  school  with  high  honors,  and  looks  forward  to 
making  Joan  his  wife. 

Anne  Froelick  and  Hugo  Butler  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  a  novel  by  Augusta  Tucker,  John  Houseman  produced 
it,  and  John  Berry  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Bill  Ed- 
wards, Roman  Bohnen,  Morris  Carnovsky  and  others. 

"Tokyo  Rose"  with  Byron  Barr, 
Osa  Massen  and  Don  Douglas 

(Paramount,  March  8;  time,  70  min.) 

Because  of  its  exploitable  title,  this  program  war  melo- 
drama offers  opportunities  for  above-average  business,  but 
as  entertainment  it  is  quite  ordinary.  The  story  starts  off 
in  an  interesting  way  by  showing  how  some  soldiers  on  the 
Pacific  battlefronts  were  affected  by  the  subtle  propaganda 
broadcast  by  Japan's  "Tokyo  Rose,"  but  it  soon  bogs  down 
into  a  wholly  unbelieveable  tale  about  an  escaped  American 
prisoner  who,  aided  by  the  underground  (Chinese  and 
Koreans),  succeeds  in  kidnapping  "Rose"  from  a  Tokyo 
radio  station.  The  action  is  at  times  fast  and  exciting,  but  it 
is  so  far-fetched  that  only  the  most  undiscriminating  action 
fans  will  find  it  interesting.  Lotus  Long,  who  portrays 
"Tokyo  Rose,"  takes  little  part  in  the  action;  she  does  not 
make  an  appearance  until  the  final  reel:- — 

Byron  Barr  and  a  group  of  fellow  American  prisoners 
are  selected  by  the  Japs  to  be  interviewed  on  "Tokyo  Rose's" 
program;  by  giving  the  prisoners  good  food  and  every 
courtesy,  the  Japs  hoped  to  lull  them  into  reporting  favor- 
ably on  their  treatment.  Barr,  aware  of  the  scheme,  leads 
a  revolt  in  the  broadcasting  station  during  an  air  raid  and, 
after  taking  identification  papers  from  a  Swedish  news- 
paperman killed  in  the  bombing,  manages  to  make  his 
escape.  He  is  given  refuge  by  Don  Douglas,  correspondent 
of  an  Irish  newspaper,  and  by  Osa  Massen,  Douglas'  sweet- 


heart. Douglas  puts  Barr  in  touch  with  the  underground, 
which  arranges  for  him  to  be  put  aboard  an  American  sub- 
marine scheduled  to  surface  on  the  following  night  at  a 
designated  spot  off  the  coast.  Barr,  whose  hatred  for  "Tokyo 
Rose"  was  intense,  determines  to  capture  her  before  leav- 
ing Japan.  He  explains  his  daring  plan  to  Keye  Luke,  an 
underground  member,  who  agrees  to  join  him.  Wearing  the 
dead  correspondent's  clothes,  Barr,  on  the  pretext  of  inter- 
viewing "Rose,"  gets  into  the  radio  studio  and  compels  her 
to  follow  him  out  of  the  building.  They  are  met  by  Osa,  who, 
having  found  reason  to  suspect  Douglas  of  informing  the 
Japs  of  Barr's  plan,  had  come  to  warn  them.  All  jump  into 
a  waiting  car  only  to  find  themselves  pursued  by  a  car-load 
of  Jap  soldiers.  Barr  wrecks  the  pursuing  car  with  a  hand 
grenade,  and  heads  for  the  meeting  place  on  the  coast. 
There  he  and  Osa  are  met  by  Douglas,  who  explains  that  he 
had  been  double-crossing  the  Japs  so  that  Barr  could  get 
away  with  "Rose."  Turning  their  prisoner  over  to  the  under- 
ground, Barr,  Osa,  and  Douglas  row  to  the  safety  of  the 
waiting  submarine. 

Geoffrey  Homes  and  Maxwell  Shane  wrote  the  screen 
play,  and  Lew  Landers  directed  it.  It  is  a  Pine-Thomas  pro- 
duction. The  cast  includes  Richard  Loo  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Road  to  Utopia"  with  Bing  Crosby, 
Bob  Hope  and  Dorothy  Lamour 

(Paramount,  March  22;  time,  90  min.) 
Good  mass  entertainment.  Like  the  previous  "Road"  pic- 
tures, in  which  Crosby,  Hope,  and  Miss  Lamour  have  been 
starred,  this  one  is  fast-moving  and  filled  with  many  non- 
sensical but  hilarious  situations.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it 
hasn't  much  of  a  story  to  tell,  one's  interest  in  the  proceed- 
ings never  lags,  for  the  laughs  come  frequently,  continuing 
to  the  end.  Crosby  and  Hope,  as  two  confidence  men  loose 
in  Alaska  during  the  Gold  Rush  days,  are  extremely  funny; 
individually,  or  as  a  team,  they  get  the  most  out  of  every 
gag  and  comedy  situation.  The  picture  pokes  fun  at  itself 
throughout,  beginning  with  a  commentary  by  the  late 
Robert  Benchley,  who  tells  the  audience  that  it  is  an  ex- 
ample of  how  a  picture  should  not  be  made,  and  continu- 
ing with  numerous  other  "kidding"  gags,  some  of  which 
include  direct  remarks  to  the  audience  by  the  players,  as 
well  as  by  animals  that  talk.  The  action  is  interspersed  with 
several  tuneful  songs,  sung  by  Crosby  and  by  Miss 
Lamour: — 

Learning  that  her  father,  discoverer  of  a  gold  mine,  had 
been  murdered  by  two  Alaskan  desperadoes,  who  had  stolen 
the  map  of  the  mine,  Dorothy  Lamour  determines  to  follow 
the  pair  to  the  Klondike  to  recover  the  map  and  to  file  claim 
to  the  mine.  Meanwhile  Crosby  and  Hope  come  to  a  parting 
of  the  ways  when  Hope  insists  that  they  go  to  Alaska  in 
search  of  gold.  Hope,  however,  tricks  Crosby  into  accom- 
panying him  and,  during  the  voyage,  both  become  mixed  up 
with  the  two  thugs,  steal  the  map,  and  assume  their  appear- 
ances to  get  off  the  ship.  The  townspeople,  believing  them 
to  be  the  ruthless  desperadoes,  keep  out  of  their  way.  Dor- 
othy, under  the  same  impression,  starts  romancing  with 
both  of  them  in  an  effort  to  recover  the  map.  She  also  en- 
lists the  aid  of  Douglas  Dumbrille,  a  crooked  political  boss, 
who  pretends  friendship  for  her  as  part  of  a  plan  to  steal 
the  map  for  himself.  Hope  and  Crosby  soon  become  the 
prey  of,  not  only  Dorothy,  but  also  Dumbrille's  henchmen, 
as  well  as  the  two  desperadoes,  who  sought  revenge.  They 
head  into  the  far  north  in  search  of  the  mine,  closely  pur- 
sued by  the  others,  who  overtake  them  in  a  snow  storm. 
After  numerous  complications  and  adventures,  during  which 
both  men  play  hide-and-seek  with  the  villains,  but  find 
enough  time  to  vie  for  Dorothy's  hand,  they  elude  their 
pursuers  and  turn  the  map  over  to  Dorothy.  Hope  wins  her 
for  his  wife,  but  twenty-five  years  later  their  grown  son 
looks  uncommonly  like  Crosby. 

Norman  Panama  and  Melvin  Frank  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Paul  Jones  produced  it,  and  H.J  Walker  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Hillary  Brooke,  Jack  LaRue  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


196 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  8,  1945 


British  producers  cannot  make  as  good  pictures  for 
the  American  market,  as  can  the  American  producers, 
and  they  have  not  attempted  to  exploit  their  stars  in 
the  United  States  so  that  the  American  public  may 
know  them  and  may  go  to  see  them  regardless  of  the 
quality  of  the  pictures  in  which  they  appear.  As  a 
rule,  the  American  picture-goers  prefer  their  favor- 
ite stars  to  the  best  pictures  made.  They  go  to  see 
them  even  if  the  pictures  in  which  they  appear  are 
not  so  good.  The  theory  is  that,  when  they  go  to  see 
a  picture  in  which  their  favorite  star  appears,  it  is 
just  like  visiting  a  friend.  How  can  the  British  critics, 
then,  expect  the  American  picture-goers  to  patronize 
British  pictures  when  they  are  not  screen-acquainted 
with  the  players  that  take  the  principal  parts  in  them? 

We,  in  the  United  States,  feel  that  British  cloth  is 
far  superior  to  American  cloth  and,  whenever  we  can 
obtain  it,  we  have  our  clothes  made  of  British  mat- 
terial.  Has  any  member  of  Congress  demanded  that  a 
quota  be  set  on  the  importation  of  British  cloth  unless 
the  British  people  make  one-half  their  clothes  with 
cloth  made  in  the  United  States?  If  any  member  of 
Congress  should  make  such  a  recommendation,  he 
would  be  laughed  out  of  the  Capitol  building.  And  yet 
a  member  of  the  British  Parliament  has  made  such  a 
recommendation ! 


PRODUCING  MOVING  PICTURES 
IS  NOT  LIKE  PLAYING  BALL 

"Convinced  that  more  efficient  methods  could  be 
used  in  production  of  pictures  to  eliminate  much  of 
the  current  waste,"  says  a  news  item  in  the  Novem- 
ber 17  issue  of  Motion  Picture  Herald,  "Dell  Webb, 
principal  stockholder  of  the  New  York  Yankees  base- 
ball club,  has  become  associated  with  Bing  Crosby, 
Anne  Nichols  and  Eddie  Sutherland  in  the  coming 
screen  version  of  Miss  Nichols'  'Abie's  Irish  Rose.' 
Mr.  Webb  is  not  a  picture  man,  his  entire  experience 
with  films  being  limited  to  investments  in  'Knicker- 
bocker Holiday'  and  'The  Great  John  L.'  However, 
recent  discussions  with  Mr.  Crosby  have  caused  him  to 
study  production  methods  and  as  a  result  he  will  be 
consulted  on  financial  angles  in  the  filming  of  'Abie's 
Irish  Rose'  He  is  reported  to  have  first  met  Bing  on  a 
golf  course  and  to  have  conducted  many  of  the  sub- 
sequent business  talks  with  him  in  that  informal  at- 
mosphere." 

If  Mr.  Webb  is  to  be  consulted  on  how  to  raise 
money  for  Mr.  Crosby  for  production  purposes,  per- 
haps his  deserting  baseball  for  picture  production  is  a 
wise  move,  not  only  for  himself,  but  also  for  Mr. 
Crosby,  but  if  he  is  to  tell  the  producer,  the  writer, 
or  the  director,  how  to  cut  down  costs,  this  paper 
fears  that  Mr.  Webb  will  find  that  retrenchment  in 
picture  making  is  far  different  from  retrenchment  in 
baseball. 

Is  he  going  to  advise  the  writer  how  to  finish  his 
script  much  more  quickly  than  heretofore?  If  so,  he 
will  have  his  hands  full  for,  to  begin  with,  either  writ' 
ing  a  story,  or  putting  a  story  in  script  form,  is  not 
like  putting  one  brick  on  top  of  another  to  form  a 
wall.  It  is  creative  work,  and  requires  inspiration, 
provided  the  writer  has  a  creative  imagination.  To 
attempt  to  force  the  writer  to  create  and  thus  finish 
his  work  sooner  will  avail  nothing.  If  ideas  do  not 
come,  they  will  not  come  by  urging  the  writer  to  exert 


greater  efforts.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  writer  is  more 
likely  to  tell  Mr.  Webb,  when  he  is  urged  too  much, 
to  get  some  other  writer  to  do  his  work. 

Is  he  going  to  tell  the  producer  how  to  get  more 
work  from  his  director,  his  cameraman,  his  grips,  his 
actors?  If  that  is  his  intention,  he  had  better  modify 
his  views,  for  all  these  craftsmen  are  independent, 
and  if  pressure  should  be  put  upon  them,  they  will  no 
doubt  lodge  a  complaint  against  Mr.  Webb  with  their 
business  agent.  The  matter  is  then  taken  up  at  the 
meeting  of  the  union  and,  if  the  complaint  is  found 
justified,  Mr.  Webb  will  be  told,  either  to  desist,  or 
the  men  will  be  pulled  out. 

The  reduction  of  costs  in  production  is  a  worthy 
objective,  and  has  been  dealt  with  in  these  columns 
frequently.  However,  before  Mr.  Webb  can  attain 
that  objective,  he  will  have  to  make  a  close  study  of 
the  business  so  that  his  ideas  of  cost-cutting  may  not 
clash  with  the  temperament  of  the  creative  artists. 

"Life  with  Blondie"  with  Arthur  Lake 
and  Penny  Singleton 

(Columbia,  Dec.  13;  time,  70  min.) 

This  is  another  one  in  the  "Blondie"  series,  and  is 
on  about  the  same  level  as  the  other  pictures;  that  is, 
a  fair  program  domestic  comedy,  the  sort  that  may 
amuse  picture-goers  who  like  plots  that  do  not  require 
them  to  think  too  hard.  High  class  audiences  will 
probably  find  the  proceeding  too  inane.  As  in  the  pre- 
vious pictures,  Arthur  Lake's  troubles  with  his  em- 
ployer and  with  his  budget  form  the  basis  for  most  of 
the  comedy.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  action  is  at 
times  pretty  silly,  it  is  fast-moving  and  occasionally 
diverting.  The  closing  scenes  are  exciting  in  a  slapstick 
sort  of  way.  One  sequence  contains  a  conspicuous  ad- 
vertisement for  Gruen  watches: — 

Complications  pile  up  in  the  "Bumstead"  family 
when  Daisy,  their  dog,  is  elected  "Pin-up  Pooch"  of 
the  Navy,  and  becomes  famous  overnight  as  a  dog 
model.  Conscience  stricken  because  the  dog's  earn- 
ings were  higher  than  his,  Arthur  Lake  is  unable  to 
do  his  work  properly  and,  as  a  result,  Jonathan  Hale, 
his  employer,  keeps  harranguing  him  for  a  set  of  blue 
prints  that  had  to  be  finished  on  a  certain  date  in 
order  that  Francis  Pierlot,  a  banker,  grant  the  com- 
pany a  sizeable  loan.  The  dog  receives  so  much  pub- 
licity that  she  finally  comes  to  the  attention  of  Veda 
Ann  Borg,  sweetheart  of  Douglas  Fowley,  a  notorious 
gangster.  Veda  decides  that  she  must  have  Daisy  for 
her  own.  When  Fowley 's  attempts  to  buy  Daisy  from 
Lake  are  unsuccessful,  his  henchmen  kidnap  the  dog. 
Discovering  that  Daisy  was  missing,  Penny  Singleton, 
Lake's  wife,  telephones  him  at  the  office,  just  as  he 
prepares  to  show  the  finished  blue  prints  to  the  banker. 
Lake,  excited,  rushes  out  of  the  office,  taking  with 
him  (not  only  the  blue  prints,  but  also  the  banker's 
brief  case  containing  the  check  for  the  loan.  His  boss 
and  the  banker  dash  after  him.  A  hectic  chase  ensues 
until  the  gangsters  are  finally  located  in  a  night-club, 
where  Lake,  assisted  by  his  wife,  his  boss,  the  banker, 
and  a  group  of  sailors,  subdue  the  crooks  and  bring 
Daisy  home  to  her  puppies. 

Connie  Lee  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Abby  Berlin 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Larry  Simms,  Marjorie 
Kent,  Ernest  Truex,  Marc  Lawrence  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921.  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  15,  1945  No.  50 


THE  UNAFFILIATED  EXHIBITORS 
ARE  DETERMINED  TO  REMAIN 
INDEPENDENT 

This  paper  has  for  many  years  contended  that  an 
organization  consisting  of  affiliated,  as  well  as  of  un- 
affiliated  exhibtors,  can  never  work  to  the  benefit  of 
the  unaffiliated  exhibitors,  first,  because  the  interests 
of  the  two  groups  are  in  many  respects  conflicting,  and 
secondly,  because  the  affiliated  members,  by  sheer 
weight  of  the  number  of  theatres  they  represent, 
would  dominate  such  an  organization  and  would  force 
their  will  on  the  minority. 

For  these  reasons,  Harrison's  Reports  is  whole 
heartedly  in  accord  with  the  refusal  of  the  Conference 
of  Independent  Exhibitors,  an  association  consisting  of 
twenty-one  independent  exhibitor  organizations,  to 
participate  in  the  meeting  of  theatremen  in  Washing' 
ton,  on  December  5,  which  meeting  was  called  by  the 
Theatre  Division  of  the  War  Activities  Committee  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  a  new  national  exhibitor  asso- 
ciation, the  functions  of  which  would  be  to  carry  on 
in  peace-time  the  work  that  had  been  done  by  the 
WAC  in  war-time,  such  as  making  available  theatre 
screens  for  the  showing  of  Government-sponsored 
films,  and  representing  all  exhibition  before  Congress 
and  other  Government  agencies  in  matters  affecting 
exhibition  interests. 

Although  the  CIE  has  not  officially  declared  itself 
as  being  opposed  to  the  formation  of  this  new  asso' 
ciation,  the  fact  that  none  of  its  members  participated 
in  the  meeting  leaves  no  doubt  as  to  its  opposition. 
Moreover,  its  attitude  is  exemplified  even  more  clearly 
in  the  following  resolution,  which  the  CIE  adopted 
unanimously  at  its  own  meeting  in  Washington,  two 
days  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  new  association's 
sponsors : 

"1.  Throughout  the  war  the  independent  exhib- 
itors comprising  the  membership  of  the  2 1  associations 
included  in  this  Conference,  cooperating  through  the 
War  Activities  Committee  of  the  Motion  Picture  In- 
dustry, gladly  made  their  screens  available  to  the  Gov- 
ernment in  carrying  to  the  public  official  messages, 
news  and  information  pertaining  to  the  conduct  of  the 
war. 

"2.  Holding  that  the  preservation  of  a  free  screen 
is  as  important  as  safeguarding  the  freedom  of  the 
press,  and  recognizing  that  in  peacetime  the  line  be- 
tween legitimate  publicity  and  propaganda  may  be 
thin,  we  oppose  any  movement  to  set  up  special  ma- 
chinery within  the  motion  picture  industry  to  encour- 
age such  use  of  the  screens,  now  that  the  war  is  over. 

"3.  Should  any  Government-sponsored  motion 
picture  of  special  importance  and  merit  come  to  the 
attention  of  this  Conference  and  of  its  constituent 


associations,  they  will  recommend  the  showing  of  such 
picture  by  their  members;  recognizing,  however,  the 
right  of  each  exhibitor  to  adopt  or  reject  such  rec- 
ommendation  in  the  exercise  of  his  discretion." 

The  CIE  is  to  be  commended  for  the  forthright 
stand  it  has  taken  in  insisting  that  each  individual  ex- 
hibitor  retain  the  right  either  to  show  or  not  to  show 
Government-sponsored  films.  Now  that  the  war  is 
over,  we  must  recognize  the  fact  that  many  people  in 
this  country,  no  longer  motivated  by  the  patriotic 
fervor  of  war-time,  during  which  they  willingly  set 
aside  their  personal  political  beliefs,  will  once  again 
begin  to  think  and  act  in  accordance  with  the  political 
doctrines  of  the  party  they  favor.  There  will  be  many 
who  may  from  time  to  time  disagree  with  some  of  the 
policies  of  the  present  administration,  and  it  is  under- 
standable  that  some  of  them  may  look  upon  certain  of 
the  Government-sponsored  films,  depending  on  their 
subject  matter,  as  an  attempt  by  the  administration  in 
power  to  propagandize  its  policies. 

While  some  of  these  Government  films  may  be  ac- 
ceptable to  the  picture-goers  in  one  community,  they 
may  be  poison  to  picture-goers  in  another  community. 
Consequently,  a  committee,  the  members  of  which 
will  in  all  probability  be  unfamiliar  with  conditions  in 
every  community,  should  not  be  permitted  to  pledge 
the  screens  of  the  nation  for  the  showing  of  Govern- 
ment films.  The  individual  exhibitor  must  be  permitted 
in  each  instance  to  decide  for  himself,  for  he,  better 
than  any  one  else,  knows  the  wishes  of  his  patrons. 

Meanwhile,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  neither  of  the 
two  national  exhibitor  organizations — CIE,  which  is 
representative  of  the  greater  majority  of  truly  inde- 
pendent exhibitors,  and  MPTOA,  which  is  producer 
controlled — has  indicated  a  willingness  to  join  them, 
the  proponents  of  the  new  organization,  with  the 
approval  of  approximately  100  theatremen  who  at- 
tended the  Washington  meeting,  are  going  ahead  with 
plans  for  its  establishment.  Si  Fabian  has  been  elected 
temporary  chairman,  and  he  has  been  authorized  to 
form  a  committee  to  assist  him  in  arranging  for  a  na- 
tional convention  to  be  called  within  the  next  three 
months  for  the  election  of  officers  and  for  the  drafting 
of  a  constitution  and  by-laws. 

Whether  or  not  this  new  organization  will  ultimate- 
ly come  into  being  remains  to  be  seen,  but,  assuming 
that  it  will,  the  lack  of  exhibitor  unity  in  its  sponsor- 
ship will  prevent  it  from  classifying  itself  as  an  organ- 
ization that  is  representative  of  a  unified  exhibition 
front.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  since  its  adherents  are  com- 
prised mostly  of  theatremen  whose  interests  are  either 
directly  or  indirectly  connected  with  the  theatre-own- 
ing producers,  the  organization  would  in  effect  be  but 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


198 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  15,  1945 


"Pillow  of  Death"  with  Lon  Chaney 
and  Brenda  Joyce 

(Universal,  Dec.  14;  time,  66  min.) 

Ordinary  program  fare.  It  may  serve  as  a  support- 
ing feature  in  theatres  whose  audiences  like  chilling 
murder  mystery  stories,  regardless  of  whether  or  not 
they  make  sense.  Those  who  demand  some  semblance 
of  logic  in  stories  will  be  either  amused  or  bored  by 
the  lack  of  it  in  this  tale  about  a  psychopathic  mur- 
derer.  The  action  is  filled  with  mysterious  happenings, 
aimed  at  directing  suspicion  on  the  different  charac 
ters,  and  these  should  keep  the  followers  of  "chiller" 
melodramas  in  suspense.  The  usual  eerie  effects  are 
employed,  such  as  sliding  doors,  secret  passages,  sud- 
den screams,  and  even  the  disappearance  of  the  corpse, 
but  none  of  these  make  much  of  an  impression  since 
the  story  itself  is  a  muddled  affair: — 

When  his  wife  is  murdered  mysteriously,  Lon 
Chaney,  admittedly  in  love  with  Brenda  Joyce,  his 
secretary,  is  accused  of  the  murder  by  Clara  Blandick, 
Brenda's  aunt,  and  Rosalind  Ivan,  her  cousin.  The 
police  arrest  Chaney,  but  release  him  for  lack  of  evi- 
dence. Chaney,  seeking  to  prove  his  innocence,  and 
to  find  his  wife's  murderer,  finds  reason  to  suspect  J. 
Edward  Bromberg,  a  fake  spiritualist,  with  whom  his 
wife  had  been  friendly;  Bernard  Thomas,  who,  too, 
was  in  love  with  Brenda;  and  Clara  and  Rosalind, 
who  disapproved  of  his  love  for  Brenda.  Chaney  felt 
that  each  had  a  desire  to  see  him  behind  bars  to  keep 
him  away  from  Brenda.  He  broods  over  his  predica- 
ment and  experiences  a  nightmare  in  which  he  is 
haunted  by  his  wife's  voice  accusing  him  of  her  mur- 
der. He  follows  the  voice  to  the  cemetery,  where  he 
finds  his  wife's  body  missing  from  the  crypt.  Mean- 
while two  more  murders  are  committed;  that  of  Clara, 
and  of  George  Cleveland,  Clara's  elderly  brother. 
Later,  Chancy  and  Brenda  discover  his  wife's  body  in 
the  cellar  of  Clara's  home,  but  Thomas  admits  that  he 
had  placed  it  there  to  frighten  Chaney  into  a  confes- 
sion. Chaney,  worried  over  Brenda's  safety,  decides  to 
stand  guard  in  her  home.  During  the  night,  his  wife's 
voice  lures  him  to  Cleveland's  room  and  compels  him 
to  reenact  the  slaying  of  the  old  man.  Brenda,  awak- 
ened by  Chaney 's  ravings,  enters  the  room  and  soon 
realizes  that  he  was  a  psychopathic  murderer  when  he 
attempts  to  add  her  to  his  list  of  victims.  The  timely 
arrival  of  Thomas  and  the  police  save  her  from  a 
violent  death,  and  Chaney,  heeding  his  wife's  voice, 
plunges  to  his  death  through  an  open  window. 

George  Bricker  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ben  Pivar 
produced  it,  and  Wallace  Fox  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Captain  Tugboat  Annie"  with 
Jane  Darwell  and  Edgar  Kennedy 

(Republic,  7<[ov.  17;  time,  70  min.) 
This  is  the  third  time  that  the  character  "Tugboat 
Annie"  has  been  filmed — first  in  1933,  by  Metro,  with 
Marie  Dressier  as  the  star,  and  then  again  in  1940,  by 
Warners,  with  Marjorie  Rambeau  in  the  lead.  This 
version  by  Republic  is  just  a  passable  program  com- 
edy-drama, the  sort  that  should  find  favor  mostly  with 
family  audiences  who  are  not  too  exacting  in  their 


demands.  Others  will  probably  find  the  trite  story 
developed  in  so  obvious  a  fashion,  and  the  comedy  so 
forced,  that  they  will  become  bored  by  the  time  the 
picture  is  half  finished.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  human 
interest  in  the  story,  but,  because  of  its  poor  treat- 
ment, it  docs  not  affect  one  as  it  should.  Jane  Darwell, 
as  "Tugboat  Annie,"  is  fairly  good,  but  her  perform- 
ance lacks  the  warmth  and  appeal  that  the  late  Mane 
Dressier  gave  to  the  role.  Except  for  a  thrilling  water- 
front fire  towards  the  end,  the  action  is  for  the  most 
part  slow-moving.  An  outstanding  highlight,  which 
seems  out  of  place  in  the  picture,  is  ten-year-old 
Saundra  Berkova's  beautiful  violin  rendition  of  a 
classical  piece: — 

Known  all  along  the  waterfront  for  her  ability,  as 
well  as  her  sharp  tongue,  Miss  Darwell,  a  tugboat 
captain,  foils  an  attempt  by  Edgar  Kennedy,  a  rival 
seafarer,  to  get  her  job;  a  deep-rooted  feud  between 
the  two  had  existed  for  many  years.  When  Saundra, 
a  waterfront  orphan  and  gifted  violinist,  comes  to 
visit  her,  Miss  Darwell  decides  to  adopt  the  child,  but 
Joseph  Crehan,  her  employer,  induces  her  to  let  him 
care  for  Saundra  so  that  he  could  finance  her  musical 
education.  Her  motherly  instincts  aroused,  Miss  Dar- 
well takes  steps  to  adopt  another  child,  but  through  a 
misunderstanding  she  is  given  custody  of  Charles 
Gordon,  a  young  veteran,  who  was  on  probation  for 
beating  a  man  who  had  swindled  his  deceased  mother. 
Gordon,  though  resentful  of  any  assistance,  is  obliged 
to  work  on  Miss  Darwell's  tug  while  under  her  charge. 
His  sullenness,  however,  wins  him  the  ill  will  of  Miss 
Darwell's  loyal  crew.  Meanwhile  Kennedy,  unrelent- 
ing in  his  efforts  to  get  Miss  Darwell's  position, 
empties  her  tug's  fuel  tanks  and  ruins  her  chance  to 
obtain  a  lucrative  towing  contract  for  her  employer. 
The  crew  suspects  Gordon  of  the  deed,  despite  Miss 
Darwell's  faith  m  the  boy,  but  Gordon  clears  himself 
by  compelling  Kennedy  to  admit  responsibility.  On  the 
night  that  Saundra  makes  her  debut  as  a  concert  violin- 
ist, the  waterfront  catches  fire,  and  a  flaming  tanker 
loaded  with  octane  gas  endangers  the  city.  Miss  Dar- 
well and  her  crew,  risking  their  lives,  tow  the  flaming 
tanker  out  to  sea,  where  it  explodes  without  damaging 
the  city.  As  a  result,  her  company  wins  the  profitable 
towing  contract. 

George  Callahan  wrote  the  screen  play,  James  S. 
Burkett  produced  it,  and  Phil  Rosen  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Manton  Moreland,  Pamela  Blake,  H.  B. 
Warner,  Fritz  Feld  and  others. 


"Prison  Ship"  with  Robert  Lowery 
and  Nina  Foch 

(Columbia,  !A{ov.  15;  time,  61  min.) 
This  is  another  one  of  those  minor  program  war 
melodramas,  produced  on  an  extremely  modest  bud- 
get, and  handicapped  by  a  mediocre  story.  From  the 
viewpoint  of  undiscriminating  action  fans,  one  may 
find  some  merit  in  it,  but  those  who  are  the  least  bit 
fussy  about  their  entertainment  will  probably  find  it 
tiresome,  for  the  heroic  doings  of  the  characters  tax 
one's  credulity  to  the  bursting  point.  As  can  be  ex- 
pected in  pictures  of  this  type,  Japanese  atrocities  are 
highlighted,  but  even  these  leave  one  unmoved  since 
the  story  never  strikes  a  realistic  note: — 


December  15, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


199 


Included  among  the  prisoners  on  a  Japanese  prison 
ship  are  Robert  Lowery,  an  American,  Barry  Bernard, 
an  Englishman,  and  Erik  Rolf,  a  Dutchman.  They  are 
joined  in  their  cell  by  a  group  of  women  prisoners, 
one  of  whom  was  Nina  Foch,  a  British  correspondent, 
who  had  disguised  herself  to  hide  her  identity. 
Noticing  that  the  ship  traveled  with  lights  ablaze,  and 
that  it  was  manned  by  a  skeleton  crew,  the  prisoners 
soon  realize  that  it  was  a  decoy  for  American  sub- 
marines. To  save  themselves  from  being  sunk,  the 
prisoners  evolve  a  plan  to  gain  control  of  the  ship. 
Lowery  and  Bernard  stage  a  fake  fight  to  attract  the 
guard's  attention,  and  Rolf  kills  the  guard  when  he 
intervenes.  Richard  Loo,  the  captain,  subdues  the 
prisoners  and  shoots  more  than  thirty  of  them  in  re 
taliation  for  the  guard's  murder.  To  save  the  others, 
Nina  reveals  her  identity  to  the  captain  and  offers  to 
hand  over  to  him  photographic  evidence  of  Japanese 
atrocities  if  he  would  stop  the  massacre  of  the  remain- 
ing  prisoners.  Meanwhile  Lowery,  Bernard,  and 
Rolf,  succeed  in  escaping  from  their  cell  and  in  cap- 
turing control  of  the  radio  room.  They  manage  to  sig- 
nal an  American  submarine  before  the  Japs  break 
down  the  door.  In  the  fight  that  follows,  Rolf  and  the 
captain  are  killed,  while  the  other  prisoners,  at  the 
cost  of  many  lives,  overpower  the  crew.  The  Ameri- 
can submarine  surfaces  to  torpedo  the  ship,  but  the 
prisoners  save  themselves  by  signalling  with  a  make- 
shift flag  of  truce.  Rescued,  Lowery  and  Nina,  who 
had  fallen  in  love,  look  to  the  future. 

Josef  Mischel  and  Ben  Markson  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Alexis  Thurn-Taxis  produced  it,  and  Arthur 
Driefuss  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Barbara  Pepper 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Dick  Tracy"  with  Morgan  Conway 
and  Anne  Jeffreys 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  61  win.) 
A  fairly  entertaining  program  grade  action  melo- 
drama-. Since  the  characters  are  based  on  the  "Dick 
Tracy"  cartoon  strip,  which  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
in  the  country,  many  people  may  be  curious  to  see 
them  on  the  screen.  Consequently,  the  picture  may 
draw  better  than  average  business,  particularly  with 
respect  to  the  younger  generation.  The  story  itself  is 
fantastic,  but  there  is  fast  action  and  suspense 
throughout,  brought  about  by  the  hero's  efforts  to 
capture  a  maniacal  murderer.  Occasionally  the  situa- 
tions are  wildly  melodramatic,  but  these  provide  the 
kind  of  excitement  action  fans  enjoy.  It  also  has  a 
sprinkling  of  comedy.  Morgan  Conway,  as  "Tracy," 
has  a  likeable  personality,  and  is  properly  daring.  It  is 
apparent  that  RKO  intends  to  make  a  series  of  these 
pictures: — 

The  stabbing  of  a  schoolteacher  on  a  lonely  street 
starts  Conway  on  the  trail  of  the  murderer.  Among 
the  dead  woman's  effects,  Conway  finds  a  threatening 
note  that  reveals  the  killer  to  be  a  man  known  as 
"Splitface"  (Mike  Mazurki) .  Conway  soon  discovers 
that  other  citizens,  including  the  Mayor,  had  received 
threatening  notes  from  "Splitface,"  but,  before  he  can 
get  around  to  interview  them,  two  of  them  are  mur- 
dered. His  search  for  the  killer  leads  Conway  to  the 


home  of  Trevor  Bardette,  a  demented  professor  of 
occult  science,  with  whom  "Splitface"  seemed  to  have 
an  alliance.  Questioning  the  professor,  Conway  learns 
that  "Splitface"  has  been  convicted  as  a  desperate 
killer  years  previously,  and  that  he  had  vowed  to  kill 
the  members  of  the  jury  that  had  found  his  guilty. 
"Splitface"  commits  a  few  more  murders  before  the 
police  net  begins  closing  in  on  him.  Desperate,  he 
manages  to  kidnap  Anne  Jeffreys,  Conway's  sweet- 
heart, with  the  idea  of  holding  her  as  hostage  until 
Conway  promised  to  stop  hunting  him.  But  Mickey 
Kuhn,  Conways  young  adopted  son,  hitches  on  to  the 
bumper  of  the  kidnap  car  and  sheds  articles  of  his 
clothing  along  the  route.  Conway,  following  these 
clues,  catches  up  with  "Splitface"  on  an  abandoned 
showboat.  There,  after  a  savage  fight,  he  vanquishes 
the  criminal  and  rescues  Anne  and  his  son. 

Eric  Taylor  wrote  the  screen  play,  Herman  Schlom 
produced  it,  and  William  Berke  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Jane  Greer,  Joseph  Crehan,  Lyle  Latell  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Red  Dragon"  with  Sidney  Toler 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  64  mm.) 

Not  much  can  be  said  for  this  latest  in  the  "Charlie 
Chan"  program  detective  series.  The  story  is  so  far- 
fetched, and  the  direction  and  performances  are  so 
ordinary,  that  the  spectator  loses  interest  in  the  doings 
of  the  different  characters.  Moreover,  the  action  is 
extremely  slow-moving;  most  of  the  plot  unfolds 
through  excessive,  tiresome  dialogue.  The  comedy  is 
too  silly  to  be  appreciated,  and  by  the  time  "Chan" 
solves  the  mystery  at  the  finish  one's  interest  in  the 
solution  is  gone.  All  in  all,  the  picture  is  way  below 
par  for  the  series : — 

When  an  attempt  is  made  to  steal  Robert  Emmett 
Keane's  plans  for  a  more  perfect  atomic  bomb,  Donald 
Taylor,  Keane's  assistant,  telephones  "Charlie  Chan" 
(Sidney  Toler)  to  come  to  Mexico  City  to  protect  the 
formula.  By  the  time  "Chan"  arrives,  Taylor  is  shot 
mysteriously  during  a  luncheon  at  Keane's  home,  at 
which  Barton  Yarborough,  Don  Costello,  Marjorie 
Hoshelle,  George  Meeker  and  Carol  Hughes  were 
present.  Police  Inspector  Fortunio  Bonanova  author- 
izes "Chan"  to  investigate  the  murder,  as  well  as  the 
disappearance  of  the  plans.  "Chan"  quickly  discovers 
that  those  present  at  the  murder  represented  different 
foreign  interests,  and  that  each  sought  to  obtain  the 
secret  formula.  He  suspects  them  all,  but  during  the 
investigation  they  are  murdered  one  by  one.  "Chan" 
finds  that  the  bullets  that  killed  them  were  fired,  not 
from  a  gun,  but  from  a  launching  device  set  off  by 
remote  control.  Eventually,  after  following  numerous 
clues,  "Chan,"  through  his  discovery  of  a  bottle  of 
Chinese  ink,  which  leads  him  to  a  Chinese  artist, 
learns  that  Taylor  had  painted  the  secret  formula  on 
an  old  typewriter  ribbon  to  keep  it  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  international  spies.  He  discovers  also  that  Yar- 
borough had  committed  the  murders. 

George  Callahan  wrote  the  screen  play,  James  S. 
Burkett  produced  it,  and  Phil  Rosen  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Benson  Fong,  Willie  Best,  Charles  Trow- 
bridge and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


200 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  15,  1945 


another  MPTOA.  And  there  is  certainly  no  need  for 
such  an  organization.  It  can  serve  only  as  a  means  to 
keep  in  the  limelight  its  proponents,  the  small  clique 
that  ruled  the  affairs  of  the  WAC,  and  that  usurped 
the  powers  of  the  different  committees  that  made  up 
the  WAC. 

The  stand  taken  by  the  CIE  has,  of  course,  laid  it 
open  to  considerable  criticism  on  the  part  of  the  new 
association's  proponents.  Efforts  are  being  made  to 
disparage  the  CIE  members  by  characterizing  them  as 
saboteurs  of  exhibitor  unity.  But  the  thinking  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  will  not  be  swayed  by  such  state- 
ments. Those  of  you  who  have  been  in  the  business  for 
many  years  will  recall  that  the  producer-distributor 
interests  had  sought  on  a  number  of  occasions  to  con- 
solidate the  independent  exhibitor  organizations  with 
their  controlled  exhibitor  units.  The  procedure  has 
been  to  draw  the  independents  into  conferences,  and 
then  by  sheer  weight  of  numbers  maneuver  them  to 
a  point  where  they  must  either  lose  their  identity  as 
independents,  or  withdraw  from  the  conference,  thus 
subjecting  themselves  to  the  criticism  of  having  "run 
out." 

The  leaders  of  the  CIE  are,  in  the  opinion  of  this 
paper,  fully  aware  of  the  pitfalls,  not  only  in  consoli- 
dating with  the  affiliated  interests,  but  also  in  entering 
into  organizational  conferences  with  them.  Their  vig- 
ilance in  seeking  to  maintain  the  truly  independent 
status  of  their  organizations  is,  therefore,  fully  justi- 
fied. 


USE  OF  ORIGINAL  PROPS 
DON'T  MAKE  A  BAD  STORY  GOOD 

According  to  a  news  release  from  its  publicity  de- 
partment,  Paramount  is  transporting  three  paneled 
rooms  of  the  Vanderbilt  mansion,  which  is  on  Fifth 
Avenue,  New  York  City,  to  its  studio  in  Hollywood, 
to  be  used  in  continental  scenes. 

The  rooms  consist  of  a  dining  room,  a  ballroom — the 
largest  private  ballroom  in  the  country — and  a  bath- 
room. 

The  dining  room  and  the  bathroom  are  finished,  says 
the  release,  in  handcarved  wood,  designed  and  made 
in  France.  They  will  be  used  in  Hal  B.  Wallis'  "The 
Searching  Wind." 

Though  nice  sets  impart  to  a  picture  dignity  and 
importance,  they  do  not  have  to  be  originals;  studio- 
manufactured  sets  representing  whatever  sets  the 
story  calls  for  impart  to  such  pictures  as  much  dignity 
and  importance  as  originals. 

But  even  though  the  sets  may  be  lavish  and  awe- 
inspiring,  the  picture  can  turn  out  poor  unless  the 
story  is  good. 

If  the  Hollywood  producers  gave  the  story  as  much 
care  as  they  give  to  the  sets  and  to  the  introductory 
title  of  the  picture,  the  quality  of  pictures  would  im- 
prove greatly. 

INTERESTING  COMMENTS  FROM 
AN  AUSTRALIAN  EXHIBITOR 

The  following  is  part  of  a  letter  that  I  received  from 
an  Australian  exhibitor : 
"Brother  Harrison: 

"Due  to  the  influx  of  service  men  with  money  to 
spend,  pictures  have  been  running  far  beyond  their 
usual  time,  with  the  result  that  the  distributors  have 
the  idea  that  the  long  run  is  due  to  the  excellence  of 
their  features,  while  it  is  really  due  to  the  fact  that  in 


most  cases  the  boys  have  nowhere  else  to  go,  and 
naturally  make  for  a  theatre  to  put  in  a  few  hours. 

"Now  that  the  war  is  over  and  we  are  losing  our 
extra  business,  our  big  problem  is  to  get  our  film  hire 
hack  to  pre-war  levels,  and  believe  me  this  takes  some 
doing.  Our  business  here  has  dropped  50%,  but  ex- 
penses are  still  up  in  the  clouds.  We  did  marvelous 
business  during  the  war  period,  but  the  terrific  taxes 
took  most  of  the  gilt  off  it,  and  whereas  in  normal  time 
we  could  get  material  to  repair  seats,  etc.,  this  being 
an  allowable  deduction,  we  had  all  this  extra  wear  and 
tear,  but  we'll  have  to  wait  until  material  is  available 
for  replacement,  and  this  expense,  with  a  sadly  de- 
picted income,  is  going  to  take  some  figuring  out. 

"Despite  all  shortages  we  keep  the  flag  flying  at 
Olympia.  RCA  managed  to  keep  all  gear  in  good  con- 
dition, and  let  us  have  what  they  could.  They  also 
maintained  a  good  service  despite  that  fact  that  the 
Brisbane  staff  was  three  men  short.  Carbons,  tubes 
and  sprockets  were  the  main  difficulty,  but  by  careful 
handling  we  managed  O.  K.  Plenty  of  film,  but  due 
to  the  shortage  of  prints  we  were  put  back  a  bit  in  our 
releases.  Pictures  in  two  classes,  good  and  not  so  good 
— nearly  all  the  former  have  been  jacked  up  into  per- 
centage class  most  of  which  we  could  have  bought, 
before  the  war,  as  'A'  grade  features  (flat). 

"Well  I  must  not  take  up  any  more  of  your  time, 
but  would  like  to  express  my  appreciation  for  what 
the  U.  S.  A.  has  done  for  us  here,  and  the  way  you 
treated  our  boys  while  they  were  over  there  complet- 
ing their  training  in  the  air  force.  They  all  speak 
highly  of  their  treatment. 

"Best  of  luck  and  looking  forward  to  having  many 
more  years  of  Harrison's  Reports.  ..." 

It  seems  as  if  the  problems  of  the  Australian  ex- 
hibitors are  not  different  from  the  problems  of  the 
American  exhibitors,  but  the  part  of  my  friend's  letter 
that  deals  with  the  efforts  of  the  film  companies  to  get 
for  their  films  as  much  after  the  war  as  before  is  worth 
careful  reading.  You  should  make  a  careful  reading 
also  of  the  part  of  the  letter  that  deals  with  the  fact 
that  replacements  and  repairs  must  be  paid  for  during 
lean  times. 

As  far  as  the  sentiment  of  my  friend  towards  the 
efforts  of  this  country  to  help  Australia,  is  concerned, 
it  is  evident  that  he  represents  a  general  sentiment. 


SENSIBLE  PERU 

According  to  a  cable  dispatch  to  the  Film  Daily 
from  Lima,  capital  of  Peru,  the  government  of  that 
country  has  appointed  a  commission,  consisting  of 
four  government  representatives  and  one  representa- 
tive of  the  motion  picture  industry  there,  to  regulate 
the  admission  prices  for  each  picture  so  that  the  public 
may  pay  for  admission  in  accordance  with  its  enter- 
tainment values. 

That's  common  sense. 

In  this  country,  the  theatres  have  been  maintaining 
steady  admission  prices  for  all  pictures,  but  when  an 
outstanding  picture  comes  along  the  distributors  com- 
pel the  exhibitors  to  increase  their  admission  prices 
anywhere  from  two  to  four  times  as  much  as  the  reg- 
ular prices,  with  the  result  that  the  public  begins 
to  gripe  and  criticize  the  local  theatreman  for  such  an 
increase.  The  picture  patron  often  asks  himself : 
"Why  don't  they  reduce  the  prices  on  pictures  that 
are  a  waste  of  time  to  see?" 

Peru  has  given  the  answer. 


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Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  22,  1945  No.  51 


BRIEFS  FILED  IN  ANTI-TRUST  CASE 

As  scheduled,  the  Department  of  Justice  submitted 
its  final  brief  on  Saturday,  December  15,  in  connec- 
tion  with  the  New  York  anti'trust  trial. 

The  125-page  brief  contends  that  the  defendant' 
distributors  have  failed  to  disprove  the  Government's 
charge  of  anti'trust  violations,  and  it  asserts  that  the 
defendants'  claim  that  theatre  divorcement  would  be 
injurious  to  their  operations  without  benefitting  the 
public  is  a  matter  for  Congress,  and  not  for  the  Court, 
to  determine. 

The  major  portion  of  the  brief  concerns  itself  with 
factual  statistics  tending  to  substantiate  the  Govern' 
ment's  charges  of  monopoly,  while  the  remainder  is 
devoted  to  legal  argument,  in  which  the  Department 
of  Justice  cites  the  decisions  in  the  Crescent,  Schine 
and  Goldman  cases,  as  pertinent  to  the  issues  in  the 
present  case. 

Another  brief,  as  amicus  curia,  (friend  of  the 
court)  was  submitted  to  the  Court  last  week  by  the 
Conference  of  Independent  Exhibitors'  Associations 
through  Abram  F.  Myers,  its  general  counsel,  and 
Jesse  L.  Stern,  associate  counsel. 

This  brief,  which  is  42  pages  long,  is  a  profound 
document,  characterised  by  a  thorough,  all-inclusive 
analysis,  not  only  of  the  issues  at  stake,  but  also  of 
their  effect  on  the  independent  exhibitor.  Mr.  Myers 
tears  into  the  arguments  of  the  defendants,  not  by 
exaggerated  statements,  but  by  facts,  figures,  and 
logic.  It  should  give  the  Court  a  crystal-clear  under- 
standing  of  how  the  independent  exhibitors  have 
fared  and  are  faring  under  the  present  set'up  of  the 
motion  picture  industry. 

Lack  of  space  does  not  permit  the  reproduction  of 
the  many  salient  arguments  and  points  Mr.  Myers 
makes  in  the  brief,  but  here  in  part  is  his  closing  state' 
ment,  after  citing  the  decisions  in  the  Crescent  and 
Schine  cases: 

"Dissolution  being  the  fate  that  has  been  decreed 
for  lesser  circuits  whose  cases  have  been  decided,  it 
would  be  an  astounding — a  monstrous  thing — if  the 
great  affiliated  circuits,  clothed  with  every  competi- 
tive advantage  and  every  special  privilege  that  de- 
fendants can  bestow  upon  them,  should  be  allowed  to 
remain  in  their  hands,  intact. 

"And  if  the  distributors  conferred  special  favors 
on  the  circuits  involved,  in  those  companion  cases  for 
reasons  concerning  which  we  can  only  speculate,  they 
have  and  as  long  as  they  retain  their  interest  therein 
will  continue  to  have  a  compelling  monetary  motive 
for  favoring  their  affiliated  circuits  as  against  the  in- 
dependent exhibitors. 


"Great  benefits  will  surely  result  from  the  entry  of 
a  final  order  embodying  the  proposals  submitted  by 
the  Attorney  General  on  August  7,  1945,  re-inforced 
by  the  suggestions  offered  by  the  independent  ex- 
hibitors. 

"Divested  of  their  theatre  holdings  the  defendants 
will  regard  all  exhibitors  as  customers  and  not  as 
actual  or  potential  competitors  of  their  own  or  each 
other's  theatres. 

"Without  a  fixed  first-run  market  they  will  com- 
pete with  each  other  for  playing  time  on  the  screens 
— compete  as  to  price,  terms,  quality  of  product  and 
service. 

"The  availability  of  first-run  accounts  on  a  com- 
petitive basis  will  attract  additional  producers  and 
distributors  into  the  business  thereby  ending  the 
existing  product  shortage  and  making  for  healthier 
conditions  for  all  concerned — the  public  most  of  all. 

"Finally,  appropriate  injunctions  against  unfair, 
burdensome  and  monopolistic  trade  practices  will 
prevent  a  recurrence  of  the  evils  dealt  with  in  this 
brief  as  well  as  restoration  of  the  monopoly.  As  said 
in  the  Crescent  case,  'Civil  suits  under  the  Sherman 
Act  would  indeed  be  idle  gestures  if  the  injunction 
did  not  run  against  the  continuance  or  resumption  of 
the  unlawful  practice.' 

"And  those  practices  are  not  to  be  judged  as  sep- 
arate, isolated  acts — but  as  integral  parts  of  the  sys- 
tem by  which  the  monopoly  has  been  created  and 
maintained." 


WHAT  IS  THE  MOTION  PICTURE 
INDUSTRY'S  REWARD  FOR 
ITS  COOPERATION? 

Ted  R.  Gamble,  national  director  of  the  War  Fi- 
nance Division  of  the  U.  S.  Treasury,  has  requested 
the  motion  picture  industry  to  continue  the  Victory 
Loan  campaign  to  December  3 1  so  that  more  Victory 
bonds  may  be  sold. 

There  was  no  doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  one  con- 
nected with  the  industry  that  the  request  would  be 
heeded — the  motion  picture  industry  has  always  been 
ready  and  willing  to  aid  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, either  in  war-time  or  in  peace-time.  The  billions 
of  dollars  worth  of  bonds  that  were  bought  by  the 
public  in  the  different  drives  were  sold  through  the 
leadership  of  the  motion  picture  industry. 

But  what  has  the  Government  done  to  put  the  in- 
dustry into  a  position  where  it  could  help  the  Govern- 
ment even  more?  Not  a  thing!  Has  it  relieved  the 
industry  of  the  admission  tax  burden?  No!  Have  the 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


Harrison's  Reports  extends  to  its  subscribers  and  readers  The  Greetings  of  the  Season 


202 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  22, 1945 


"Doll  Face"  with  Vivian  Blaine 
and  Dennis  O'Keefe 

(20th  Century-Fox,  February;  time,  80  min.) 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  its  backstage  story  is  ordi- 
nary, "Doll  Face"  is  a  fairly  good  musical  entertain- 
ment, offering  enough  comedy,  dancing,  tuneful  songs, 
and  love  interest  to  satisfy  most  audiences.  The  story, 
which  is  based  on  the  stage  play,  "The  Naked 
Genius,"  written  by  Gypsy  Rose  Lee,  revolves  around 
a  burlesque  qecn  who  aspires  to  become  a  musical 
comedy  star.  Neither  the  development  of  the  plot, 
nor  any  of  the  situations,  are  particularly  novel,  but 
one's  interest  is  held  because  of  the  engaging  perform- 
ances. The  musical  portion  of  the  picture  is  very 
good.  The  production  numbers  are  lavish  and  lively, 
and  a  few  of  the  songs  will  undoubtedly  become  pop- 
ular. The  surprise  of  the  picture  is  Martha  Stewart, 
a  newcomer;  her  singing  and  dancing  talents  are  ex- 
ceptionally good,  and  her  personality  is  charming. 
Perry  Como,  who  has  become  quite  popular  on  the 
radio,  "croons"  a  few  numbers  and  takes  part  in  the 
action.  Carmen  Miranda,  too,  is  featured  in  the 
musical  numbers  as  well  as  in  the  story : — 

Vivian  Blaine,  a  burlesque  queen  employed  by 
Dennis  O'Keefe,  is  turned  down  by  Reed  Hadlcy  for 
a  part  in  his  Broadway  show  because  she  lacked  "cul- 
ture." O'Keefe,  to  whom  Vivian  was  engaged,  hits 
upon  a  plan  to  give  her  culture  by  having  her  write 
a  book.  He  prevails  upon  Michael  Dunne,  a  hand- 
some, intellectual  author,  to  "ghost"  her  autobiog- 
raphy. Dunne,  attracted  to  Vivian,  agrees,  but  his 
attentions  to  her  rouse  O'Keefe's  jealousy.  One  day 
O'Keefe  finds  Vivian  and  Dunne  in  a  compromising 
situation,  and  he  accuses  her  of  "two-timing"  him. 
Though  innocent  of  wrongdoing,  Vivian  breaks  her 
engagement  to  him.  When  her  autobiography  is  pub- 
lished, Vivian  becomes  famous  and  secures  a  part  in 
Hadley's  show.  On  opening  night,  O'Keefe,  who  had 
her  under  contract,  obtains  a  court  injunction  to 
stop  her  appearance.  Carmen  Miranda,  a  mutual 
friend,  takes  matters  in  hand,  and  after  much  confu- 
sion it  ends  with  O'Keefe  and  Vivian  in  each  other's 
arms,  and  with  O'Keefe  owning  a  half -interest  in 
the  show  in  exchange  for  Vivian's  contract. 

Leonard  Praskins  wrote  the  screen  play,  Bryan  Foy 
produced  it,  and  Lewis  Seiler  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Woman  Who  Came  Back"  with 
Nancy  Kelly,  John  Loder 
and  Otto  Kruger 

(Republic,  Dec.  13;  time,  68  min.) 

Those  who  enjoy  mystery  stories  with  psychological 
overtones  should  find  this  program  melodrama  to 
their  liking,  mainly  because  of  the  good  production 
mountings  and  the  capable  direction  and  perform- 
ances. The  story  itself,  which  deals  with  witchcraft 
and  superstitious  fear,  is  a  rather  muddled  affair,  re- 
plete  with  weird  doings,  but  it  has  a  good  share  of 
thrills,  chills,  and  suspense.  Nancy  Kelly,  as  the  hero- 
ine who  believes  that  she  is  heritably  bewitched,  is 
effective.  One  feels  sympathy  for  her  because  of  her 
constant  fear  of  evil  inclinations  within  herself,  and 
because  of  the  ill  will  borne  against  her  by  the  towns- 
people who  believed  her  possessed  of  evil  powers. 
There  is  a  pleasant  romance  between  Miss  Kelly  and 
John  Loder;  he,  too,  wins  sympathy  by  his  patience 
and  courage  in  attempting  to  cure  her : — 

Returning  by  omnibus  to  her  ancestral  home  in  a 
New  England  village,  Nancy  is  engaged  in  conversa- 


tion by  a  weird  old  woman  who  claimed  that,  300 
years  previously,  she  had  been  burned  to  death  at  the 
stake  by  Nancy's  uncle  for  practicing  witchery  and 
sorcery.  As  Nancy  feels  the  old  woman  cast  an  evil 
spell  over  her,  the  bus  gets  out  of  control  and  topples 
over  a  steep  cliff  into  a  river.  Nancy,  the  only  survivor 
among  the  passengers,  manages  to  reach  the  village, 
where  she  informs  Loder,  her  fiance  and  physician,  of 
her  experience.  All  the  bodies  are  recovered  except 
that  of  the  old  woman,  whom  Loder  believes  to  be 
a  figment  of  Nancy's  imagination.  Nancy,  however, 
insists  that  she  had  seen  the  woman,  and  she  soon  be- 
comes possessed  with  the  idea  that  she  was  under  the 
legendary  curse  of  a  witch.  Loder  and  Otto  Kruger, 
the  village  preacher,  try  to  rid  Nancy  of  her  fear, 
but  events  seem  to  bear  out  her  theory  when  things 
within  her  touch  die.  The  townspeople  soon  begin 
to  believe  that  she  is  a  witch,  and  start  a  campaign  to 
make  her  leave  town.  Fearing  bodily  harm,  Nancy 
isolates  herself  in  her  home.  Meanwhile  Loder  and 
Kruger  discover  an  old  document  in  the  crypt  of  the 
village  church  showing  that  Nancy's  uncle  was  a 
witch-burning  fanatic,  and  proving  that  the  legendary 
curse  was  false.  They  rush  to  her  home  to  convey  the 
good  news,  only  to  find  the  villagers  stoning  her. 
Nancy,  frantic,  heads  for  the  river  to  end  her  life. 
Loder  pursues  her  and  thwarts  her  suicide  attempt. 
In  the  meantime,  Kruger  discovers  the  body  of  the 
old  woman  amidst  some  shrubbery,  and  she  is  identi- 
fied as  an  escaped  inmate  from  a  county  institution. 
Convinced  that  her  ailment  was  purely  psychological, 
Nancy  puts  her  mind  at  ease  and  looks  forward  to  a 
happy  life  with  Loder. 

Dennis  Cooper  and  Lee  Willis  wrote  the  screen 
play,  and  Walter  Colmes  produced  and  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Ruth  Ford  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Hotel  Reserve"  with  James  Mason 
and  Lucie  Mannheim 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  79  min.) 

This  British-made  espionage  melodrama  is  of  pro- 
gram grade,  and  it  can  be  recommended  only  to  the 
most  ardent  followers  of  this  type  of  pictures,  since 
the  identities  of  the  international  spies  are  well  con- 
cealed throughout  most  of  the  action;  otherwise,  it 
has  little  appeal  for  the  average  American  audience. 
For  one  thing,  the  players  neither  are  known  here  nor, 
with  the  exception  of  James  Mason,  do  they  give  out- 
standing performances.  Moreover,  their  thick  British 
accent  is  at  times  difficult  to  understand.  Still  another 
handicap  is  the  fact  that  the  story  is  dated;  the  action 
takes  place  on  the  French  Riviera  in  1938,  about  a 
year  before  the  war.  Most  of  the  action  has  a  leisurely 
pace,  but  the  closing  scenes,  where  the  spies  are 
caught,  are  wildly  melodramatic: — 

Mason,  an  Austrian  medical  student  seeking  French 
citizenship,  comes  to  a  small  Riviera  hotel,  where  the 
guests  were  men  and  women  of  different  nationalities, 
ostensibly  vacationing.  Mason,  whose  hobby  was 
photography,  finds  himself  arrested  by  the  police  when 
a  roll  of  film  from  his  camera,  developed  by  a  local 
merchant,  turns  out  to  contain  photographs  of  new 
naval  fortifications  in  Toulon.  When  the  authorities 
threaten  to  deny  him  citizenship,  Mason,  unaware 
that  they  knew  him  to  be  innocent,  and  that  they  were 
merely  trying  to  trick  the  real  spy  into  betraying  him- 
self, offers  to  find  out  from  among  the  hotel  guests 
the  one  who  had  used  his  camera  to  take  the  photos. 
He  sets  clumsy  traps,  and  is  mysteriously  attacked 


December  22,  1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


203 


and  beaten.  Eventually,  he  succeeds  in  uncovering  the 
culprit  only  to  find  himself  re-arrested.  The  spy  es- 
capes while  Mason  struggles  vainly  with  the  police. 
His  arrest,  however,  proves  to  be  a  hoax  by  the  police, 
who  take  him  along  in  pursuit  of  the  spy  in  the  hope 
of  trapping  his  confederates.  After  a  wild  chase  over 
the  roof  tops  of  Toulon,  in  which  Mason  risks  his 
life,  he  is  instrumental  in  causing  the  spy's  death  and 
in  rounding  up  the  others. 

John  Davenport  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  novel 
by  Eric  Ambler.  It  was  produced  by  Victor  Hanbury, 
and  directed  by  Lance  Comfort  and  Max  Greene.  The 
cast  includes  Raymond  Lovell,  Julien  Mitchell,  Clare 
Hamilton  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Adventure"  with  Clark  Gable 
and  Greer  Garson 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  130  mm.) 

Fortified  with  the  combined  drawing  power  of 
Clark  Gable  and  Greer  Garson,  "Adventure,"  a 
romantic  melodrama,  is  sure  to  bring  the  masses  to 
the  theatres,  and  they  will  probably  enjoy  it  because 
of  the  many  emotional  situations.  But  the  story  itself 
is  antiquated  and  episodic,  and  at  times  too  talky. 
Occasionally  the  different  characters  spout  dialogue 
in  which  each  expounds  his  own  philosophy  of  life, 
but  their  meaningful  words  will  probably  remain 
vague  to  most  spectators.  Gable  plays  the  part  of  a 
swaggering  merchant-marine  sailor,  handy  with  his 
fists,  and  with  a  cynical  outlook  on  life.  It  is  a  virile 
role,  the  sort  his  admirers  will  enjoy.  Miss  Garson,  as 
a  diminutive  librarian  who  finds  in  Gable  the  adven- 
turesome spirit  she  had  been  missing  in  life,  is  very 
effective,  and  always  sympathetic.  Though  Gable 
displays  tender  characteristics,  he  is  just  fairly  sym- 
pathetic; his  constant  cynicism  begins  to  wear  on 
one's  nerves,  and  his  easy  way  with  women  does  not 
endear  him  to  the  audience.  Some  of  the  situations 
provide  good  comedy,  while  others,  particularly  the 
closing  scenes,  where  Gable  instills  life  into  his  still- 
born baby,  are  highly  dramatic.  The  supporting  cast, 
headed  by  Thomas  Mitchell  and  Joan  Blondell,  is 
very  good: — 

Arriving  in  San  Francisco  after  his  ship  had  been 
torpedoed,  Gable,  to  humor  his  friend,  Mitchell,  who 
had  become  convinced^hat  he  had  lost  his  soul  because 
he  broke  a  pledge  to  lead  a  cleaner  life,  accompanies 
him  to  a  library  to  obtain  information  on  his  state 
of  mind.  There  Greer,  the  librarian,  treats  Mitchell 
sympathetically,  but  Gable  scoffs  at  the  philosophy 
presented  by  her  books.  While  he  argues  with  her, 
Joan  Blondell,  Greer's  roommate,  arrives.  Joan,  at' 
tracted  to  Gable,  accepts  his  invitation  to  a  night-club 
date  but  insists  that  Greer  come  along.  At  the  club, 
Gable  riles  Greer  by  constant  reference  to  her  un' 
worldly  ways,  and  goads  her  into  starting  a  free-for-all 
brawl.  On  the  following  day,  he  accompanies  both 
girls  to  Greer's  home  in  the  country,  where,  after 
constant  quarrels  with  Greer,  both  realize  that  they 
were  in  love.  Greer,  fascinated  by  his  adventuresome 
spirit,  agrees  to  an  immediate  marriage.  After  an 
idyllic  three-day  honeymoon,  Gable  announces  his 
intention  to  go  off  to  sea.  Crushed,  because  she  felt 
that  their  marriage  would  make  him  settle  down, 
Greer,  in  keeping  with  his  philosophy  that  both  should 
feel  free,  decides  to  divorce  him.  Gable  accepts  her 
decision  and  sails  away.  His  voyage  is  marked  by  a 
conflict  with  Mitchell,  who  accuses  him  of  marrying 
Greer  for  a  lark.  Meanwhile  Greer,  expecting  a  baby, 
secures  her  divorce.  When  Gable  returns,  he  learns 


from  Joan  that  Greer  expected  to  give  birth  that  day. 
He  rushes  to  Greer's  bedside  and,  after  helping  to 
bring  his  still-born  baby  to  life,  reunites  with  her. 

Frederick  Hazlitt  Brennan  and  Vincent  Lawrence 
wrote  the  screen  play,  Sam  Zimbalist  produced  it, 
and  Victor  Fleming  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Lina  Romay,  Tom  Tully,  John  Qualen,  Philip  Meri- 
vale  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Leave  Her  to  Heaven"  with  Gene  Tierney, 
Cornel  Wilde  and  Jeanne  Crain 

(20th  Century-Fox,  January;  time,  110  win.) 
This  is  a  powerful  dramatic  entertainment.  The 
story,  which  is  based  on  Ben  Ames  Williams'  best- 
selling  novel,  of  the  same  title,  concerns  a  beautiful 
woman  whose  viciousness  effects  many  lives.  It  is  not 
a  cheerful  entertainment — as  a  matter  of  fact,  ex- 
tremely sensitive  persons  may  find  some  of  the  situa- 
tions highly  distasteful  and  even  sickening;  but  audi- 
ences that  seek  originality  in  story,  tastefulness  in  pro- 
duction values,  and  perfection  in  direction  and  acting, 
will  find  it  fascinating.  There  is  no  doubt  that  it  will 
be  an  outstanding  box-office  attraction,  particularly 
in  large  cities.  Gene  Tierney,  as  the  jealous  wife, 
whose  possessive  love  for  her  husband  drives  her  to 
extremes,  including  murder  and  self-destruction,  is  a 
most  unsympathetic  character,  but  her  portrayal  is 
outstanding.  Cornel  Wilde,  as  the  husband,  gives  an 
extraordinarily  good  performance;  the  spectator  feels 
deeply  the  tragedy  his  selfish  wife  brings  into  his  life. 
The  entire  supporting  cast  is  fine.  Not  the  least  of 
the  picture's  assets  is  the  superior  Technicolor  photog- 
raphy : — 

Gene  falls  in  love  with  Wilde  when  both  visit  the 
New  Mexico  ranch  of  a  mutual  friend.  She  breaks 
her  engagement  to  Vincent  Price,  a  Massachusetts 
attorney,  and,  employing  her  womanly  wiles,  rushes 
Wilde  into  marriage.  Her  love  for  him  becomes  so 
possessive  that  she  determines  that  no  one,  not  even 
Wilde's  young  crippled  brother  (Darryl  Hickman), 
to  whom  he  was  devoted,  shall  invade  their  privacy. 
When  the  boy  accompanies  them  to  a  Maine  moun- 
tain resort,  Gene,  resentful,  permits  the  lad  to  drown, 
making  it  appear  like  an  accident.  Wilde,  despondent, 
keeps  to  himself.  To  renew  his  interest  in  her,  Gene 
decides  to  have  a  baby.  But,  when  she  realizes  that 
she  would  have  to  share  Wilde  with  the  child,  she 
deliberately  throws  herself  down  a  staircase,  killing 
the  unborn  baby.  Wilde,  having  grown  suspicious 
of  her  actions,  goads  her  into  confessing  both  mur- 
ders. He  leaves  her,  but  Gene,  determined  that  no 
one  else  shall  have  him,  particularly  Jeanne  Crain, 
her  adopted  sister,  of  whom  Wilde  was  fond,  con- 
cocts a  plan:  she  kills  herself  by  placing  arsenic  in 
her  sugar,  but  before  dying  arranges  circumstantial 
evidence  indicating  that  Jeanne,  in  league  with  Wilde, 
had  "murdered"  her.  Jeanne  is  indicted,  and  during 
the  trial  Vincent  Price,  Gene's  discarded  lover,  now 
prosecuting  attorney,  convinces  all  of  her  guilt  until 
Wilde  takes  the  stand  and  reveals  that  Gene  had 
murdered  both  his  baby  and  brother,  and  states  that 
she  had  killed  herself  in  a  way  that  was  designed  to 
hold  him  from  the  grave.  Jeanne  is  acquitted,  but 
Wilde  is  given  a  two-year  sentence  for  concealing  evi- 
dence from  the  state.  Released  from  jail,  Wilde  re- 
joins Jeanne  to  start  life  anew. 

Jo  Swerling  wrote  the  screen  play,  William  A. 
Bacher  produced  it,  and  John  M.  Stahl  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Ray  Collins,  Mary  Philips,  and 
others.  Adult  entertainment. 


204 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  22, 1945 


politicians  ceased  attacking  it?  No!  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  there  are  in  Congress  members  who  would  cheer 
if  the  industry  were  put  out  of  business,  for  they  con' 
sider  it  something  evil. 

The  industry  leaders  could  make  some  request  for 
the  help  they  give  to  the  Government.  They  could, 
for  example,  request  that  Congress  reduce  the  tax 
from  the  present  twenty  per  cent  rate  to  ten  per  cent, 
if  not  to  remove  it  altogether.  And  justifiedly  so,  for 
without  the  aid  the  industry  has  rendered  to  the 
Government  not  one-half  the  bonds  would  have  been 
sold,  no  matter  how  much  publicity  the  newspapers 
and  the  radio  would  have  given  to  the  different  loan 
drives. 

The  elimination  of  the  tax  would  not  have  hurt  the 
Government  at  all,  for  more  people  would  have  been 
attracted  to  the  theatres  and,  as  a  result,  more  bonds 
would  have  been  sold,  and  the  increase  in  patronage 
would  have  resulted  in  so  great  an  increase  in  revenue 
that  the  elimination  of  the  admission  tax  would  have 
been  offset  by  the  increased  taxes  paid  by  the  corpo- 
rations that  own  the  theatres  as  well  as  by  the  indi- 
viduals. 

Si  Fabian  tried  to  organize  the  exhibitors  into  one 
national  organization.  He  failed. 

Harrison's  Reports  does  not  question  his  motives 
in  this  article — perhaps  he  meant  well.  But  did  he 
make  it  known  to  the  Government  officials  that  one 
of  the  aims  of  such  an  organization,  the  purpose  of 
which  would  be  to  help  the  Government,  would  be 
the  elimination  of  the  twenty  per  cent  admissions  tax? 
Had  he  made  this  aim  the  proposed  organization's 
slogan,  perhaps  his  failure  would  have  turned  into  a 
tremendous  success. 

The  independent  exhibitors  must  abandon  the  hope 
that  the  producers  and  distributors  will  aid  them  in 
their  fight  for  the  elimination  of  the  admission  tax. 
If  they  hope  to  have  the  tax  repealed,  they  must  do 
the  persuading  of  Congress  themselves.  If  the  recent 
gathering  of  exhibitors  in  Washington  had  been  held 
for  the  purpose  of  pleading  with  Congress  for  the 
elimination  of  the  tax,  the  meeting  would  have,  as 
said,  been  a  tremendous  success.  But  it  turned  out  to 
be  a  failure  because  its  proponents  chased  rainbows. 

MORE  FEATURES  ARE  NEEDED 

"Longer  runs  and  fewer  features,"  says  the  Decem- 
ber 10  issue  of  Daily  Variety,  "has  been  the  trend 
among  first-run  theatres  in  Los  Angeles  the  past 
year.  ..." 

The  trend  towards  fewer  pictures  annually  has 
been  on  for  some  time.  There  was  a  time  way  back 
when  more  than  eight  hundred  pictures  were  pro- 
duced. Since  that  time  the  number  has  been  growing 
smaller  and  smaller  each  year,  until  now  it  has  come 
down  to  about  three  hundred  pictures. 

While  there  is  some  prospect  that  the  number  will 
increase,  now  that  the  war  is  over  and  that  more  man- 
power and  materials  will  become  available,  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  this  increase  will  be  appreciable,  for  it 
takes  more  skilled  manpower  to  produce  a  picture 
nowadays  than  it  took  to  produce  it  in  the  past. 

Only  a  few  years  ago  it  was  not  uncommon  for  a 
company  to  deliver  fifty  or  more  pictures  during  a 
season.  The  same  companies  cannot  produce  that 
number  now,  for  they  are  not  able  to  find  skillful 
writers,  producer,  directors  and  mechanics  in  sufficient 
numbers. 


Let  us  assume,  however,  that  the  companies  will 
manage  to  produce  more  pictures  for  the  coming  sea- 
sons. The  question  the  exhibitor  is  asking  is  this:  Will 
the  companies  increase  their  deliveries,  or  will  they 
follow  their  present  policy  of  forced  extended  runs 
in  affiliated  theatres,  which  result,  not  only  in  an 
artificial  product  shortage  because  of  the  large  num- 
ber of  pictures  that  are  held  up  awaiting  their  turn, 
but  also  in  "milking"  the  pictures  dry  before  they 
reach  the  subsequent-run  theatre? 

Unless  the  producer-distributors  change  their  ways, 
the  double- featuring  exhibitors  are  going  to  find  it 
more  difficult  each  year  to  obtain  enough  products 
for  their  needs.  Three  hundred  features  a  year,  or 
approximately  six  features  each  week,  can  supply  a 
double-featuring  exhibitor  with  three  changes  a  week. 
But  how  about  his  competitors?  Where  will  they  get 
their  product  from?  The  result  will  be  that  they  will 
either' establish  a  single-feature  policy,  or  bid  so  high 
for  product  to  take  it  away  from  a  competitor  that 
they  will  be  operating  their  theatres  with  little  profit, 
if  not  at  a  loss. 

Perhaps  the  importation  of  British  pictures  will, 
after  all,  be  a  blessing  for  the  small  exhibitors.  They 
will  at  least  have  some  first-run  films  to  show  in  their 
theatres. 

Here  is  an  opportunity  for  the  British  producers  to 
capture  a  substantial  portion  of  the  American  exhi- 
bition market.  But  will  they  make  the  most  of  this 
opportunity?  It  will  all  depend  on  whether  they  aban- 
don the  British  habit  of  unfolding  a  picture's  action 
leisurely,  adopting  the  American  methods,  (where 
the  action  in  small  pictures  is  full  of  blood  and  thun- 
der) ,  and  making  their  stars  known  to  the  American 
public  through  adequate  publicity. 

GANGSTER  FILMS  THE  EASIEST 
TO  PRODUCE— BUT — 

The  movement  against  gangster  pictures  is  gaining 
momentum.  It  was  started  by  the  city  of  Minneapolis, 
which  determined  to  see  to  it  that  no  gangster  films 
are  shown  in  that  city,  and  now  both  Milwaukee  and 
Columbus  have  announced  similar  intentions.  And  if 
these  three  cities  are  successful,  other  cities  will  un- 
doubtedly take  up  the  movement. 

Although  this  paper  has  never  believed  and  does 
not  believe  now  that  there  should  be  censorship  over 
films  any  more  than  there  should  be  censorship  over 
either  newspapers  or  radio,  if  censorship  should  be 
established  over  gangster  films  the  producers  should 
blame  no  one  but  themselves;  for  when  they  are  up 
against  it  for  story  material  the  head  of  the  studio 
invariably  gives  to  his  story  department  orders  to  slap 
together  a  gangster  "quickie,"  because  they  believe 
that  such  films  always  sell. 

Let  the  producers  make  no  mistake  about  it;  when 
a  censorship  movement  starts  and  gains  headway,  it  is 
hard  for  any  one  to  confine  it  to  one  type  of  film — 
it  is  bound  to  spread.  They  cannot  put  up  a  strong 
fight  against  the  gangster-film  censorship,  because 
there  is  no  question  that  the  cheap  "quickies"  they 
put  out  just  to  take  care  of  the  release  schedule  are 
doing  the  industry  no  good.  What  they  need  to  do  is  to 
give  orders  to  their  story  departments  to  avoid  gang- 
ster stories.  Unless  they  do,  they  are  going  to  have 
grief;  they  may  find  their  shelves  loaded  down  with 
dozens  of  this  type  of  pictures  and  no  place  in  which 
to  show  them. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVII  SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  29,  1945  No.  52 


A  PUNISHMENT  THE  INDUSTRY 
DOES  NOT  DESERVE 

Agitation  for  either  taxing  admissions  to  motion 
picture  theatres  or  establishing  censorship  boards  is 
spreading  nationwide.  According  to  a  report  in  a 
recent  issue  of  Motion  Picture  Herald,  city  and  state 
tax  measures  are  appearing  in  growing  numbers  in 
state  legislatures  and  among  municipal  governing 
bodies. 

The  chief  motive  for  these  measures  is  either  a  de' 
sire  to  provide  funds  that  will  in  some  way  aid  return- 
ing war  veterans,  or  a  determination  to  stop  the  show- 
ing  of,  what  some  people  call,  demoralizing  pictures. 

In  respect  to  the  desire  of  some  legislators  to  pro- 
vide funds  for  returning  veterans,  the  idea  is  worthy, 
but  one  is  prompted  to  ask :  Why  should  the  motion 
picture  industry  be  singled  out  for  special  tax  legisla- 
tion? Why  should  it  be  made  the  goat? 

In  respect  to  the  censorship  measures,  one  may 
state  that  the  picture  industry  has  always  been  at- 
tacked by  either  politicians,  who  wanted  to  please 
certain  classes  of  voters,  or  by  well-meaning  but  mis- 
informed people,  or  by  busybodies. 

It  is  not  sufficient  that  we  condemn  such  measures; 
we  must  do  something  to  put  an  end  to  this  sniping  at 
the  motion  picture  industry. 

To  fight  the  battle  against  the  tax-plotters  as  well 
as  the  crack-pot  reformers  successfully,  the  industry 
must  organize  a  strategy  committee  that  will  prepare 
defense  plans.  Such  a  committee  must  be  supplied 
with  the  best  publicity  experts  that  are  obtainable  to 
write  the  material  to  be  used  in  an  effective  campaign. 

Thus,  when  an  exhibitor  reports  that  there  had 
begun  in  his  city  or  state  agitation  for  either  taxing 
the  admissions  or  establishing  a  censorship  board, 
there  will  be  ready  material,  which  can  be  used  in- 
stantly. The  committee  could  then  dispatch  a  fighting 
crew  to  the  city  or  state  in  question  to  carry  on  the 
work  of  combatting  the  hostile  forces.  The  public 
should  be  told,  in  cases  of  tax  measures,  that  it  would 
foot  the  bill,  and,  in  cases  of  a  censorship  board,  that 
the  reformers  plan  to  do  the  thinking  for  the  commu- 
nity. 

Certainly  the  individual  exhibitor  is  not  in  a  posi- 
tion to  organize  a  fighting  crew  of  this  kind,  but  he 
may  be  counted  on  to  cooperate  to  the  fullest  extent. 

The  industry  made  a  great  mistake  by  not  resorting 
to  institutional  advertising  in  newspapers,  magazines, 
and  on  the  radio,  to  tell  the  public  of  the  important 
part  it  played,  and  the  sacrifices  it  made,  towards 


winning  the  war.  Had  it  resorted  to  such  advertising, 
it  would  now  have  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  public 
support  to  fight  discriminatory  moves  against  the  in- 
dustry. But  nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  continuing  the 
mistake. 

The  time  for  constructive  action  is  at  hand.  All  that 
is  needed  is  unselfish  leadership  to  formulate  a  pro- 
gram and  start  a  campaign,  not  for  the  benefit  of 
some  one  group,  but  for  the  benefit  of  a  great  institu- 
tion in  American  life — the  motion  picture  industry. 


SHOULD  MOTION  PICTURES 
BECOME  A  PROPAGANDA 
MEDIUM? 

Speaking  at  the  fifth  annual  Nobel  prize  anniver- 
sary dinner  in  New  York  on  December  9,  Harry  M. 
Warner,  president  of  Warner  Brothers,  stated  with 
great  eloquence  and  feeling  that  the  American  mo- 
tion picture  can  function  as  a  great  instrument  in 
creating  international  peace  and  good  will.  "Motion 
pictures  can  show  the  people  of  every  nation,"  said 
Mr.  Warner,  "how  much  their  own  welfare  is  de- 
pendent on  the  scientific,  cultural  and  industrial 
achievements  of  the  other  nations.  They  can  dramatize 
the  fundamentals  of  the  world  today.  .  .  ." 

Just  how  is  Mr.  Warner  going  to  achieve  his  aim? 
Is  he  going  to  order  his  writers  to  write  stories  the 
main  object  of  which  will  be  to  teach  the  people  of 
the  world  the  benefits  of  peace  and  good  will?  If  he 
should  do  that,  where  is  he  going  to  show  such  pic- 
tures? He  certainly  does  not  plan  to  saddle  the  Amer- 
ican exhibitors  with  pictures  that  will  reek  with  prop- 
aganda. They  have  had  one  experience — a  sad  one — 
with  a  picture  of  this  type,  which  was  produced  by 
Warner  brothers — "Mission  to  Moscow."  It  was  a 
box-office  flop,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  its  mission  was 
to  bring  about  a  better  understanding  between  the 
United  States  and  Russia. 

It  is  understandable  that  a  person  with  high  aims, 
such  as  Harry  Warner  has,  should  be  influenced  by 
the  set-up  of  the  evening.  Mr.  Warner  was  speaking 
to  an  audience  that  believed  fully  as  he  believed — to 
work  for  peace  and  good  will  among  the  nations  of 
the  world.  But  when  one  leaves  the  "footlights"  and 
judges  the  question  cooly,  he  cannot  help  but  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  what  Harry  M.  Warner  proposed 
and  aimed  at  is  unattainable.  People  go  to  the  theatres 
to  be  entertained,  and  not  to  be  filled  with  deliberate 
propaganda. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


206  HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


"Portrait  of  Maria" 
with  Dolores  Del  Rio 

(MGM  International,  no  release  date  set; 
time,  77  min.) 

This  is  a  Mexican-made  production,  with  dubbed' 
in  English  dialogue  for  American  exhibition.  Its  ap' 
peal  in  this  country  will  probably  be  limited  to  high 
class  audiences,  for  the  story  is  much  too  slow  for  the 
masses.  From  a  technical  viewpoint,  the  picture  stands 
up  well  as  compared  with  Hollywood  standards;  the 
photography,  particularly  the  outdoor  scenes,  is  super- 
lative, and  the  direction  and  acting  is  competent.  The 
dubbing-in  of  the  English  language  has  been  syn- 
chronised with  the  lip  movements  of  the  players  to  a 
remarkable  degree.  The  story  is  a  tragic,  touching  tale 
about  an  unhappy  Indian  girl,  who,  because  of  her 
mother's  sinful  past,  is  made  to  suffer  many  humilia- 
tions and  is  eventually  stoned  to  death  by  the  people 
of  her  primitive  community.  Dolores  Del  Rio,  the 
only  member  of  the  cast  known  to  American  audi- 
ences, gives  a  sensitive  portrayal  of  the  tragic  heroine. 
It  is  a  sad  entertainment,  but  beautifully  done: — 

Living  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village,  because  of  the 
resentment  the  villagers  felt  for  her,  Dolores  dreams 
of  the  day  when  she  can  marry  Pedro  Armendariz, 
a  poor  but  kindly  young  Indian.  Both  planned  to  wed 
as  soon  as  Dolores'  small  debt  to  Miguel  Inclan,  a 
ruthless  village  overlord,  was  paid.  Inclan,  desirous  of 
of  Dolores  himself,  jealously  demands  that  she  pay 
him  with  a  young  pig,  which  she  had  been  raising  to 
provide  funds  for  her  marriage.  The  village  priest 
intercedes  and  saves  the  pig,  but  later  Inclan  shoots 
it.  When  Dolores  becomes  dangerously  ill  with  ma- 
laria, Pedro  is  compelled  to  break  lus  way  into 
Inclan 's  general  store  to  secure  Government  quinine, 
which  Inclan  had  denied  to  them.  He  takes  also  a 
wedding  dress  for  Dolores.  On  the  day  of  their  mar- 
riage, Pedro  is  arrested  and  jailed  for  the  theft. 
Dolores,  in  an  effort  to  earn  money  for  Pedro's  re- 
lease, consents  to  pose  for  an  artist.  When  the  artist 
finishes  her  face,  he  asks  Dolores  to  disrobe  so  that  he 
could  complete  the  portrtait.  Horrified,  she  flees,  and 
the  artist,  to  finish  the  work,  arranges  for  another 
model  to  pose  for  the  body.  When  the  finished  por- 
trait comes  to  the  attention  of  the  villagers,  they 
assume  that,  like  her  mother,  Dolores  was  sinful.  En- 
raged, they  hunt  down  the  unhappy  girl  and  stone 
her  to  death. 

Mauricio  Magdaleno  and  Emilio  Fernandez  wrote 
the  screen  play,  and  Mr.  Fernandez  directed  it.  Films 
Mundiales  produced  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Fear"  with  Peter  Cookson 
and  Warren  William 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  68  min.) 

Except  for  a  contrived  trick  ending,  which  may 
disappoint  and  even  displease  some  picture-goers,  this 
psychological  murder  melodrama  is  a  fairly  good  pro- 
gram picture  of  its  type.  Revolving  around  the  frus- 
tration of  a  poor  but  brilliant  medical  student,  who 
resorts  to  murder  to  finance  a  discontinued  scholar- 
ship, the  story  arouses  one's  interest  from  the  start, 
and  it  is  filled  with  many  suspenseful  situations.  The 
ending,  however,  where  it  is  revealed  that  what  hap- 
pened had  been  a  dream,  gives  the  spectator  a  sharp 
letdown,  as  well  as  a  feeling  that  he  had  been  cheated, 
for  it  had  not  been  established  that  the  student  had 


December  29,  1945 


fallen  asleep.  Obviously,  this  trick  ending  is  an  imita- 
tion of  the  one  used  in  "Woman  of  the  Window," 
but  unlike  that  picture  the  device  is  disappointing  in- 
stead of  surprising.  Otherwise  the  picture  has  many 
praiseworthy  assets,  such  as  good  direction  and  act- 
ing:— 

Learning  that  his  scholarship  had  been  discon- 
tinued, Peter  Cookson  becomes  despondent  because  of 
his  inability  to  finance  his  medical  education.  To  avoid 
eviction  by  his  landlady,  he  pawns  a  watch  with 
Francis  Pierlot,  a  professor  who  aided  financially  em- 
barrassed students.  A  discussion  by  student  friends  of 
the  "gyp"  tactics  employed  by  the  professor,  as  well 
as  of  the  large  amount  of  cash  he  kept  in  his  apart- 
ment, impels  Cookson  to  murder  him  to  obtain  funds 
for  his  tuition.  Before  he  can  rob  the  man,  however, 
Cookson  is  frightened  away.  With  no  actual  clues  to 
work  on,  but  through  Cookson 's  watch  found  among 
the  professor's  effects,  police  captain  Warren  William 
suspects  Cookson  of  the  crime.  Lacking  evidence, 
however,  he  docs  not  arrest  the  young  man  but  has 
him  followed  constantly  by  Nestor  Paiva,  his  aide. 
William's  psychological  methods,  and  Paiva's  con- 
stant presence,  eventually  wear  down  Cookson 's  re- 
sistance, and  he  finally  confesses  the  crime  to  Anne 
Gwynne,  a  waitress,  with  whom  he  was  in  love.  Anne 
urges  him  to  give  himself  up,  but  Cookson  decides  to 
leave  town.  At  the  bus  station,  he  is  astonished  to 
learn  from  newspaper  headlines  that  another  man 
had  confessed  to  the  murder.  In  his  haste  to  return  to 
Anne,  he  is  hit  accidentally  by  a  car.  The  scene  shifts 
back  to  Cookson 's  apartment,  where  it  is  shown  that 
he  had  been  having  a  nightmare. 

Alfred  Zeisler  and  Dennis  Cooper  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Lindsley  Parsons  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Zeisler 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Almira  Sessions  and 
others. 

Adult  entertainment. 

"Out  of  the  Depths" 
with  Jim  Bannon  and  Ross  Hunter 

(Columbia,  Dec.  27;  time,  61  min.) 

A  minor  program  war  melodrama,  produced 
cheaply.  Most  audiences  will  find  it  tiresome,  not  only 
because  the  story  is  far-fetched  and  uninteresting,  but 
also  because  it  lacks  the  usual  quality  of  excitement 
and  suspense  generally  found  in  pictures  of  this  type. 
For  one  thing,  there  is  too  much  talk  and  too  little 
movement;  most  of  the  action  is  confined  to  a  few  sets 
representing  the  interior  of  a  submarine.  There  is 
some  attempt  at  excitement  towards  the  finish,  where 
the  submarine  sinks  a  Jap  aircraft  carrier,  but  the 
miniature  work  in  these  scenes  is  so  amateurish  that 
one  loses  interest  in  the  battle.  Although  the  picture's 
running  time  is  only  one  hour,  considerable  padding 
has  been  resorted  to  in  order  to  stretch  it  to  that 
length.  It  has  an  all-male  cast: — 

Setting  out  for  an  unknown  destination  until 
sealed  orders  are  opened,  Jim  Bannon,  captain  of  an 
American  submarine,  learns  that  he  was  to  head  for 
Fusan,  Korea,  to  pick  up  an  American  intelligence 
officer.  En  route,  the  submarine  learns  of  the  Jap  sur- 
render. Shortly  afterwards,  Bannon  intercepts  a  Jap 
convoy,  only  to  be  attacked  by  it,  despite  the  sur- 
render terms.  Bannon  takes  his  ship  to  the  Korea  coast, 
where  he  rescues  the  intelligence  officer  after  a  minor 
battle  with  Jap  soldiers.  The  intelligence  officer  in- 
forms Bannon  of  a  secret  Jap  plan  to  attack  the  U.S.S. 


December  29, 1945 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


207 


Missouri  with  Kamikaze  planes  during  the  signing  of 
the  surrender  papers.  To  frustrate  the  plan,  Bannon 
determines  to  sink  the  aircraft  carrier  from  which  the 
attack  was  to  be  launched.  He  locates  the  carrier,  but 
is  attacked  savagely  by  its  planes.  In  the  ensuing  bat- 
tle, the  submarine  is  damaged  heavily,  and  its  one  re- 
maining torpedo  sticks  in  its  tube.  With  Bannon  and 
most  of  the  crew  dead,  Robert  Williams,  the  sub- 
marine's first  officer,  orders  the  remaining  crew  mem- 
bers to  abandon  ship,  but  stays  on  himself  to  guide 
the  vessel  into  a  headlong  crash  with  the  carrier.  His 
heroic  action  sinks  the  carrier,  saving  the  Missouri 
from  possible  harm.  Weeks  later,  Williams  and  the 
surviving  crew  members  are  awarded  the  Congres- 
sional Medal  of  Honor. 

Martin  Berkely  and  Ted  Thomas  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Wallace  MacDoneld  produced  it,  and  D.  Ross 
Lederman  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Loren  Tindall, 
Robert  Scott,  Frank  Sully  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"One  Way  to  Love"  with  Willard  Parker, 
Marguerite  Chapman,  Chester  Morris 
and  Janis  Carter 

(Columbia,  Dec.  20;  time,  83  mm.) 

Just  fair.  It  will  do  as  a  program  feature  in  theatres 
whose  audiences  are  not  too  demanding  about  their 
screen  fare.  It  is  a  breezy,  nonsensical  type  of  comedy, 
which,  lacking  a  substantial  story,  depends  on  its 
comedy  situations  and  farcical  mixups  for  its  laughs. 
Some  of  these  manage  to  be  amusing,  but  most  of  them 
are  so  forced  and  so  inane  that  they  fall  flat.  There  is 
not  one  outstanding  situation  in  the  picture,  and 
since  it  is  a  farce  there  is  no  human  interest  nor  do  the 
characters  do  anything  to  arouse  sympathy.  Nearly 
all  the  action  unfolds  on  a  train,  but  it  moves  along  at 
a  fairly  steady  pace.  The  production  values  are 
modest : — 

Chester  Morris  and  Willard  Parker,  a  radio  writ- 
ing team,  part  when  Marguerite  Chapman,  Parker's 
fiancee,  insists  that  he  go  to  work  for  her  father.  Of- 
fered a  $1,000  a  week  contract  by  Nu-Youth  prod- 
ucts to  write  a  new  radio  show,  Morris,  who  was  lost 
without  his  partner,  determines  to  get  Parker  back  in 
the  fold.  With  the  aid  of  Janis  Carter,  his  girl-friend, 
Morris  succeeds  in  breaking  Parker's  engagement  to 
Marguerite,  and  tricks  him  into  joining  Janis  and 
himself  on  a  trip  to  Los  Angeles.  Through  a  strange 
coincidence,  Marguerite  boards  the  same  train.  She 
becomes  reconciled  with  Parker  only  to  quarrel  with 
him  again  when  he  inadvertently  tries  to  share  a  com- 
partment with  a  strange  woman.  In  retaliation,  she 
becomes  friendly  with  Jerome  Cowan,  a  fellow  pas- 
senger, who  represents  himself  as  the  president  of 
Nu-Youth  products.  Parker  patches  up  his  quarrel 
with  Marguerite,  and  in  the  process  insults  Cowan. 
Morris,  realizing  that  Parker's  action  had  put  them 
out  of  a  job,  becomes  chummy  with  Hugh  Herbert,  an 
eccentric  passenger,  who  claimed  to  be  a  multi-million- 
aire. Both  Morris  and  Parker  are  delighted  when 
Herbert  offers  them  a  contract  at  double  the  salary 
Cowan  had  been  willing  to  pay  them,  but  their  joy 
turns  to  gloom  when  two  detectives,  searching  for  an 
escaped  lunatic  who  imagined  himself  wealthy,  board 
the  train  and  arrest  Herbert.  Morris  and  Parker 
quickly  make  amends  to  Cowan,  who  accepts  their 
apology.  But,  when  they  arrive  at  the  Los  Angeles 
depot,  they  soon  discover  that  Cowan,  not  Herbert, 


was  the  lunatic'  Herbert,  released,  decides  to  return 
east  immediately.  The  two  writers,  trailed  by  their 
girl-friends,  follow  him  aboard  the  train  in  an  effort 
to  reinstate  themselves  in  his  good  graces. 

Joseph  Hoffman  and  Jack  Henley  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Burt  Kelly  produced  it,  and  Ray  Enright  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Roscoe  Karns,  Irving 
Bacon  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Sailor  Takes  a  Wife" 
with  Robert  Walker  and  June  Allyson 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  91  min.) 

A  fairly  good  domestic  comedy-farce,  revolving 
around  newlyweds.  Some  of  the  situations  are  so 
funny  that  the  audience  will  laugh  uproariously. 
There  are  spots  in  between  that  are  a  little  draggy, 
and  the  story  is  lightweight,  but  there  is  enough 
comedy  throughout  to  hold  one's  interest  fairly  well. 
Most  of  it  is  brought  about  by  the  daily  misunder- 
standings that  occur  between  the  young  couple,  re- 
sulting in  one  or  the  other  finding  cause  for  not  con- 
summating the  marriage.  Both  June  Allyson  and 
Robert  Walker,  as  the  honeymooners,  are  likeable 
and  sympathetic  characters;  one  realizes  that,  despite 
their  quarrels,  they  loved  each  other  sincerely. 
Audrey  Totter  provokes  many  laughs  in  her  broad 
characterization  of  an  exotic,  flirtatious  Roumanian 
neighbor,  as  does  Eddie  "Rochester"  Anderson,  as  an 
apartment  house  janitor.  On  the  whole  it  is  a  pleas- 
ant entertainment: — 

Six  hours  after  they  meet  in  a  canteen,  Walker,  a 
sailor,  and  June,  a  stenographer,  marry.  Walker  re- 
turns to  his  base,  hoping  that  he  will  secure  a  pass  for 
the  next  weekend  so  that  they  could  have  their  honey- 
moon. Meanwhile  June,  with  the  reluctant  aid  of  her 
employer,  Hume  Cronyn,  who  loved  her,  finds  a 
cheap,  run-down  apartment.  On  the  following  week- 
end, Walker  shows  up  with  a  medical  discharge. 
Their  first  night  together  ends  in  a  quarrel  when 
Walker,  amused  by  June's  old-fashioned  pajamas, 
laughs  at  her.  Angered,  she  locks  herself  in  the  bed- 
room. On  the  following  day,  while  June  is  away  at 
work,  Walker  makes  the  acquaintance  of  ' Audrey,  a 
neighbor,  who  offers  to  get  him  a  job  with  Reginald 
Owen,  her  elderly  "boy  friend."  Walker,  to  make  an 
impression,  invites  Audrey  and  Owen  to  dinner.  The 
party  turns  into  a  fiasco  when  Walker  accidentally 
spills  a  plate  of  food  over  Owen.  While  Owen  goes 
home  to  change  clothes,  Audrey  tricks  Walker  into 
coming  to  her  apartment.  She  sends  him  home  drunk 
and  covered  with  lipstick.  June,  furious,  locks  herself 
in  the  bedroom  once  again.  On  the  following  day, 
June's  birthday,  Walker  buys  her  a  black  lace  night- 
gown, hoping  to  win  her  foregiveness.  Meanwhile 
Cronyn,  having  learned  of  the  young  couple's  quarrel, 
sends  June  a  mink  coat  in  an  attempt  to  win  her  back. 
Both  gifts  arrive  just  as  the  newlyweds  become  recon- 
ciled. The  mink  coat  precipitates  a  new  clash  between 
them,  and,  after  a  number  of  incidents  in  which  the 
actions  of  both  Cronyn  and  Audrey  serve  to  further 
provoke  their  jealousy,  the  honeymooners  become  re- 
conciled for  good. 

Chester  Erskine,  Anne  Morrison  Chapin,  and 
Whitfield  Cook  wrote  the  screen  play,  Edwin  H. 
Knopf  produced  it,  and  Richard  Whorf  directed  it. 

Not  for  children  because  of  a  few  suggestive  sit- 
uations. 


208 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  29,  1945 


It  would  be  different  if  Mr.  Warner  intended  to 
show  such  pictures  in  Warner  Bros,  theatres  exclu' 
sively.  But  such  is  undoubtedly  not  the  case — he 
meant  that  every  theatre,  throughout  the  world  as 
well  as  in  these  United  States,  should  show  them. 

Assuming  that  he  meant  that  and  nothing  else,  did 
he  consult  a  substantial  part  of  the  independent  ex- 
hibitors  to  learn  whether  they  would  approve  the 
type  of  propaganda  pictures  he  had  in  mind? 

The  producers  would  do  well  to  leave  propaganda 
to  be  spread  by  the  printed  word;  let  them  not  arro- 
gate to  themselves  the  right  to  use  as  propaganda  a 
medium  that,  by  its  nature,  is  intended  to  entertain 
people — the  people  who  pay  their  money  at  the  box- 
offices  of  the  theatres  for  the  purpose  of  buying  a 
two-hour  entertainment. 

Let  the  motion  picture  continue  its  natural  role — 
that  of  entertaining  people. 


"WELL  DONE, 
MOTION  PICTURE  INDUSTRY"! 

At  a  ceremony  held  early  this  month  in  Washing- 
ton, D.C.,  attended  by  Government  dignitaries  and 
motion  picture  executives,  the  industry  was  presented 
with  a  beautiful  plaque,  inscribed,  "Well  Done,  Mo- 
tion Picture  Industry,"  as  an  expression  of  apprecia- 
tion by  the  Government  for  the  industry's  outstand- 
ing war  effort.  The  plaque  is  signed  by  Robert  Patter- 
son, Secretary  of  War,  James  Forrestal,  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  and  Fred  M.  Vinson,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury. 

If  the  motion  picture  industry  could  gain  some  ma- 
terial reward  to  the  accompaniment  of  this  honor,  it 
would  be  a  worthy  recognition  of  the  sustained  efforts, 
and  the  vast  sums  of  money,  that  it  contributed 
towards  the  winning  of  the  war.  Unfortunately  it 
cannot. 

If,  in  conjunction  with  the  beautiful  plaque,  the 
industry  were  given  a  substantial  reduction  in  the 
burdensome  admissions  tax,  by  at  least  having  it  put 
back  to  ten  per  cent,  where  it  was  before  the  war,  it 
would  have  given  those  connected  with  the  industry 
great  joy. 

The  motion  picture  industry  contributed  toward 
the  winning  of  the  war  more  than  either  the  press  or 
the  radio,  or  even  both  combined;  and  whereas  no  one 
dares  snipe  at  either  of  these  information  as  well  as 
entertainment  mediums,  the  motion  picture  industry 
has  received  and  is  receiving  blows  by  such  dema- 
gogues as  Rankin,  of  Mississippi,  and  others.  Among 
other  things,  it  is  being  even  accused  of  having  proved 
traitorous  to  the  nation — communicating  information 
to  the  enemy  through  its  films. 

When  is  the  industry  going  to  demand  real  recogni- 
tion— the  recognition  that  it  deserves?  Reduction  of 
taxes,  not  merely  the  presentation  of  plaques,  is  what 
it  deserves. 


A  STRANGE  SIGHT 
TO  INDEPENDENT  EXHIBITORS 

Lately,  the  independent  theatre  owners  have  be- 
come witnesses  to  a  strange  phenomenon — major 
companies  fighting  large  circuit  theatre  operators. 


First,  it  was  Universal:  Unable  to  obtain  satis- 
factory terms  for  its  film  from  the  Griffith  Theatre 
Circuit,  which  has  theatres  in  Texas,  New  Mexico, 
Missouri,  Oklahoma  and  Nevada,  it  started  a  cam- 
paign of  setting  up  opposition  theatres  in  locations 
where  the  Griffith  circuit  owns  theatres  by  offering  its 
product  to  any  one  who  would  build  a  theatre,  and 
guaranteeing  that  its  product  would  be  available  to 
the  new  theatre  so  long  as  its  owner  should  want  to 
have  it.  That  is  an  honest-to-goodness  fight. 

Now  it  is  Twentieth  Century-Fox:  according  to 
the  trade  papers,  this  company  has  shut  off  its  prod- 
uct from  the  Brandt  circuit  and  is  in  some  situations 
selling  to  competitive  theatre,  because  its  sales  execu- 
tives are  unable  to  obtain  from  Harry  Brandt  satis- 
factory terms. 

What  the  outcome  of  these  fights  will  be  is  not 
difficult  to  guess:  the  circuits  will  lose  out. 

If  the  fight  were  between  a  major  company  and  an 
independent  exhibitor  who  owns  a  small  number  of 
theatres,  the  situation  might  be  different — a  major 
company  could  hardly  afford  to  enter  into  a  battle 
with  a  small  exhibitor. 

It  is  true  that  Famous  Players  Lasky,  the  old  com- 
pany, did  resort  to  such  tactics,  as  the  Federal  Trade 
Commission  brought  out  early  in  the  1920V,  but  the 
conditions  today  are  different;  with  so  many  court 
decisions  against  the  majors,  it  is  doubtful  whether 
any  of  them  would  dare  resort  to  the  tactics  now 
employed  against  the  big  independent  circuits. 


A  SENSIBLE  DECISION 

Following  the  lead  of  the  Associated  Theatre 
Owners  of  Indiana,  which  early  in  November  passed 
a  resolution  calling  for  the  abandonment  of  collec- 
tions in  theatres,  the  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of 
Washington,  Northern  Idaho  and  Alaska,  at  its  meet- 
ing early  this  month,  adopted  a  similar  resolution  to 
discontinue  all  collections  in  the  theatres  of  its  mem- 
bers. 

Like  the  ATO  of  Indiana,  this  exhibitor  organiza- 
tion recognizes  that,  during  the  war  emergency,  the 
exhibitors  were  obligated  to  use  their  screens  and 
theatres  to  publicize  and  to  make  collections  for  the 
different  worthy  causes,  but  it  now  believes  that, 
with  the  end  of  hostilities,  the  obligation  has  ceased 
to  exist. 

The  move  made  by  both  these  exhibitor  organiza- 
tions is  a  wise  one.  Most  patrons  resent  it  when  some 
one  shoves  a  contribution  basket  before  him  and  asks 
him  to  contribute  towards  some  cause  he  either  knows 
nothing  about  or  does  not  believe  in.  Some  times  a 
patron  is  made  to  feel  embarrassed  because  he  just 
does  not  happen  to  have  handy  some  small  change. 
At  other  times,  some  patrons  who  visit  either  one 
theatre  that  has  three  changes  a  week,  or  a  few 
theatres  during  the  week  of  a  particular  collection 
drive,  find  themselves  asked  to  contribute  to  the  same 
fund  several  times.  The  result  is  that  many  picture- 
goers  are  discouraged  from  going  to  picture  shows. 
The  important  point,  however,  is  that  patrons  go  to  a 
theatre  to  be  entertained  and  not  to  be  imposed  upon. 

Other  exhibitor  organizations  should  and  un- 
doubtedly will  adopt  similar  resolutions. 


Scanned  from  the  collection  of  the 

Karl  Thiede 


Coordinated  by  the 
Media  History  Digital  Library 
www.mediahistoryproject.org 


Funded  by  a  donation  from 
Matthew  Bernstein